Coming full cycle

A new bicycle store has opened on West 72nd Street near Riverside Drive. It is most appropriate. During the "Bicycle Craze" of the late 19th century, Riverside Drive was a favorite thoroughfare and folks would pedal down West 72nd Street to get there - the street had a sort of primitive bike lane and was lined with planters and trees. A favorite destination - the Claremont House, a famed inn not far from where Grant's Tomb stands today.

Bicyclists on Riverside Drive in the 1890's. These folks must have felt truly liberated.

Remarkable Shearith Israel

I've been attending a class at Shearith Israel, which is the oldest Jewish congregation in New York, founded in 1654. It's first building (1730) was on Mill Street and then others followed on Crosby Street (1833), 19th Street (1859) and at the current site on West 70th and Central Park West (1897). It's a substantial building with a magnificent sanctuary modeled after one of the grand synagogues of Amsterdam and graced with enormous Tiffany stained-glass windows. But the real historical gem is the Little Synagogue, which contains items from all the previous buildings. It's definitely worth a visit.

The class is taking 20 weeks to cover events that have significantly affected Jews and their world view and religious practices. It is taught by a young, very knowledgeable rabbi who is doing a great job both relating the historical events and putting them in context. Of course, a certain portion of this history is simply horrifying, such as last week's class on the Crusades, but all of it shows the remarkable, almost miraculous, ability of Jews to keep alive their religion and extensive intellectual life in the face of constant harassment and persecution.

How a blizzard changed New York

In March 1888 a surprise blizzard hit the entire East Coast. It left 21 inches of snow in NYC. Thousands of telegraph wires came down, and many people were trapped on the elevated trains. Some enterprising folks put ladders up to the trains and charged $10 to let people climb down.

Two results of all this: the wires were buried underground as quickly as possible and the first serious thoughts were given to creating a subway. Sixteen years later the subway became a reality.  It ran along happily during last night's snowstorm.