She Was a Black Librarian Who Could Equal America’s Most Powerful Man

Today, we meet a heroine by the name of Belle da Costa Greene. Under the honey-hued lights of Manhattan’s Morgan Library, she became the guardian of the world’s greatest cultural treasures: not one but three Gutenberg bibles, illuminated manuscripts, originals by Da Vinci, Mozart, Michelangelo, and others – the list goes on (in its very own…

The Famous Red Carpet Express Train Rides Again

One of America’s most iconic train journeys of the past is making a comeback, for it is now possible on special occasions, to ride the tracks that hugs the banks of New York’s Hudson River northwards on one of the most luxurious trains to ever grace the rails – the 20th Century Limited. Thanks to…

Buried Secrets of Montauk’s Menacing Military Camp that Inspired “Stranger Things”

There are places in New York and the northeastern coast of America, where a pleasurable trip to the seaside can take a turn for the peculiar. You may be wandering along a bucolic beach only to stumble across the abandoned ruins of brutalist concrete structures lying half buried in the sand, evoking the iconic end…

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A Hauntingly Good Guide to Autumn in New York

No one does Fall like the East Coast. The air grows perfectly crisp, and a tide of orange leaves sweeps the Catskills and Central Park alike in such cinematic fashion, you practically expect Meg Ryan to come sauntering around every corner with a jug of piping hot cider. Of course, this year is different in…

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New York’s Forgotten Outpost of European Aristocracy

The far end of New York’s Long Island is a place filled with secrets. Set against a beautiful backdrop of rocky Atlantic coastline, charming fishing towns, lighthouses and exclusive boatclubs, are hidden places where you’re not allowed to go. There’s the decommissioned Camp Hero in Montauk, an old coastal defence station disguised as a fishing…

Bar Murals of New York City

After a hard day’s toil, one of New York’s greatest pleasures is to unwind with an evening cocktail. But amidst the countless bars to be found in the city, there are some where you can enjoy your favourite drink against a beautiful back drop. For dotted around the Metropolis are bars decorated with large scale…

Parisians vs. New Yorkers: Vintage Spring Street Style

Let’s start with the New Yorkers, photographed by Alfred Eisenstaedt– most famous for that shot of the sailor kissing the girl in Times Square. The following photos are from a street style series for LIFE magazine in 1944 called ‘Beautiful Girls’… Round 1. NEW YORKERS! Round 2. PARISIANS! Modern fashion photography was born when three brothers, Parisian…

Decline of the ‘Dirty Dancing’ Dream

We’ve made a few trips to explore the abandoned resorts of the Borscht Belt of New York. Once places like Grossinger’s, the Concord, Kutscher’s and the Pines, were the epitome of a swanky summer holiday for New Yorkers. All through the Catskills were dozens of all-inclusive resorts, glitzy enough to entice the mostly Jewish, upper-middle…

The Little Shop that Cared & other Tales

– When I was a little girl, I used to play ‘shop’. I set up my own make-shift retail space, carefully displaying my own clothes and toys around my bedroom and for hours on end I happily traded with imaginary customers. I borrowed the colored bills from our Monopoly game and used a real receipt-printing…

Paris vs. New York

I‘ve been meaning to show you Vahram Muratyan’s work for quite some time. In fact I’ve left it so long, I fear some of you may have already come across it. If so dear reader, I apologize– I’ll try to be quicker on the mark and more cutting edge next time. If you haven’t, please enjoy/…