The Belvedere Castle in Central Park

Belvedere Castle, ca. 2019. During a 15-month restoration by the Central Park Conservancy new glass windows and doors were added, the structures and terraces were repaired, a new drainage system was put into place, and a newly recreated wood tower was added at the castle’s northwest corner. Photograph courtesy Central Park Conservancy.

The collection of Parks Drawings at the Municipal Archives are often called the “jewel in the crown” within the holdings. It includes hundreds of exquisite plans and designs of parks throughout the city and in particular, Central Park. Originally created to illustrate the park designers’ intentions and to guide those who built the parks, many of these drawings are now considered works of art. Some are again being utilized as “working” drawings, providing essential information for on-going restoration projects in the parks. One of the most visible of the recent projects is the Belvedere Castle. 

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Study for the Belvedere Castle, 1870.  Department of Parks Drawings Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

Perched atop the high-rising Vista Rock in Central Park, Belvedere Castle has an interesting history. As early as 1859, park designers Calvert Vaux and Frederick Law Olmsted had planned on placing an object of visual interest at “the highest and most remote part of the hill as seen from the terrace.” The men recognized that the location of the rocky outcrop, the second-highest point in the park after Summit Rock, would provide visitors with an overlook that showed off the scenic splendors of the north and south ends of the expanse including the Ramble and the original Croton Reservoir (now the Great Lawn).

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Park visitors enjoying Belvedere Castle c. 1885. DeGregario Lantern Slide Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

Designed in 1865 by Vaux and fellow architect Jacob Wrey Mould as a Victorian folly or “eye-catcher,” the miniature castle would not have been out of place in any European pleasure ground. Built at a three-quarter scale in a Norman-Romanesque style, it worked to create a nostalgia for another place and time, a popular theme in the grand European parks of the day. Belvedere was constructed out of the same gray Manhattan schist that formed Vista Rock. From the Terrace, Belvedere (Italian for “beautiful view”), is a picturesque, arresting  nd distant visual focal point.  It draws the viewer’s gaze up through the nearby Ramble, which was planted with dark foliage that made bold reflections on the surface of the Lake.

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Shelter 1, Belvedere Castle, 1871.  The small shelter was Jacob Wrey Mould’s replacement for the planned second stone tower. Department of Parks Drawings Collection, NYC Municipal Archives. 

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Section and elevations, Belvedere Castle, 1867. Department of Parks Drawings Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

The Parks Drawings include several original designs of the Belvedere Castle. The earliest plan, dating from 1867, shows two towers on the grounds. The buildings were open structures with no doors or windows, to be used as a venue “for gathering and shelter of a number of visitors in an informal picturesque way at this attractive point.” The foundations for both were dug in that year, but by 1870 only the main building, with its distinctive flag and clock tower, was underway. The Architect-in-Chief, Jacob Wrey Mould  (Vaux and Olmsted resigned from the park in 1870 after the new Tweed regime led by Peter Sweeny took over) was determined to finance his recently designed sheepfold buildings rather than the Belvedere.The Board of Commissioners of the newly-formed Department of Public Parks agreed to replace the projected second stone building with a small wooden pavilion of Mould’s design. This saved an estimated $50,000 and was found to be “. . .  quite satisfactory to the public.” 

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Belvedere Castle, ca. 1980. Photograph courtesy Central Park Conservancy.

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Belvedere Castle, ca. 2019. Photograph courtesy Central Park Conservancy.

As with many of the buildings in the park, the purpose of the castle changed over time. In 1919, the U.S. Weather Bureau converted the building into a weather station, adding windows and doors to create offices within the structure. When they relocated in the 1960s, the Castle fell into disrepair and became a target of vandalism. In 1983, the Central Park Conservancy undertook the first of their two renovations of the building and reopened it as a visitor center. In 2019, they completed an extraordinary project to restore and modernize the building and terraces which included, among other things, the reconstruction of the wooden pavilion and improved access to the site.

Neighborhood Health

The Municipal Library holds a vast collection of material from the City’s Health Department. Currently named the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), the agency was known as the Department of Health (DOH) in earlier times. During the Administration of Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia the Department issued regular bulletins titled, “Neighborhood Health.”

Measuring 9”x 12” inches and consisting of between eight and twelve pages, the bulletins were published bimonthly by the DOH Bureau of Health Education.  Initially published in 1935, the series was issued through 1941. The early volumes focused on a range of issues and provided updates from the eight health districts in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Manhattan. By 1937, each publication tended to extensively cover a specific matter, and also listed resources and events, including the Department’s frequent radio talks broadcast on WNYC radio. 

Neighborhood Health, Posture Issue, November, 1940. illustration. Municipal Library. 

Many topics are to be expected such as reducing the spread of Diabetes, Controlling Tuberculosis, or Preventing and Treating Measles. Others are more eccentric--Posture and Health (“Posture affects not merely our appearance and physical health, but our very sense of well-being.  It has a marked influence on our emotions.  The famous psychologist, William James, once wrote that correct posture kept up the spirts and tended to banish fear and depressing thoughts.”),

The lead article in the May, 1937 issue was “A Message to New York City’s Mothers” from Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt.  “… it is vital that the mothers should guard their health and that they should know how to guard the health of their children.  This is largely a question of education. The Economic situation of the family, of course, is the basis on which is founded a standard of living.”  The issue also provided facts around infant mortality. In 1900, 135 out of 1,000 babies died in their first year but by 1937, the number had been cut by two thirds to 45.  Contrast that to 2018 when the incidence is 3.9 deaths per 1,000 babies in the City. 

Controlling syphilis was the topic of several issues. The September 1939 issue was subtitled the “Venereal Disease Issue.” Neighborhood Health, Municipal Library. 

Annually, the July publication would cover summer activities.  “Summer is here. During the cold weather many, unwisely, shut themselves in their homes and dare not brave the wintry blasts.  But now the sun is shining and the call of the outdoors is irresistible.”

Neighborhood Health, Summer Sports and Health Issue, July, 1937, illustration.  Municipal Library. 

The head of the football program at New York University penned the front-page article, “Summer Sports and Health” for the July 1937 edition. It contained this somewhat remarkable advice about preparing to play sports. “The players are in the growing period of their lives, and at this time they need a much greater amount of rest.  Young boys and girls should have at least eleven hours of sleep each day.  During the adolescent period about ten hours are sufficient…” 

Neighborhood Health, Summer Sports and Health Issue, July, 1937, illustration.  Municipal Library. 

A squib on the inside pages reminded readers of “the menace to the health of all individuals” bathing in the East River and Harlem River due to the dumping of approximately “350,000,000 gallons of sewage daily.”  Noting the Department of Sanitation was working to build sewage treatment plants the guidance encouraged the use of the twenty-one swimming pools that had recently been built and concluded, “Children must be urged to use them and to keep out of the polluted rivers.”

Someone didn’t read that piece because in the 1941 edition, a column on safe swimming  stated, “A knowledge of swimming and water safety is an advantage in New York, for there is water on all sides and the shore line is more than 500 miles in length.” 

What the Champions Say provided advice from three stars including Lou Gehrig and the nine-time national tennis champion, Molla Bjursted Mallory.  She cited the large number of public tennis courts that the City had built and encouraged, “Don’t think that you are too old or too inexperienced to become one of the followers of the sport. You will be surprised what can be accomplished with a little effort.  

Thomas Jefferson Park Pool, ca. 1937.  Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia Photograph Collection. NYC Municipal Archives 

No less an eminence that Robert Moses authored the front-page story in 1939, titled Parks Mean Health and Safety. He touted the five prior years of rebuilding adequate recreational facilities. In a claim that would raise severe doubts today he wrote, “Great parkways have been and are still being built, not only as great  arteries leading in and out of the city and connecting its boroughs, but as shoe-string parks with incidental paths and playgrounds for the protection, improvement and recreation of the neighborhoods through which they pass.”   Tell that to the neighbors of the BQE or the LIE!

He also touted the planned conversion of the New York City Building at the 1939 Worlds Fair into the “largest and best equipped recreation building in any park system in the country.” Flushing Meadow Park was to have bridle paths, tennis and archery courts, lakes for small boats, tennis courts and softball fields. And, the parking lot that held 12,000 cars was to be a 65-acre recreation area.

An article in the July 1940, summer issue provided advice that will strike readers today as horribly misguided.  “Sun baths should be started early in infancy and carried on throughout childhood.  While getting a sun bath, the baby’s eyes should be protected from the sun’s rays. “  YIKES!   The writer continued to warn parents not to “forget that over-exposure is harmful and at times very serious.”

In that same edition, the Hot Weather Hints advised “Don’t have iced drinks when you are overheated,” as well as urging readers to “boil all water taken from a spring or brook before you drink it”.  Wouldn’t you think the advice would be NOT to drink water from a spring or brook? 

Beechwood Avenue Playground, New Brighton, Staten Island, ca. 1941.  Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia Photograph Collection. NYC Municipal Archives

This year, the City launched the Summer Rising summer school program available to all of the City’s Kindergarten – Grade 12 students.  The program offers both academic and enrichment programs and 200, 000 students are participating.   Something similar was offered by the Board of Education (BOE) in 1940:  cool, clean, safe schools equipped for play.  Four hundred were open in July and August—41 had swimming pools and 100 had outdoor showers.   The program offered athletic and art programs supplemented by field trips and were staffed by 1,000 Board of Education staff and augmented by hundreds of workers funded by the Works Progress Administration.  In 1939, 200,000 school children used the facilities.  “Children learn through play just as they do through formal schooling” opined the director of Recreational and Community Activities at the Board.

A favorite 1940 article begins, “Vacations are now regarded among the necessities of life.  It is difficult to believe that as recently as 50 years ago they were looked upon as great luxuries and were only for the fortunate few.  Today this attitude has been entirely changed.  We now realize that the body needs relaxation and, unless it gets it at definite intervals, maximum efficiency cannot be attained.”  The theme continued the next year: “summer time means vacation time.” But, the writer noted a great mistake made by city residents:  crowding two weeks of vacation with too many activities.  “For 50 weeks of the year they lead sedentary lives.  Now they feel they must make up for lost time.  The results are often disastrous.  Don’t try to crowd every possible pleasure into the short holiday period.  Don’t live so strenuously that you come back to work all tired out.”  Some advice is timeless.

In 1941 the front page of the summer issue focused on the park playgrounds of New York City.  Recognizing that outdoor play and other activities were important, New York had increased the number of playgrounds from 119 in 1933 to 417 in 1941.   The writer cited a study of conditions in neighborhoods with new playgrounds conducted by the Department of Parks.  A finding was, “In a quarter mile radius of the new playgrounds, street accidents decreased, and fewer cases appeared before the children’s courts.” 

Summer Campers, ca 1939. Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia Photograph Collection. NYC Municipal Archives

Departing for Summer Camp, ca 1939. Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia Photograph Collection. NYC Municipal Archives

An article on summer camps for children offered a brief history of the Fresh Air Fund, which continues to provide City children with sleepaway camp and host family experiences.    “In 1873 Mrs. A. P. Stokes started what she called “a sanitorium for small children.”  This was taken over the next year by the Children’s Aid Society. In 1877 the Rev. Willard Parsons, who had moved from his East Side parish to a small church in Pennsylvania, induced his congregation to open their homes to New York City’s children.  Thus was started a movement which grew under the direction of the New York Tribune until last year that paper’s Fresh Air Fund sent more than 14, 000 children from the city’s heat.”   

There is more—alarm about thousands of  forest fires, advice about the best clothing to provide circulation of air over the body while absorbing moisture,  hiking advice “ a hiker is no better than his feet,” avoiding sunstroke and eating a balanced diet.   Although the statistics in the articles are dated and the illustrations are not modern, many topics in the Neighborhood Health bulletins remain relevant today.

The WPA Federal Writers' Project Book - American Wild Life Illustrated

On July 7, 2021, the New York Times published a guest editorial by Scott Borchert, the author of a history of the Federal Writers’ Project, Republic of Detours: How the New Deal Paid Broke Writers to Rediscover America.”  In his opinion piece, Borchert urged Congress to create a 21st century version of the Federal Writers’ Project. According to Borchert, “ … a new corps of unemployed and underemployed writers who, like their New Deal forebears, would fan out into our towns, cities, and countryside to observe the shape of American life. They’d assemble, at the grass-roots level, a collective, national self-portrait, with an emphasis on the impact of the pandemic.”  Borchert suggested that their work “would then be housed in the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.”   

American Eagle, color plate, American Wild Life Illustrated. WPA Federal Writers’ Project. Photographer: Austin Baylitts. NYC Municipal Library.

Much of the work of the original Federal Writers’ Projects was housed at the Library of Congress, but New York City was an exception. The New York City Unit, one of the most prolific of the Writers’ Projects, deposited their records at the Municipal Library.  (The Library later transferred the collection to the Municipal Archives.)  

In previous blogs we have highlighted the NYC Writers’ Project photograph collection, recipes from the Feeding the City manuscript, a description of the Fulton Fish Market, also from the Feeding the City manuscript, an article about Greenwich Village and the Square, and how the collection is a key resource for documenting the New Deal.

The Municipal Archives Federal Writers’ Project collection is divided into 64 series – one for each of the 62 books, plus administrative records, and the historical record survey. Of their published works, The New York City Guide is their most well-known. It has proved so durable and popular that it was re-published in 1966, 1982 and again in 1992. Most of the NYC Unit books relate to the Guide i.e. they are about some aspect of the City, such as Oddities of New York, Manhattan Mythology, Architecture of New York, Underneath New York, Maritime History of New York, etc. 

But then there are some that are clearly not in that mold:  Birds of the World, Who’s Who in the Zoo, American Wildlife, Natural History of the United States, etc. The administrative record series of the collection is not very extensive, and we may never know why assignments to the New York project writers extended well beyond articles about the City. Perhaps it was their access to world-class libraries, or maybe it was the abundance of writing talent in New York, or maybe it was the enthusiastic support for the project by Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, but the result was hundreds of deeply researched, clearly written articles and manuscripts. They are timeless, even reading them now, almost a century later.    

Title page, American Wild Life Illustrate. WPA Federal Writers’ Project, 1940. NYC Municipal Library.

This week we will take a look at one of the non-New York City books, American Wild Life, Illustrated. The frontispiece states, “Compiled by the Writers’ Program of the Work Projects Administration in the City of New York,” and sponsored by “The Mayor the City of New York the Honorable Fiorello H. LaGuardia.”   

The introduction explains that American Wild Life, Illustrated was the fourth of a series of books written by the zoological division of the New York City WPA Writers’ Project. Its purpose was to offer “. . . in popular style the life histories of American mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fishes.” 

The Introduction begins with this prescient passage:

 “In the great Western desert of the United States the earth’s thin, green, life-supported mantle has worn through so that the gaunt framework of our planet shows through. Silica, mica, borax, salt and alkali lie about on the floor of the land, which is corrugated like a great washboard and from which the water has long since evaporated. 

Until 1935 this desert, which occupies so many square miles of the West, in the minds of most Americans was little more than the tedious stretch of country between the populous and industrial East and the luxuriant, semitropical fruit-growing land of the Pacific slopes. In that year the desert all at once served dramatic warning that it was on the march. The skies became filled with wind-blown topsoil blotting out the sun even as far east as New York City. Pictures of bony cattle dying of thirst or dust pneumonia found their way into the daily papers.  New pioneers hastily left farmhouses crushed and buried by silt in the submarginal lands of the dust bowl, to find a grudging refuge in California or Oregon. 

Years before that, the buffalo and the mule deer had disappeared from these great plains; now humans were leaving it. The sight of the weary, dustlined faces of the courageous men and women who brought home to the American public the conviction that conservation was not merely a luxury advocated by lovers of birds and beasts, or by faddists, but was in fact one of the most vital and immediate concerns of our Nation as a whole.” 

Although this passage references the devastating impact of the drought that ravaged the Great Plains in the 1930s, it is echoed in today’s headlines about the parched Western United States.    

The book is divided into sections: mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fishes.  Here are excerpts from the ‘birds’ chapters: 

Northern Blue Jay.  WPA Federal Writers’ Project Photograph Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

Blue Jay

“The Handsome crested blue jay has a bad reputation for robbing the eggs of other birds, for attacking small poultry and, occasionally, for eating its own eggs.  Moreover, the blue jays seem constantly to be quarreling with each other and with other birds. Wherever these saucy little fellows may be, their presence can be detected by a querulous screaming and chattering.  

Yet they are not without social graces. They are most attentive to their young, and they take good care of their blind, aged, and infirm.

They have courage tempered by prudence. A flock of blue jays does not hesitate to attack a screech owl or even a hawk, often with success; but if the larger bird seems to be getting the better of them, they dive into a dense thicket where their enemy cannot follow.

In summer the blue jays inhabit the woods of the eastern States, where they live on insects, fruits, and nuts. They store up large quantities for winter use, but by the time cold weather has set in, often forget the hiding place and move closer to human habitation, where food is more plentiful. They have a decided taste for corn and other grains.

Jays are remarkable mimics. They can imitate the cry of a hawk, the buzz of a saw, and event the human voice. One bird caused great confusion on a farm by “sicking” the dog on the cow. 

The blue jay usually nests in an evergreen tree, building a new nest each year from five to fifty feet above the ground. The nest is built of sticks and twigs and lined with bark and feathers. The sticks are never taken from the ground but always from the trees. Four to five pale-green eggs are laid. Jays defending their nest are well able to drive away a cat or a tree squirrel. Two subspecies related to the northern blue jay are the Florida blue jay of the South Atlantic and gulf States and Semple’s blue jay of southern and central Florida.

Cardinal

“The swift flash of red, visible for the fleetest of instants, heralds the presence of the cardinal, inhabitant of the eastern portion oof the United States. This beautifully red, black-hatted bird builds its loose nest among the thickets where it believes its two to four eggs will be safe. The cardinals are a family of exceedingly cheerful, active, and industrious disposition. Their charm and enthusiasm and their melodious call make them welcome visitors wherever they show their pretty heads. A relentless foe of numerous insect pests, they also eat harmful weed seeds. Four subspecies are found in the United States.” 

Screech Owls.  WPA Federal Writers’ Project Photograph Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

Screech Owls

“The cry of the screech owl is not a screech at all but rather a mournful wail. In the South the people call it the shivering owl because of its quavering whistle. This ten-inch bird is said to remain with the same mate for years. Their eggs are frequently laid in out-buildings or in man-made bird boxes. The nest itself is a slipshod affair of sticks, grass, leaves, and rubbish strewn about in a careless manner. 

Screech owls are adept fishermen even in winter when they catch their meals through holes in the ice. Their chief food, however, is insects, according to dr. A. K. Fisher. They also feed on crawfish toads, frogs, and lizards and on the whole are useful to agriculture, doing a great deal of good.” 

The author Borchert concluded his opinion piece about the benefit of a new Federal Writer’s Project: “The project’s documentary work would make an invaluable contribution to the nation’s understanding of itself. Think of the vast treasury that would accrue in the Library of Congress, forming an indelible record of how ordinary Americans live: not only how we’ve weathered the ordeal of the pandemic and mourned the dead, but also how we work and relax, how we think about the burdens and triumphs of our pasts, how we envision the future.”

Perhaps if the Writers’ Project is renewed, New York City would again be the exception – for both the scope of its assignments, and the repository of its work.  The New York City Municipal Archives stands ready to once again host the story of America. 

The Thank You Parades

The Thank You Parades

On July 7, 2021, New York City hosted the ultimate event symbolizing a job well-done—a ticker-tape parade—for hundreds of essential workers, medical personnel, first responders, and others who helped the city get through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ticker-tape parade for Major General William F. Dean, the hero of Taejon and prisoner of war for three years during the Korean War, October 26, 1953.“Get it out of your heads that I’m a hero. I’m not. I’m just a dog-faced solder,” Dean told reporters after being freed from captivity. New Yorkers disagreed and gave him a rousing ovation. Mayor’s Reception Committee Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

In recent decades, New Yorkers have happily celebrated home-town athletic team victories with ticker-tape parades. But looking back at the more than two hundred parades, during the past one hundred and fifty years, we see how the City has paid unique tribute to pioneers of air and space travel, heads of state, politicians, journalists, and even a virtuoso pianist. Although this week’s ‘thank you’ parade was a unique event, the City has previously held ticker tape parades to thank sailors for heroic rescues at sea, firefighters for their service, returning war veterans for their sacrifice, and one exceptional nurse, ‘the Angel of DienBienPhu’ for her courage in battle. 

From 1919 to the present day, the mayor of New York City has decided who receives a ticker-tape parade and the Municipal Archives’ mayoral record collections tell the story of the city’s parade history.

There is no thrill quite like a ticker-tape parade. All along Broadway, from the Battery to City Hall, thousands of spectators crowd the sidewalks or look down from skyscraper windows. They cheer and shout and toss confetti in a shower that becomes a blizzard of shredded paper falling on the motorcade below. Flags, marching bands, and music herald the procession. At City Hall, the mayor presents the honored guest(s) with a proclamation, a medal, a scroll, or a key to the city.   

Press Pass, Captain George Fried reception, February 16, 1926. Mayor Walker Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

The earliest parade recognizing exceptional service during an emergency took place on February 16, 1926. The event honored Captain George Fried and the crew of the steamship President Roosevelt for rescuing sailors aboard the British freighter Antinoe. Fried and his crew battled violent seas in a North Atlantic storm for four days to save all 25 men on the stricken ship.

Letter to Grover Whalen, Chairman, Mayor’s Reception Committee from the Pain’s Fireworks Company, regarding fireworks for the Captain George Fried ceremony. February 9, 1926. Mayor’s Reception Committee Collection. NYC Municipal Archives

Invitation from Mayor Walker to the Captain George Fried reception, January 28, 1929. Mayor Walker Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

Almost unbelievably, three years later, in January 1929, Captain Fried was again involved in a dramatic sea rescue. This time, Fried and his crew of the Steamship America rescued 32 officers and seamen from the Italian freighter Florida. The City again thanked Fried and his sailors with a parade. In yet another twist, Harry Manning, the Chief Officer aboard the America enjoyed a second parade, two decades later. But this time it was for a less dramatic occasion. On July 18, 1952, Manning, by now Commodore of the S.S. United States, marched up Broadway with his crew to celebrate a new transatlantic speed record. Despite charges of a government boondoggle, the U.S. subsidized construction of the 2,000-passenger ocean liner on the premise that it could be converted to a troop ship in wartime. The luxurious superliner broke the transatlantic speed record previously held by the Queen Mary since 1938. 

Mayor Impellitteri presents Medal of Honor and scroll for distinguished service to Commodore Harry Manning of the S. S. United States, July 18, 1952. City Hall. Mayor’s Reception Committee Collection.  NYC Municipal Archives. 

Replica bow of the S. S. Flying Enterprise installed on the steps of City Hall for Captain Henrik “Kurt” Carlsen ceremony, January 17, 1952.  Mayor’s Reception Committee Collection.  NYC Municipal Archives.

Press photographers on the pier await arrival of Captain Henrik “Kurt” Carlsen, Captain of the S.S. Flying Enterprise, January 17, 1952. Mayor’s Reception Committee Collection.  NYC Municipal Archives.

Captain Fried and Commodore Manning and their respective crews were not the only examples of parades honoring dangerous maritime-related events. On January 16, 1952, Captain Henrik Carlsen received the city’s highest award for his heroic attempt to save his sinking ship, the S. S. Flying Enterprise. Carlsen spent twelve days aboard the doomed vessel to prevent it being claimed for salvage by another ship. He was finally persuaded to abandon ship just forty minutes before it sank off Lizard Point, the southernmost tip of England. The City built a model of the ship’s bow on the steps of City Hall to honor the captain, a native of Elsinore, Denmark, and resident of Woodbridge, New Jersey.  

The City has recognized valor in other types of emergencies. In a ticker-tape parade on July 19, 1954, New Yorkers extended a warm welcome and thanks to Genevieve de Galard-Terraube, a nurse known as ‘the Angel of Dienbienphu’ for staying with wounded French soldiers in Vietnam. On May 7, 1954, after a 56-day siege, 49,000 soldiers of the communist Viet Minh surrounded and captured 13,000 French troops garrisoned at Dienbienphu, a military base in a remote corner of northwest Vietnam. This defeat signaled the end of French power in Indochina. Lt. Genevieve de Galard-Terraube, a nurse and pilot, was the only woman in the garrison. She spent 17 days as a prisoner, refusing to leave until the transfer of French wounded was complete. After her release, she confirmed that she had sent birthday greetings to Viet Minh leader Ho Chi Minh at the request of her captors because she feared refusal would endanger the wounded soldiers. She wrote a second time to thank him for her own liberation. Lt. de Galard­Terraube was the third foreigner officially invited by Congress and the President to visit the U.S. (the others were the Marquis de Lafayette in 1824 and the Hungarian patriot Louis Kossuth in 1851). 

Mayor Impellitteri awards Medals of Honor to 50 United Nations Servicemen wounded in the Korean War, October 29, 1951, City Hall.  Mayor’s Reception Committee Collection.  NYC Municipal Archives.

The City’s tradition of paying tribute to men and women of the U.S. military for their service and sacrifice extends back to the earliest ticker-tape parades. Post-war parades focused on victorious military leaders. Later parades lauded the rank and file. On June 2, 1950, the City staged a parade for the Fourth Maine Division Association Veterans of Pacific battles in World War II. Mayor William O’Dwyer’s papers include a transcript of his remarks at the City Hall ceremony following the parade:  “Men of the Fourth Marine division – welcome to New York!  We remember you well.  We remember the bloody fighting in which you and your comrades, living and dead, fought your way across the Pacific at Kwajalein Atoll, Saipan, Tinian, and the black, smoking island of Iwo Jima. Those of us who were not with you from Camp Pendleton through the Central Pacific in the key battles against Japan cannot truly share your pride in the Fourth, since we did not share your battles. We cannot know your memories of names like Garapan, Mari Point, Tinian Town, and Suribachi. But we can be proud of you, and proud that you have chosen our City, the home of hundreds of your members, as your place of reunion.  It is our great hope that old friendships will be renewed here, that your Association will be strengthened for future years, and that each of you will join the people of our City in a quiet prayer for the many, many Marines of the Fourth Division who suffered and died so far from the homes for which they fought. I cannot say to you too strongly that every one of the eight million of this greatest City welcomes you warmly and hopes that here you will find the best in all the things that make hospitality and friendship. Our City now belongs to you. God bless you all.”  

Persian Gulf War Veterans ticker-tape parade, June 10, 1991. Mayor David Dinkins Photograph Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

“It’s time,” was the theme of the 1985 parade for veterans of the Vietnam War, and in June 1991, Persian Gulf War veterans and Korean War Veterans, were thanked with parades, on June 10, and June 25, respectively,   

Program, Firemen’s Day ceremony at City Hall, April 15, 1955. Mayor Wagner Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

New York City workers have also had their days along the canyon of heroes. City firefighters have been honored with parades celebrating their service on multiple occasions. During the first, on March 31, 1954, 4,000 New York City firemen, marched up Broadway in observance of Firemen’s Day. Antique apparatus in the parade included an 1820 pump and a hose reel from 1810 pulled by firemen dressed in period uniforms. One year later, on April 15, 1955, 3,000 City firemen again celebrated the annual Firemen’s Day in a ticker-tape parade, and on August 30, 1956, 3,000 volunteer firefighters attending the 84th annual convention of New York State Firemen’s Association got a parade. The volunteer firemen were known as “Vamps,” after, the brightly colored socks (vamps) they had worn in bucket-passing days. It would be almost a decade before firefighters were again honored with a parade. On June 1,1965, 4,500 firemen celebrated the 100th anniversary of New York City’s first professional fire department in a ticker-tape parade. In 1865, the independent cities of Manhattan and Brooklyn supported 700 firefighters.  By 1965, the Department had 13,186 men (still no women) and 282 firehouses in the five boroughs.   

The 150th Anniversary of the laying of the cornerstone for City Hall included a “Pageant” at City Hall, May 26, 1953. Mayor Vincent Impellitteri Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

Finally, the history of ticker-tape parades includes another unique event including city workers. On May 26, 1953, New York City Departments and units of the Armed services marched to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the laying of the cornerstone for City Hall. “Jenney,” a small donkey borrowed from the Bronx Zoo, hauled a replica of the cornerstone into place. Her performance was reported as “reluctant but adequate.” 

We look forward to the addition of another marker on Broadway commemorating the ticker-tape parade of July 7, 2021, thanking the men and women who selflessly helped their fellow New Yorkers in a time of great peril. 

Harbor Festival '85

The Municipal Archives picture collections – the mayoral series in particular – are an inexhaustible source for documenting events in the city’s history. And of those, Mayor Koch’s collection rarely disappoints. The camera loved Koch (or maybe it was the other way around).  A recent search for a picture to show how the city celebrated Independence Day during his administration brought up the file for Harbor Festival ’85.  The folder included pictures taken by the Mayor’s photographer Holland (Holly) Wemple, a briefing sheet about the event for the Mayor, and a transcript of his speech at the opening ceremony.

Mayor Edward Koch in the Cavalcade along lower Broadway, with “Uncle Sam” and “Lady Liberty,” July 4, 1985. Mayor Edward Koch Photograph Collection. Photographer: Holland Wemple. NYC Municipal Archives.

Sponsored by The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the Independence Day Harbor Festival celebration dated back to the Bicentennial in 1976. “Nation of Nations” was the theme for 1985, and Mayor Koch was invited to ride as Grand Marshal in a “Cavalcade” of 100 antique and classic cars. Starting at the World Trade Center and ending at the Battery, the Cavalcade was the climax of a race that began in southern California one week earlier. Before being escorted to the lead car, a 1933 Chrysler, by “Uncle Sam,” and “The Statue of Liberty,” (on stilts), Mayor Koch made opening remarks: 

Hi, Everyone,

I’m happy to celebrate with you this afternoon the historic and contemporary importance of New York harbor, and delighted to serve as Grand Marshal of the Harbor Festival ’85 Cavalcade.

Mayor Edward Koch in the Cavalcade along lower Broadway near Trinity Church, July 4, 1985. Mayor Edward Koch Photograph Collection. Photographer: Holland Wemple. NYC Municipal Archives.

As a municipality composed of one peninsula, two islands, and part of a third, New York is a city whose waterways first put us on the map and soon made us the world’s busiest port city. Three and a half centuries into New York City’s history, our waterways are still shaping our character. The passing years have increased their immense commercial and recreational value to us.

Our harbor created our historic role as our nation’s gateway city, embracing the immigrants who made us a “Nation of Nations,” welcoming them to American freedom and opportunity. This function of our harbor helped make New York the dynamic city it is, because so many immigrants and their descendants stayed here to build our city, their rich diversity adding strength to New York’s cultural, intellectual, and economic vitality.

Mayor Edward Koch in the Cavalcade along lower Broadway, July 4, 1985. Mayor Edward Koch Photograph Collection. Photographer: Holland Wemple. NYC Municipal Archives.

Tens of thousands of New Yorkers benefit directly from the multitude of activities on our busy waterways and waterfront, and all of us depend on them indirectly every day.  But New York City’s bicentennial celebration and Op-Sail focused public attention, as no events had in decades, on these invaluable resources that had too long been taken for granted.

Watching the renewed pride in our harbor grow since then has been gratifying, and that intensified interest has contributed to our city’s new prosperity. Harbor Festival has added to the momentum begun in ‘76, and Harbor Festival ’85 promises to surpass even last year’s in its scope and variety.

Under the guidance of Alan Sagner and Peter Goldmark, the Port Authority has played an outstanding role in New York harbor’s resurgence, and I’d like to express the City’s gratitude to them, to Robert Johnson and Newsday for sponsoring today’s exciting activities, and to everyone responsible for Harbor Festival ’85.

Have a great Fourth of July, everyone!

Thank you.  

Mayor Edward Koch greets the crowd during the Cavalcade along lower Broadway, July 4, 1985. Mayor Edward Koch Photograph Collection. Photographer: Holland Wemple. NYC Municipal Archives.

In the decades since Mayor Koch celebrated the diversity of New York City and the importance of its harbor, new immigrants have continued to arrive, now making up almost 40% of the population. Many miles of the revitalized waterfront are now lined with parks, bikeways, and recreational facilities.

Echoing Mayor Koch, “Have a great Fourth of July, everyone!