The Bowery Boys

The second academic historian’s blog I chose to follow was, the Bowery Boys blog. Their blog attempts to learn and share as much as they can about New York City. The Bowery Boys blog is broken down into posts about different places and main events. I came across this blog in an article titled, “100 Awesome Blogs for History Junkies” and I didn’t know what to expect. I scrolled down a bit and saw a brief description of the Bowery Boys blog and I automatically clicked on it. Because I grew up in and around New York City I take it for granite. I thought I knew a lot about the place I’ve called home for so long, however, the Bowery Boys know a whole lot more. I can picture all the places they reported on but there is so much more history to these places than I ever imagined. For example, one of my favorite parks in New York City is Bryant Park. I knew there was a fire there a while back but I never thought any deeper about it. The knowledge I gained while reading the Bowery Boys blog is incredible. In a short post I learned which historical building was son fire, what its significance was, how long it took the building to burn down and why it burned so quickly. It was great to enhance my understanding of the place I come from and the spots I thought I knew everything about. The blog covers a wide range of aspects that make New York City so unique and influential. Instinctually I chose to reads about my favorite places and while doing so I tested my knowledge. One post I read was on Sardi’s Restaurant which is a restaurant located on west 44th street, nuzzled in-between some of Broadway’s most famous theaters. I’ve only dined there once because of its touristy reputation. But after reading the blog Sardi’s should not have a touristy reputation at all. It is true New York City restaurant that has been through prohibition, broadways ups and downs, and fed broadways struggling and successful producers, actors, and actresses. What makes it touristy are the framed caricature pictures covering the walls but as I learned even those have a deeper history because not all of those sketched producers, actors and actresses made a mark on Broadway. In fact a bunch of them did not make it at all and their caricatures are what remains of them on Broadway. These juicy stories make me miss home and most of all spike my interest in learning more about the places I love.

Hanna Merrill