Episodes
Wednesday Mar 13, 2013
Weeksville: Special Mico- Episode
Wednesday Mar 13, 2013
Wednesday Mar 13, 2013
Weeksville was a bustling community, far off in the wilds of Brooklyn, established by former slave James Weeks in 1838 for free African- Americans. This was only 11 years after the abolition of slavery in New York state-- a time when African- Americans had very few opportunities for land ownership. That area is now where Bedford- Stuyvesant, East New York, and Brownsville meet. Your hosts Kathleen and Kate tell you all about how Weeksville was started, how it was almost lost from history forever, and the miraculous rediscovery and restoration of this amazing town in African- American history. Links to check out after listening to the 'cast: The Weeksville Heritage Center Thirteen.org's excellent video about Weeksville A video of a white guy talking about Weeksville. Kenneth Jackson is a Professor of History at Columbia University. A great blog post featuring Weeksville in NYPL's awesome digitized map collection. As always, our Facebook page has a ton of bonus images!
Saturday Mar 02, 2013
Van Cortlandt Park
Saturday Mar 02, 2013
Saturday Mar 02, 2013
There are 1165 acres of hills, ridges, valleys, verdant forest, wide- open fields, and other assorted gorgeousness waiting for you up in the Bronx! Van Cortlandt Park has a hiking trail that is a National Historic Landmark, world- class running paths and trails, two public golf courses, boccie courts, cricket pitches, and a Gaelic football field. And that's in addition to everything ELSE you can expect at one of the biggest city parks: basketball courts, soccer fields, baseball diamonds, handball courts, pools, and playgrounds. What are you waiting for? Your hosts Kathleen and Kate will see you there-- once the weather warms up a bit! Links to check out after you listen to the podcast: Hey You Know It is a fantastic podcast by our excellent friends Jacquetta Szathmari and Katie Kazimir. Soon- to- be- released episode HYKI92 features Kathleen and Kate discussing ABC Gotham! We tried to keep the topic for episode V a secret, but Katie and Jacquetta managed to weasel it out of us, those tricky dames. We're not the only people doing the history of Van Cortlandt Park! Friends Of Van Cortlandt Park have an oral history project to record everyone's VCP memories. Want to hear 92-year old Walter Perron's stories of the park in the 1920s and 1930s? Click here and scroll to the bottom. In 1895 it cost $624.80 to construct the golf course. Thanks to MeasuringWorth.com we know that golf course would have cost $78,800.00 if built today. See more pictures on our Facebook page!