Perfect Bridge Walk on George's Birthday

George Washington's wealth primarily came from making and selling whiskey. Yesterday, on his birthday (people of certain age remember such things) I walked over the Brooklyn Bridge to a storytelling event at a senior center. I thought about our first President as I strolled and felt high from the beauty of all around, the bridge, the city, the bay and the river.

Looking around I drifted away and imagined seeing George and Martha after his 1789 inauguration denying a ride in their royal coach in order to walk from City Hall on Wall Street up Broadway to St. Paul's Chapel. As they walked and stiffly acknowledged the crowd, I saw George looking around at the semi-rebuilt, burnt-out Broadway and thinking to himself about a mysterious fire on Sept 19, 1776 that destroyed 500 houses from Broadway to the Hudson.

ps the reason the pix of 100 Gold Street's north side facing the bridge is here ~ the fifth window from the right on the top floor was my affordable housing office for seven years. That view mentally saved me from probable work-site violence a few times.

More photos here.

"City Boy," Thomas Pryor's play in progress is a love letter to long gone street life and Yorkville, the Upper Eastside New York neighborhood. The show's timing coincides with the opening of the Second Avenue Subway - an event that's triggered a surge of tenement demolition and hi-rise construction not seen since the Third Avenue El came down in 1955. The area's character is slipping away (along with its street light). Sharing our memories for posterity in photographs, voice and on paper reinforces Yorkville's rich history. (Thank you, Joe Dettmore, for creating this film)

Check out my 1960s memoir, "I Hate the Dallas Cowboys - tales of a scrappy New York boyhood." at Logos Book Store, or purchase the book online at Amazon (114 five-star reviews out of 114 posted) or Barnes & Noble ~ and buy "River to River ~ New York Scenes From a Bicycle" my photography portfolio online.

Street life seen through 53 stories and 90 photos

The Only Living Boy in New York

When I stand behind a wondrous scene looking in, it makes me overwhelmed and alone at the same time. New York City does that. I like bitter with my sweet.  Here are photos from yesterday.

The Only Living Boy in New York ~ Paul Simon


Our next "City Stories: Stoops to Nuts" show is Tues, July 10th @ 6pm @ Cornelia Street Cafe.

Storytelling by Tricia Alexandro, Julia Greenberg, Jim Hawkins, Lisa Kirchner, Thomas Pryor & Debby Schwartz.

Summer is steaming, cool off, come down to the telling.

$8 gets you in with a free drink, too. A nice wash on a hot night.

 

My Grandfather's View of Nassau Street in 1916

My grandfather, Thomas E. Pryor, was committed to a Staten Island orphanage for 8 years.  He was 8 when he entered in 1909 (his parents died of pneumonia) and a day shy of 16 when he was discharged to his Aunt, Mary Pryor, who lived at 300 E. 42^nd Street in 1916.  

Below is a picture of my grandfather at the orphanage, his birth certificate, his intake/outtake card from Father Drumgoole’s Orphanage and his 1935 Hack license.

Yesterday, doing birth certificate business for my daughter downtown in the Courts area, I walked along Nassau Street and saw the vacant lot where the first New York Times office opened in 1851.  Through the lot I had a cool view of the Woolworth Building.

As I strolled about I thought about the day my grandfather was released from the orphanage in 1916.

The next day was his birthday. I imagined he walked downtown enjoying his new freedom, past the Brooklyn Bridge along Nassau Street turning into Broad Street at Wall Street.  When possible I looked up at buildings I knew were built before 1916 and mostly served the publishing industry at the turn of the century. I made believe it was my first time.

I saw what my grandfather saw as a young man. New York City busting the sky even on the side streets off Park Row and Broadway.  This blew me away. Below are some pictures from my walk and link to several others.

Happy holidays to everyone. Have a happy, healthy, peaceful New Year. Thank you for reading my work.

be well, Thomas.

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Our next City Stories: Stoops to Nuts storytelling show at Cornelia Street Café is January 10^th @ 6pm. Please come down, I promise a good time.

Our New Year artists are: Lisa Burns, Nicole Ferraro, Julia Joseph, Thomas Pryor, Francesca Rizzo & Adam Wade.

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Four Bridges on a Beautiful Day

Today, was a six stop chore day down to the Battery by bicycle. River view all the way home. Four bridges on a beautiful day.

The heart is a bloom...

Cornelia Street Cafe ~ "City Stories: Stoops to Nuts" Storytelling Show @ June 14th @ 6pm.

More East River pix here...

A Royal Flush

Yesterday, I walked over the Brooklyn Bridge. It was cold and beautiful. On Gold Street, I recorded three stories in a studio. Nine of my published stories are being professionally engineered and will be available for you to listen on the Internet in late February through a link on this blog. Back in Manhattan, I headed for the Surrogate Courthouse on Chambers Street. On the first floor of this splendid building is the New York City Library and it's open to the public. They have every book you can imagine on the city, old maps and land books.

I love 31 Chambers Street, I worked there for the Comptroller's Office while I was in Hunter College in the mid 1970s. There was no security, me and a bunch of Pace accounting majors ran the building. Our job involved many visits to the spooky basement where every voucher for every check cut by the city was stored. My job was to reconcile vouchers to checks right after President Ford told the city to "Drop Dead," per the New York Daily News (He never used those words, no surprise). It was so dark in the basement we bumped into each other, and played wicked games of hide and seek.

When it was time to go the bathroom I used the Judges private chambers bathrooms on the sixth floor, quite easy to sneak in. Fixtures were brass, wood paneling to kill for, enough room in each stall for a card game. They were thrones. Each stall had a pull chain with the water box over the toilet bowl. Every time I yanked that chain it was a royal flush.

Going to the bathroom at home was never the same.

Ride Your Bike

I have an event today, no bike riding, but here are some shots from yesterday and a few weeks ago on the bike. Central Park, Coney, Hudson River, south and north, East Village and the Brooklyn Bridge Beach, you can catch the beach at low tide. Ride your bike, see the City.