Bialystoker Synagogue is at 7-11 Bialystoker Place which use to be known as Willet Street. The building was constructed in 1826 and was the Willet Street Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1905, the synagogue bought the church. Continue reading
History
Edward Mooney House
At 18 Bowery in Chinatown (on the corner of Pell Street) stands the Edward Mooney House. It was built between 1785-1789. The land was seized from British Loyalist James Delancy and sold at auction for around $50,000. Edward Mooney was a wealthy merchant and ran a wholesale meat business and was a race horse breeder. He lived in the house until his death in 1800. Continue reading
Bloody Angle aka Doyers Street
Doyers Street is an angled, narrow street that runs 1 block at a sharp angle from Pell Street into the intersection of Bowery and Chatham Square. In 1791, Dutch immigrant Hendrik Doyer bought the property and ran a distillery at 6 Doyers, the spot where the post office stands today. It was once known as the Bloody Angle for the many battles of the Tong gangs (On Leong Tong and Hip Sing Tongs) of Chinatown in the late 1800s and lasting into the 1930s. The term ‘hatchet man’ was used in the late 19th century to describe a Chinese assassin who carried a handleless hatchet. Continue reading
Kahal Kadoosh Beth Elohim in Charleston
Congregation Kadosh Beth Elohim was founded in 1749 and is the 4th oldest in the nation. On wiki it says the Greek Revival building is the 2nd oldest in continual use while their pamphlet from the synagogue says it’s the oldest. Sometimes they are considered the place where Reformed Judaism was born when individuals split from the group in the mid 1800s. This new belief system spread and became the dominant belief system of American Jews. More that 90% of American synagogues were Reform by 1880. Continue reading
Magnolia Plantation & Gardens
Magnolia Plantation is one of the most unique looking and one of the oldest plantations in South Carolina. The house we see today is the 3rd house after the first 2 burned down. Originally, the live oak lined path lead to the house. It is the one of 3 remaining plantations along the Ashley River. Most were burned down when the Union soldiers passed through during the Civil War. Magnolia is a mixed of Victorian, Georgian, and Gothic Revival architecture. It’s also one of the oldest tourist attractions in the south. Continue reading
Brooklyn Navy Yard
Brooklyn Navy Yard is the only active shipyard in NYC. In 1966, the yard was finally sold to the city by the Nixon Administration. At it’s in peak over 70,000 were employed 24 hours a day during WWII. The yard sits in Wallabout Basin in the East River. Continue reading
The Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons in Philadelphia
A long time ago Victor gave me a booklet about the Freemason lodge. It’s taken over a decade to finally get there. If you ever have extra time in Philly and are a history and architecture buff – check it out. Quite a few US Presidents have been masons: George Washington, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, Gerald Ford to name a few. Continue reading
Christ Church & Burial Ground
Christ Church Burial Ground is an early American cemetery in Philadelphia. Signers of our Declaration of Independence reside here, Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin Russ, George Ross, Francis Hopkinson, and Joseph Hewes. The cemetery belongs to the Episcopal church founded in 1695 by the name of Christ Church. Continue reading
Camac Street
In the 1830s it was very noisy in the bustling city of Philadelphia. Camac Street is a landmark of a time when Philly was testing out new pavement. The clop-clop-clopping of horse hooves on cobble stone was the largest source of noise pollution. Local businessmen and the city government came together with the idea to use wooden blocks to absorb the sound. Continue reading
The Old City Hall Station
This is the reason why we joined the Transit Museum – to go on a tour of the Old City Hall train station. It’s a beauty to the eyes, too bad they don’t design things like this anymore. We had to hop on the 6 train at the last stop, the train stops on the turnaround and let’s you off at the old unused platform and they let us off. The first thing you want to do is stop and look up but you have to get off as quickly as possible to let the our tour members off. Being there felt like we had the keys to the city. It was amazing and totally worth our membership fee. Continue reading
Jebus Mews & Andrea 