The Friday after Thanksgiving has become known in the last few decades as one of the busiest of the year for retailers, the traditional start of the holiday shopping season. One of the names used for this day is Black…
How would you like your dog?
This is a city which has never had its own hot dog. Perhaps I should amend that, slightly. This is a city which has never had its own successful hot dog. This not because there’s a lack of interest in…
Friday Facts: Turkey, Lights, Abzug
:: Thanksgiving dinners served by St. Lauren’s shelter in 2005: 351 :: Thanksgiving dinners served by the Oak Room at the Ritz-Carlton in 2005: 138 :: Where both establishments have purchased their turkeys for the last 85 years: DiNardi’s Meats…
Briefs: Fordlandia, Letters
:: Henry Ford built a city in the Brazilian jungle. Fenced in by jungle, Fordlandia was transformed into a modern suburb with rows of snug bungalows fed by power lines running to a diesel generator. The main street was paved…
The Ostahanoc River
If you examine an aerial photo of the city’s East Side you’ll spy a narrow line resembling an inverted question mark running from northeast to southwest. It doesn’t follow any street, although in places there are streets running alongside it,…
Friday Facts: Diebold, Orange Julius, Farley
:: Number of formal complaints about electronic voting machines in Tuesday’s election: 435 :: Number of these complaints which came from districts actually using electronic voting machines in Tuesday’s election: 428 :: City’s Oldest Library: The Mechanics Association Private Membership…
A real fake city
For his film Playtime, director Jacques Tati built a fake city. [@ BLDGBLOG] During pre-production, “Tati visited many factories and airports throughout Europe before his cinematographer Jean Badal came to the conclusion that he needed to build his own skyscraper.…