On this day in Old New York - Old NY Tours

First New Years Eve in Times Square

12/31/2014

On this day, December 31st,1904 the first New Year’s Eve celebration takes place in Times Square.
The event was sponsored by The New York Times to celebrate the opening of their new headquarters at One Times Square. At midnight, a fireworks show was held for 200,000 spectators. The event took the place of the traditional New Year’s Eve celebrations normally held at Trinity Church. It was such a hit that the Times continued the celebration and for further promotion of the newly named Times Square, in 1908, they constructed an electrically lit, time ball, which was lowered from a flag pole from the roof of One Times Square. Long out of date, time balls were used to ensure accurate time keeping, originally used by navigators for their ships while offshore and were made from wood or metal. The ball has only been replaced five times since 1904 and are now made out of Waterford Crystal

Sean Hannity Born Today

12/30/2014

Sean Hannity at King of Prussia Mall, PA Modified on December 11, 2007 Modified by CrazyLegsKC, original taken by Hello32020 Permission (Reusing this file) Public domain Other versions Image:Seanhannitykingofprussia.JPG

On this day, December 30th, 1961, conservative political commentator, Sean Hannity is born in New York City. Hannity hosts The Sean Hannity Show, a radio program. He also hosts Hannity on Fox News and has been on the New York Times Bestseller List.

British Burn Buffalo Today

12/29/2014

On this day, December 29th, British soldiers burn Buffalo, New York during the War of 1812.
Traveling from the north from the Canadian border, the British trampled the American side of Niagara Falls. The residents of Buffalo knew they were coming and most of the small town fled. Throughout the night, deserters and militiamen came through Buffalo defeated. Only few who owned establishments stayed with Dr. Creynius Chapin and a small militia. Their only cannon proved ineffective and Dr. Chapin was taken prisoner. The British began firing on the buildings and before long the entire town was in flames. There are only a handful of buildings that are still standing from that era in Buffalo today.

Show Boat Opens Today

12/27/2014

On this day, December 27th, Show Boat, opens at the Ziegfeld Theatre on Broadway in New York City.Show Boat is considered to be the first true American musical. The preceding operettas and light musical comedies gave way to this two act musical, which was adapted from the book, Show Boatwritten by Edna Ferber. The musical told the entire story through song and follows the lives of the performers, stagehands and dock workers on the Cotton Blossom, a Mississippi river show boat over the span of fifty years. The themes include racial prejudice and tragic love.

"The Curse" Begins

12/26/2014

Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig at United States Military Academy, West Point, NY May 6th 1927 Source US National Archives Author USMA

On this day, December 26th, 1919, Babe Ruth of the Boston Red Sox is sold to the New York Yankees by owner Harry Frazee. While there are several theories as to why Ruth was traded, one of the reasons was certainly because Ruth had demanded a $20,000.00 raise from Frazee. Ruth also made it well known that he would not play until his raise took effect. Frazee knew that he would not be able to accommodate him and was searching for an alternative solution.

His solution, to trade Babe Ruth, would keep superstitious fans on their toes for decades to come. After Ruth, aka, The Bambino was traded, the Boston Red Sox would not win another world series until 2004. Prior to the swap, The Boston Red Sox were one of the most successful professional baseball franchises. “The Curse of the Bambino”, however was not popularized until an article in the New York Times in 1990, prompting Red Sox fans to “Reverse the Curse”.

Rod Serling Born Today

12/25/2014

Publicity photo portrait of Rod Serling for the premiere of the television program The Twilight Zone. Author CBS Television via the Bureau of Industrial Service. During the 1950s and 1960s, television networks, program sponsors and studios often used either advertising or public relations agencies to distribute publicity materials. The Bureau was a division of ad agency Young & Rubicam.

On this day, December 25th, Rod Serling is born in Syracuse, New York. An American screenwriter, novelist, television producer and narrator, Serling is best known for the sci-fi favorite, The Twilight Zone. Stranger than fiction, one of Serling’s moonlighting gigs (before his writing and producing took off) was as a parachute tester for the Army Air Force. He used his military background and received $50.00 for every successful jump. He had once been paid $500.00 to test a newly invented jet ejection seat, he was paid half before and half after. After the Twilight Zone had been cancelled and between writing, he would later teach at Ithaca College.

Egg Nog Riot

12/24/2014

On this day, December 24th, 1826, the Eggnog Riot at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York begins. The Riot lasted until Christmas morning and is said to have been caused by the smuggling of whiskey to make eggnog for a Christmas Party. The riot involved more than a third of the cadets, seventy cadets were implicated and twenty were court martialed. Among those that participated in the riot but were not court-martialed was Jefferson Davis.

North Tower Completed

12/23/2014

On this day, December 23nd, 1970, the North Tower of the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan is completed, making it the tallest building in the world. In 1973, the North Tower was surpassed byChicago’s Sears Tower. The North Tower was destroyed in the September 11th terrorist attacks in 2001. The North Tower will be replaced by One World Trade Center which is scheduled to open in 2013.

Lincoln Tunnel Opens

12/22/2014

Lincoln Tunnel - NJ Entrance Date 1/1/08 Transferred from en.wikipedia; transferred to Commons by User:Apollo1758 using CommonsHelper. (Original text : self-made) Author Cesar Centeno, Jr..

On this day, December 22nd,. 1937, the Lincoln Tunnel opens for traffic, connecting New Jersey and Midtown, Manhattan. The tunnel was funded by the New Deal’s Public Works Administration. The tunnel has six lanes and is operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

First Crossword Puzzle Published

12/21/2014

The first crossword puzzle, created by Arthur Wynne, published in the New York World on December 21, 1913. Courtesy Wikimedia

On this day, December 21st, 1913, Arthur Wynne’s “word cross’ is the first crossword puzzle published in the New York World. The original “word cross” was diamond shaped, after experimenting with different layouts it was decided the most effective shape for the puzzle was a rectangle. The new puzzle was an instant hit and became a weekly regular. After the first puzzle appeared, readers would send their own in which were used and published.

Now one of the best known crossword puzzles is the one produced by the New York Times, and edited by Will Shortz