Articles written by Eric K. Washington

As gifts from one great nation to another go, France's monumental offering to New York - Bartholdi's Lafayette before his Liberty - was said to be a first.

Jul 28, 2010 - Eric K. Washington

Like New Orleans' Mardi Gras or Rio de Janeiro's Carnival, New York's own rite of festive abandon, and maybe a little dirty dancing, is mostly forgotten.

May 25, 2010 - Eric K. Washington

As Abraham Lincoln's funeral train wove through 180 cities, many New Yorkers stitched their mournful hearts prominently on their sleeves.

Apr 26, 2010 - Eric K. Washington

In 1900, a copy of Paris's Lafayette and Washington monument was unveiled in Harlem, clouded by the shadow of its sculptor's statue in New York's harbor.

Apr 21, 2010 - Eric K. Washington

A recent plan to wrap weatherproof bubbles over Central Park tennis courts has raised a racket of protest that recalls a long history of fighting park encroachment.

Mar 31, 2010 - Eric K. Washington

Although clocks now spring ahead across the country, it was New York's Manhattan Borough President who wound up the Daylight Saving Time movement to national acceptance.

Mar 12, 2010 - Eric K. Washington

Ages before "as seen on tv" infomercials pushed household supplies and gadgets, wordy direct marketing newspaper ads were a sign of the times.

Feb 20, 2010 - Eric K. Washington

On Valentine's Day in 1842, three thousand New Yorkers made love with the proper stranger. The "Boz" ball, a tribute to Charles Dickens, was the party of all parties.

Feb 14, 2010 - Eric K. Washington

As issues of race were tearing the nation violently asunder in the south, a silent and somber color line was following many New Yorkers to the grave.

Feb 8, 2010 - Eric K. Washington

In upper Manhattan, a block-long structure hulks like a stalwart old public building. But a faded ad painted in back reveals its delicate mission more than a century ago.

Jan 29, 2010 - Eric K. Washington

The end of a year inevitably prompts us to consider the year in review. A look back at 2009 shows New York City's local history surfacing high in the year's headlines.

Dec 30, 2009 - Eric K. Washington

The George Bruce Branch Library in the Manhattanville section of West Harlem is a "circulating library." In a true sense, maybe that means it pays to walk around it.

Nov 24, 2009 - Eric K. Washington

Richard Sands probably wasn't the first kid to run off to join a circus, but his success proved the idea that being a clown was nothing to just clown around about.

Nov 9, 2009 - Eric K. Washington