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	<title>The City Desk &#187; old city hall</title>
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	<link>http://thecitydesk.net</link>
	<description>Fictional urbanism.</description>
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		<title>City&#8217;s First Subway Car Found</title>
		<link>http://thecitydesk.net/2009/11/17/citys-first-subway-car-found/</link>
		<comments>http://thecitydesk.net/2009/11/17/citys-first-subway-car-found/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:17:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>The City Desk</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Central Corridor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[CSTA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Downtown]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[old city hall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ostahanoc River]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[RJ White]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[transit]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Upper Carsonhurst]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thecitydesk.net/?p=738</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The second week of June 1901 saw the formal opening of the City&#8217;s first subway- what was to become today&#8217;s Brown Line- a modest straight line connecting the old Central Depot (across from Old City Hall, now Ludlow Plaza Station) and the Ostahanoc River, taking in the Downtown/Central Corridor areas, as well as the bustling Fifth and Second Wards. With a flourish and burst of a Champagne bottle, the very first car to travel the line was the &#8220;Jenny-Anne,&#8221; an elaborate ceremonial car outfitted with carpeting, electric chandeliers, upholstered seats and even a small wet bar. The car was constructed at the behest of L. Mathewson Burlsworth, whose Ostahanoc Valley Northeast Line railroad was a partner in the project. From this point on, throughout the expansion of the subway system in the early 20th cetury, the car was occasionally pulled into service for various heads of state and other dignitaries, including President Theodore Roosevelt (It can be presumed that, for certain reasons, President Taft was not offered a ride during his 1911 visit). In 1914, the &#8220;Jenny-Anne&#8221; (named after the daughter of Mayor Orson Winthrop) was decommissioned and put on display at the Commercial Museum (adjoining the Atlas Exhibition Hall), [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>The Brothel Five Levels Below the Street</title>
		<link>http://thecitydesk.net/2009/06/08/the-brothel-five-levels-below-the-street/</link>
		<comments>http://thecitydesk.net/2009/06/08/the-brothel-five-levels-below-the-street/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 08 Jun 2009 15:39:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>The City Desk</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Central Corridor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[CSTA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Downtown]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[historic preservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[old city hall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ostahanoc River]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[RJ White]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sex]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[subway]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[transit]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[transportation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urban exploration]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Watson University]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thecitydesk.net/?p=567</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The old Central Depot, which sat across across Ludlow Plaza from Old City Hall from 1896 until its demolition in 1968, was a wonderful, massive gothic structure, covered in ornament and decoration which one doesn&#8217;t find much in today&#8217;s construction. It certainly isn&#8217;t found in its replacement, the City Centre Square building, a long rectangular affair, completed in 1972. Below the glass and brown brick-covered box, the City-Suburban Transit Authority (CSTA) has its Ludlow Plaza Station, the only remnant of the old depot. It&#8217;s one of the nicer stops in the subway system, with some of the old architectural details still showing through slight neglect mandated by tight budgets over the decades. Central Depot was the showpiece of the of the Ostahanoc Valley Northeast Line, a regional railroad that did very well with both passenger and freight transport during this city&#8217;s booming industrial age. As such, the railroad&#8217;s offices were located on the upper five floors of the massive limestone edifice to transportation. The first two floors were dedicated to the grandly-designed passenger concourse and two levels of tracks were located below, which are now used for CSTA subway and regional light rail. But few know about the levels which [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Rare City Documents Burned</title>
		<link>http://thecitydesk.net/2008/02/11/rare-city-documents-burned/</link>
		<comments>http://thecitydesk.net/2008/02/11/rare-city-documents-burned/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 11 Feb 2008 13:02:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>The City Desk</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[David Andrews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fire department]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hist'l docs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[historic preservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[old city hall]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thecitydesk.net/2008/02/11/rare-city-documents-burned/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Fire Commissioner Gordon ‘Chick’ Hall reports that an electrical fire in the 4th Floor Records Room at Old City Hall early Saturday morning destroyed some of the city’s most irreplaceable historical treasures. The blaze was discovered by third-shift security guard Mona Chellis at approximately 2:45 am. Chellis believes the fire started some time around 2:30 am, but reports that she mistook the wisps of smoke flowing under the door for cigarette smoke from her fellow guard Gene Kruicewicz, who often used the secluded 4th floor room to take smoke-breaks (though the building has been smoke-free since September 2002). As she continued her rounds, however, Chellis heard Kruicewicz noisily trying to dislodge a Kit Kat from the vending machine in the employee break room. She quickly returned to the Records Room to discover a significant portion of the contents of a west wall shelving unit in flames. Chellis retrieved an extinguisher from a nearby stairwell, but found it non-functional. She then raced to the third floor, retrieved a working extinguisher, and was able to put out the fire some time before 3 am, at which time she radioed Kruicewicz to call the fire department. Units from the Grant Avenue fire station [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Go There: American Insurance Holiday Model Railroad</title>
		<link>http://thecitydesk.net/2007/12/19/go-there-american-insurance-holiday-model-railroad/</link>
		<comments>http://thecitydesk.net/2007/12/19/go-there-american-insurance-holiday-model-railroad/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 19 Dec 2007 14:45:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>The City Desk</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Cedric Rose]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Central Corridor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Downtown]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[go there]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Holidays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[old city hall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[transit]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[transportation]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thecitydesk.net/2007/12/19/go-there-american-insurance-holiday-model-railroad/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Go There is a feature in which our writers tell you about tourist attractions and other places of interest around the city. The annual American Insurance Co. holiday model railroad display at Central Station has delighted kids since 1952. Each year, Warner Mendelsohn hunches over his soldering gun and recreates the city, in ever-increasing scope and staggering detail. More than eight hundred model train cars, locomotives, and automobiles follow two miles of track and miniature interstate highway, above which model aircraft circle. Though he retired from the insurance company thirteen years ago, it&#8217;s still Mendelsohn&#8217;s project. The display has not been without controversy, beginning in 1962 when American Insurance (now American Insurance Mutual, Ltd.) fired Mendelsohn for an alleged conflict of interest after he privately sold advertising on the sides of the model train cars, including American&#8217;s competitor, Provident Mutual Insurance, Ltd. So popular was the display at that time that Mendelsohn took in thousands in advertising revenue. Thanks to community pressure, American allowed Mendelsohn to stay on, provided he turn over the revenue to American. In 1972, a prankster called in a bomb threat to &#8220;the model Old City Hall&#8221;, police staked out the display. Several Black Cat firecrackers [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Urban Legends: Secret Subway, Haunted Skyscraper</title>
		<link>http://thecitydesk.net/2007/01/29/urban-legends-secret-subway-haunted-skyscraper/</link>
		<comments>http://thecitydesk.net/2007/01/29/urban-legends-secret-subway-haunted-skyscraper/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 29 Jan 2007 13:19:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>The City Desk</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Central Corridor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Downtown]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Matt Vermeulen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[office buildings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[old city hall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[transportation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[urban legends]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thecitydesk.net/?p=67</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Every city has urban legends, and our city is no different. These stories grow over time, whispered in hushed tones in the corridors of power, retold to generations of passengers by gregarious cab drivers, or a vaguely remembered by an aging bartender at one of the city’s many watering holes. They may have been based on real events, such as the legend of the lost treasure of Old City Hall, but as they are told and retold, they become mythic, and if they are famous enough and strange enough, often become part of city history. Here is an overview of some of the most well-known urban legends to haunt our city—none are true, but they reflect the fears and excitement of bygone times. Secret Subway (1911) In the early part of the twentieth century, the city made an effort to connect downtown to the growing outer neighborhoods by engineering a new subway system to accompany the north-south line already in existence. The tracks began at the Central Depot (which before its demolition in 1968 sat across Ludlow Plaza from Old City Hall) and were planned to stretch out to the suburbs east and west of town. After several years of [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Lost Treasure of Old City Hall</title>
		<link>http://thecitydesk.net/2006/12/13/the-lost-treasure-of-old-city-hall/</link>
		<comments>http://thecitydesk.net/2006/12/13/the-lost-treasure-of-old-city-hall/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 13 Dec 2006 15:13:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>The City Desk</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[old city hall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[President Heights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[RJ White]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thecitydesk.net/?p=44</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When state Rep. Walker Burke announced his candidacy for mayor this week, many pundits here in the city were confused. Burke&#8217;s in the middle of his fourth term and with the turnover in the recent elections, his seniority position&#8217;s been bumped up quite a bit and he&#8217;s been made the chairman of a very important finance committee- basically, Burke is in the position to do a lot of good for this city, on the state level. Why on earth would he want this thankless, stressful task? Perhaps he&#8217;s heard about the lost treasure of Old City Hall. Old City Hall (as it has been called from its beginnings) was completed in 1888, but had a lot of renovation work done in the late 1910s, particularly in the basement and foundation areas. Much of this work, as was the fashion at the time, was done by companies that had, shall we say, certain direct connections to the city&#8217;s underworld at the time. The contracting firm which oversaw the renovations and shoring up was a legitimate-seeming arm of the Angelo &#8220;Lucius&#8221; Moskowitz mob, a very powerful gang in the early 20th century. The legend has it that Moskowitz and his boys engineered [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>The Survivor- This Year&#8217;s Holiday Fest Tree</title>
		<link>http://thecitydesk.net/2006/11/28/the-survivor-this-years-holiday-fest-tree/</link>
		<comments>http://thecitydesk.net/2006/11/28/the-survivor-this-years-holiday-fest-tree/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 28 Nov 2006 13:57:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>The City Desk</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Christmas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Downtown]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Holidays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[old city hall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[parks]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thecitydesk.net/?p=34</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[There is much you can say about this year&#8217;s official City Holiday Festival tree, to be lit tonight in front of Old City Hall. It&#8217;s very tall (49 feet), very Teutonic (Austrian Pine), will be very bright (over 8,000 lights, according to a press release from the City Manager&#8217;s office) and is very green (Pantone 356, by all accounts). But there is a reason the local media has dubbed this tree &#8220;The Survivor.&#8221; It was first harvested 24 years ago and used as a Christmas tree in the living room of Harry and Beatrice Darren, who live out in the Kings Point section. After the holiday, they decided to plant in their rather sizeable yard and were surprised when it seemed to thrive. Years passed and their &#8220;permanent&#8221; Christmas tree was there every year, decorated and standing firm in the yard. Then, there was the garage fire in 1989. A few worries and some branches singed, but the tree kept growing. In 1995, there was a bad parasite scare and things looked dire for the tree, but the Darrens nursed it back to health and the tree held on. Then, there was the incident with a drunk driver in an [...]]]></description>
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		<item>
		<title>Briefs: Election Day!</title>
		<link>http://thecitydesk.net/2006/11/07/briefs-election-day/</link>
		<comments>http://thecitydesk.net/2006/11/07/briefs-election-day/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 07 Nov 2006 14:25:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>The City Desk</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[briefs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[election day]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[old city hall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[riots]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[RJ White]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thecitydesk.net/?p=21</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[:: Some of the odder places where people will be casting their votes around the city today- Hanson&#8217;s Barber Shop, Warnum Avenue&#8230;Barkay Bros. Funeral Home, East Folkim Street&#8230; The back room of Genardi&#8217;s Pizza, Halpern Street&#8230; The garage of Mr. and Mrs. Dan Thall, Locust Court in Wyndhurst&#8230; St. Stephen&#8217;s Catholic Church, East Main&#8230; :: In terms of political parties, things usually alternate between the Democratic and Republican machines switching off every couple of terms. In 1987, however, Libertarian Harry Geer ended up giving both parties a breather in an administration that saw the elimination of much of the city&#8217;s health codes, the privatization of the Streets and Sanitation Departments, the almost-sale of Old City Hall so that it could be razed and turned into a parking garage as well as a great many other methodical dismantlings of city government. The Republicans came back in for the next election, undid most of Geer&#8217;s actions and everyone kind of pretended it never happened. :: In this morning&#8217;s Journal-American, there&#8217;s a nice story on the Ballot Riots of 1952. :: On the local ballot this year is a measure to repeal one passed four years ago which gave a first shot at [...]]]></description>
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		<item>
		<title>Friday Facts: Real Human Skin, Itchfinger Yardling, Hats Blocked</title>
		<link>http://thecitydesk.net/2006/10/26/friday-facts-real-human-skin-itchfinger-yardling-hats-blocked/</link>
		<comments>http://thecitydesk.net/2006/10/26/friday-facts-real-human-skin-itchfinger-yardling-hats-blocked/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 27 Oct 2006 00:03:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>The City Desk</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[friday facts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[old city hall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[RJ White]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thecitydesk.net/?p=15</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[:: Number of businesses that still offer hat blocking: 3 :: Television pilots shot here: 11 :: How many of these which were picked up for a series: 1, &#8220;Colt &#38; Hammer,&#8221; a police drama that ran as a midseason replacement in 1978 on ABC. :: Mayors who have shot someone while in office: 2 (John Overholt, in 1890 and Hatcher Yardling, III, in 1982) :: Baxter Park is not named after a person, but rather a military maneuver which was named after a person. :: The Main Library&#8217;s special collection contains three books bound in human skin. One of these is an edition of Charles Dickens&#8217; &#8220;David Copperfield.&#8221; :: Streetlights in certain areas of the city are still controlled by a barely audible beep broadcast twice a day by WKVD. :: Ten Downing Street, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and 123 Sesame Street are all actual addresses here in the city. :: The original bill of sale for the first plot of land that was to become this city lies in a leather-bound portfolio in Records Storage Room 433 in Old City Hall. - R. White]]></description>
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		<title>Friday Facts- Illiteracy, Tetherballs and Nazis</title>
		<link>http://thecitydesk.net/2006/10/20/friday-facts-illiteracy-tetherballs-and-nazis/</link>
		<comments>http://thecitydesk.net/2006/10/20/friday-facts-illiteracy-tetherballs-and-nazis/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 20 Oct 2006 13:55:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>The City Desk</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[friday facts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[old city hall]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[RJ White]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thecitydesk.net/?p=11</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[:: Number of light bulbs used in the 30-foot-tall &#8220;YOU ARE NOW ALMOST HOME&#8221; sign on the Wendell Willkie Bridge: 20,016 :: Number of workers killed in construction of the massive sign in 1949: 3 :: Number of ex-Nazis given the key to the city: 1 :: Percentage of sixth-grade students who read below the &#8220;Level of Acceptability,&#8221; according to state test results released this week: 52 :: Number of Voit tether and volleyballs still left from the budget overages of 1988: 8,100 :: Where they are stored: The food court of the City Hall Underground Shopping Concourse, closed in 1992 :: Average response time for ambulance/emergency services, citywide: 5.5 minutes :: Number of City Council members required under the city&#8217;s original charter: 50 :: Number of City Council members required under the revised 1971 charter (also known as &#8220;The CC Implosion&#8221;): 12 Well, that&#8217;s it for the first week of The City Desk. Thanks for reading and remember, if you have any questions or tips, feel free to send them in- thecitydesk@gmail.com. Also, if you like what you&#8217;ve seen so far, let your friends know. &#8211; R. White]]></description>
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