The Bowery Boys

31/10/2024

Joe Papp passed away on this date in 1991, and every October 31, the Public Theater lights a yahrzeit in the lobby, honoring his legacy. We are honored to be performing here this evening, the last night of our show at Joe’s Pub.

30/10/2024

The complete list of Bowery Boys ghost stories podcasts. Dozens of New York City history-based spooky tales to set your mood this Halloween and distract you from the real world. Now featuring our latest episode -- Ghost Stories of the Five Boroughs. There's also a Spotify playlist featured here with all the shows. Happy Halloween!

Creep yourself out while listening to these ghost stories and spooky legends of New York City, all with a basis in historical events.

28/10/2024

On the latest Bowery Boys episode, we revisit New York City's most famous missing persons case, the story of Dorothy Arnold who disappeared in 1910, a tale that entranced the country for many years (and even decades).

PODCAST The mysterious disappearance of a young woman becomes one of the most talked-about events over one hundred years ago. The young socialite Dorothy Arnold seemingly led a charmed and privileged life. The niece of a Supreme Court justice, Dorothy was the belle of 1900s New York, an attractive a...

11/10/2024

Ghost Stories of the Five Boroughs: In the new Bowery Boys Halloween special, five tales of terror -- from Flushing to Flatbush, from suburban Staten Island to reptile house at the Bronx Zoo. Listen here or on your favorite podcast player:

 On January 1, 1898, Greater New York was formed from the union of two cities – New York and Brooklyn, along with other towns and villages of the region, creating the five boroughs we know and love today.  But each of those five boroughs brings their own unique histories and personalities. And s...

27/09/2024

Are there alligators in the sewer? Does a legendary monster stalk ruins in Staten Island? Did a UFO actually fly below the Brooklyn Bridge? All those odd stories and more in this special episode of the Bowery Boys podcast, looking at New York City's weirdest and most enduring urban legends.

New York City has its fair share of famous ‘urban legends’ — persistent rumors, too good to be true, often macabre and dark.  No, we’re not talking about just about ghost stories. (Those arrive next episode.) We mean far fetched, reality defying fantasies sometimes rooted in science fictio...

16/09/2024

Free event this Wednesday at Rockefeller Center! Greg Young from the Bowery Boys joins a discussion with author Victoria Johnson (Pulitzer Prize finalist for 'American Eden'). Johnson will introduce you to the life of David Hosack and the former botantical garden that once sat here. It's at 6pm, Sept 18. RSVP at the link in the article below.

Free event at Rockefeller Center! Join Greg Young from the Bowery Boys on Wednesday, September 18, at 6pm as he moderates a conversation with Victoria Johnson, author of American Eden: David Hosack, Botany, and Medicine in the Garden of the Early Republic, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Histor...

13/09/2024

In the new Bowery Boys podcast, Tom reveals the mystery of Ida Wood. In 1907 this society maven and newspaper publisher withdrew her entire fortune from the bank and retreated into a hotel suite in Herald Square -- for decades. She took with her a shocking secret. And what became of her fortune? Listen today:

Ida Wood had a secret. Born Ida Mayfield in New Orleans, Ida moved to New York in the 1850s and through her marriage to Benjamin Wood, publisher of the New York Daily News, she entered society.  By the 1870s and 80s, Ida’s name was found in the social columns of the city’s newspapers. So why,.....

12/09/2024

Does Anyone Want to Hang Out in the Middle of Park Avenue?
The New York Times interviews Greg Young from the Bowery Boys about Park Avenue's unique history -- and possible new future.

A glimpse at the future of one of Manhattan’s most famous streets — and a look at its history, from train tracks to illegal w**d.

10/09/2024

On Side Streets, the Patreon-only Bowery Boys podcast, Tom and Greg discuss Times Square during its 1990s transition period -- before the hi-def billboards, the pedicabs and the Elmos. Become a supporters on Patreon and listen today (and to entire back catalog of Side Streets episodes:

Get more from The Bowery Boys on Patreon

06/09/2024

A mysterious box full of hundreds of news clippings about Homer and Langley Collyer, the 'ghostly' recluses of Harlem, arrived at Greg's door, inspiring him to expand and reedit the 2019 show on this sad and haunting topic. It's the latest episode in the Bowery Boys podcast feed. Listen today!

You better clean your room or you’ll end up like the Collyer Brothers. New York City, a city crammed of 8.6 million people. It’s filled with stories of people who just want to be left alone – recluses, hermits, cloistering themselves from the public eye, closing themselves off from scrutiny. B...

30/08/2024

In the new Bowery Boys podcast, we present the early history of Times Square, before the tourists and the pedicabs. It was known in the late 19th century as Longacre Square, a time when there were no Elmos or Naked Cowboys, but plenty of horses! Listen today on your favorite podcast player:

What was Times Square before the electric billboards, before the Broadway theaters and theme restaurants, before the thousands and thousands of tourists? What was Times Square before it was Times Square? Today it’s virtually impossible to find traces of the area’s 18th and 19th century past. Bu...

16/08/2024

One hundred years ago this month, athletes from the 1924 Paris Olympics were given a ticker-tape parade up Broadway. So in the newest Bowery Boys podcast, Greg and Tom look at the history of this festive tradition rooted in lower Manhattan. Believe it or not, we have the Statue of Liberty to thank for this very unusual, very New York tradition. Listen to the whole story on your favorite podcast player:

In 1886, during a miles-long parade celebrating the dedication of the Statue of Liberty, office workers in lower Manhattan began heaving ticker tape out the windows, creating a magical, blizzard-like landscape. That tradition stuck. Today that particular corridor of Broadway — connecting Battery P...

15/08/2024

Are you a fan of HBO's hit series The Gilded Age? Join Greg Young from the Bowery Boys podcast and The Gilded Gentleman's Carl Raymond on Thursday, Sept. 5th for a rousing discussion of opera wars, dinner parties and alarm clock patents. Get your tickets now!

Are you a fan of HBO’s The Gilded Age, created by Julian Fellowes? Are you emotionally invested in the lives of Agnes van Rhijn, Bertha and George Russell, Peggy Scott and Marian Brook? Then we have a special event for you! Greg Young of the Bowery Boys podcast and Carl Raymond of the Gilded Gentl...

02/08/2024

On the newest Bowery Boys podcast, we're celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Ramones performing at CBGB -- the birthplace of American punk music -- and the extraordinary music scene on the Bowery in the 1970s which launched the careers of Patti Smith, Blondie, the Talking Heads and many more. This show features some very special guests including legendary Ramones producer and engineer Ed Stasium. Listen today!

One-two-three-four! The Ramones, a four-man rock band from Forest Hills, Queens, played the Bowery music club CBGB for the very first time on August 16, 1974. Not only would Joey, Johnny, Tommy and Dee Dee reinvigorate downtown New York nightlife here — creating a unique and energetic form of punk...

01/08/2024

In tomorrow's new Bowery Boys podcast, the story of four guys from Forest Hills and a beat-up old bar on the Bowery.

Photo by Roberta Bayley, courtey Museum of the City of New York

22/07/2024

New York music lovers! We've got a very special episode coming up in August and we'd love to hear from you. Do you love the Ramones? Did you spend a lot of time at CBGBs? Did you see the Ramones at CBGBs? Call us at the listener line (844-426-9379) because we wanna hear your story.

Did you ever see the Ramones play live — either here in New York or elsewhere? Did you ever go to CBGBs during its heydey — to see the Ramones, Blondie, the Talking Heads, Patti Smith or any other artist? Ever have an interesting experience with a member of the Ramones? Help us celebrate the… ...

19/07/2024

This week on the Bowery Boys podcast -- Carl Raymond (aka The Gilded Gentleman) and Keith Taillon (aka Keith York City) invite you on a virtual stroll through one of the most historic parks in New York City, with layors of history surrounding it and displays of great architecture on all four sides. Listen today in the Bowery Boys podcast feed:

Need an escape from the world for just a little while? A place where you can be by yourself? We’ve got the keys. Carl Raymond of The Gilded Gentleman podcast and his guest Keith Taillon invite you into one of the most historically exclusive spaces in New York City — the romantic and peaceful ...