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Video of the Zoom Presentation on January 22, 2025
"Cleopatra's Needle: A Journey Through Bloomingdale and the Upper West Side" with Jim Mackin and Gil Tauber Now available on our PAST EVENTS page 
Happy New Year!
As we welcome the new year, here’s a head start learning new things about older times. Did you know the city elites had horse races right here in the neighborhood? Meanwhile, plainer folks enjoyed their snow sleds in ways we can’t imagine doing now. Find out about the dismantling of the Ninth Avenue El in 1940 and then see the history of a local historic building as it’s about to be dismantled now. If it’s cold outside, you can attend our free presentations or pay a visit to our library exhibits and book collection. We look forward to feedback, comments, and ideas. To view this and previous newsletters, go to our BULLETINS page. SAVE THE DATE
Upcoming Programs in the New Year 
recent photo of the path of Jauncey Lane looking east from Riverside Drive (between 91st and 92nd
Thursday, 6:30 pm, February 20th, 2025
"Jauncey Lane: Traveling Through Time on an Ancient Roadway" Jauncey Lane was an old country road from colonial times that connected the Upper West Side to the Upper East Side. The Bloomingdale Neighborhood history group will present its fascinating story and why it lasted into the 20th Century. Click HERE to reserve for this Zoom Presentation The Latest Blog now available on our BLOGS page
The World War I Fortune Tellers on the Upper West Side written by Pam Tice, member of BNHG planning committee 
In the spring of 1918, a year after the United States entered World War I, the Manhattan District Attorney initiated a special effort to arrest fortune tellers who charged their clients a fee to contact their soldier sons to check on their well-being or guarantee a safe return. Government officials considered this fraudulent behavior and, as such, it affected public morale during wartime.
Read this and other essays of interest on our BLOGS page Free Walking Tours of Historic Bloomingdale
Sunday, January 26th at 2pm Sunday, February 2nd at 2pm Sunday, March 2nd at 2pm  Jim Mackin
Meet at south end of Straus Park,
Broadway at W.106th Street No reservations needed Explore the history of the Upper West Side between W.96th and W.110th Streets Led by renowned local historian, Jim Mackin More Information at our UPCOMING EVENTS page |
See Rob Garber's previous library exhibits at our EXHIBITS pages
Availability of the BNHG Library Collection!
See a new list of the books in our collection HERE
Our public archive of documents related to the history of the neighborhood is at the Bloomingdale branch of the New York Public Library, on West 100th Street between Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues. The files are easy to find, near the circulation desk, and they are chock-full of interesting material. Whether you are researching a specific topic or just browsing, you're welcome to copy pages in the library or to take a folder to one of the tables to read through it in comfort. 
We are a group of neighbors who banded together 23 years ago to explore the history of our region of the Upper West Side, roughly 96th to 110th Streets --- an area historically known as Bloomingdale.
We promote research and education about the history of the Bloomingdale neighborhood, and we are available as a resource. We share our findings through free public programs, walking tours, workshops, publications, a blog, our website, and a Neighborhood History Collection of materials housed at the Bloomingdale Branch of the New York Public Library. We’re reaching out to our Bloomingdale community for your support through a tax-deductible donation. (Checks should be made out to Columbus/Amsterdam Business Improvement District) BNHG’s downloadable digital brochure:
How To Research the History of Buildings in Manhattan 
Whether you’re a student, researcher or simply someone interested in finding out the history of any building in Manhattan, there’s now a free guide that will help you to get started. How to Research the History of Buildings in Manhattan, includes links to free online sources of data on individual buildings, their physical characteristics, the date of their construction and the name of their designer
To assist in your own research, click on the BNHG Building Database, which is the product of more than three years of research and field work by BNHG members, led by Gilbert Tauber. The table lists all of the 1,056 buildings in the area from the north side of 96th Street to the south side of 110th Street between Central Park West and Riverside Drive. Vodep
If a picture is worth a thousand words, is a video likely to be worth even more? We think so, which is why a few members of the planning committee of the Bloomingdale Neighborhood History Group (BNHG} got together to produce this ten minute video. It's an introduction to the neighborhood that is our home, the neighborhood that inspires our research and is the inspiration for the free public programs we offer throughout the year.
Find out more about the BNHG at our ABOUT US page Check out our Resources pages.
At our Resources pages you'll find fascinating Bloomingdale history under the following headings: Sources of Historical Information Useful Links and Resources Paterno Archive Bookshelf 2020 Project NYT Articles about Manhattan Valley from 1865-1998 Peter Salwen Collection Upper West Side History Quiz |
PRESERVING NEIGHBORHOOD HISTORY
The New York Preservation Archive Project was organized in 1990 to “preserve preservation history.” Every effort to save an historic building or place has a story. NYPAP exists to provide an archival record of the people involved, their victories and defeats, and the many documents that tell the story of each place.
Thanks to Pam Tice (member of the BNHG planning committee) , the story of 891 Amsterdam Avenue is now a part of that record. You can review the story of our neighborhood’s landmark, which began as the Association for the Relief of Respectable Aged Indigent Females, and is now Hostelling International-New York City.
The record is preserved at the NYPAP site here.
The New York Preservation Archive Project was organized in 1990 to “preserve preservation history.” Every effort to save an historic building or place has a story. NYPAP exists to provide an archival record of the people involved, their victories and defeats, and the many documents that tell the story of each place.
Thanks to Pam Tice (member of the BNHG planning committee) , the story of 891 Amsterdam Avenue is now a part of that record. You can review the story of our neighborhood’s landmark, which began as the Association for the Relief of Respectable Aged Indigent Females, and is now Hostelling International-New York City.
The record is preserved at the NYPAP site here.
To receive email notification of upcoming monthly presentations and seasonal bulletins, please share your email at our CONTACT US page. Of course, we will not give your information to others.
The content of this website is offered for educational purposes; You may not reproduce, distribute, copy, sell or otherwise use any portion of this website for political or commercial purposes. If you know the identity of people depicted in historical photographs reproduced here, we’d love to hear from you.