This story features a wealthy miser who lived frugally despite her wealth, about a dozen cats that lived with her in a dingy apartment, an ottoman stuffed with cash, and a few cows that made the Goelet family one of the richest landowners in midtown Manhattan in the 19th and early 20th century.
Posts Tagged ‘New York City History’
1905: The Wealthy Miser Who Hoarded Money and Cats in a Midtown Tenement
Posted: 8th March 2024 by The Hatching Cat in Cat Stories, Cows and Cattle StoriesTags: Almy Townsend, Cats of Old New York, Maria Kull, New York City History, Peter Goelet, Robert Goelet, William Kull
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1899: The Anti-Cat Club and the Catastrophic Cat Fight at the Windermere Apartments
Posted: 28th April 2023 by The Hatching Cat in Animal Stories, Cat StoriesTags: 400 West 57th Street, Henry Goodale, New York City History, The Windermere
In the spring of 1899, 18 years after the Windermere opened at 400 West 57th Street, a war broke out between the cat-loving and cat-hating tenants.
I must warn you that this true story involves gun violence against cats, but it also provides a unique insight into life at the Windermere (one of the city’s oldest apartment buildings) and life in Old New York.
1927: Victory, the Good-Luck Cat of the Brooklyn Robins (aka Brooklyn Dodgers)
Posted: 5th April 2023 by The Hatching Cat in Cat Mascots, Cat StoriesTags: Brooklyn Dodgers, Brooklyn History, New York City History, Old Stone House, Vechte-Cortelyou House, Washington Park
With the 2023 baseball season upon us, the story of the Brooklyn Robins feline mascot is a great “Did You Know?” story to share with the cat lovers and baseball fans in your life.
The story also has ties to the Old Stone House of Gowanus, where hundreds of Maryland soldiers lost their lives while trying to save George Washington and his troops during the Revolutionary War.
This is Part 1 of a two-part story.
1921: Merry Christmas for a Stray Kitten at the Bideawee Home for Animals
Posted: 24th December 2022 by The Hatching Cat in Animal StoriesTags: 410 East 38th Street, Bide-a-Wee, Christmas Stories, Mrs. Harry Ulysses Kibbe, New York City History
When Mrs. Harry Ulysses Kibbe and several other visionary society women organized the Bide-A-Wee home for animals in 1903, the women relied on paid subscriptions from generous New Yorkers to achieve their mission to care for friendless animals. One of their first fundraisers was a Christmas tea at the Hotel Savoy on Fifth Avenue.
Over the years, a Christmas feast for animals became a tradition at the Bide-a-Wee home. Neighborhood children who had shown kindness during the year by bringing stray cats and dogs to the home were also invited to partake in the festivities.
1894: The Famous Boxing Cats That Headlined at NYC’s Huber’s Museum
Posted: 12th September 2022 by The Hatching Cat in Cat Stories, Cats in the MewsTags: Boxing Cats, Cats of Old New York, George H. Huber, New York City History, Thomas Edison
Forget the light bulb. Let’s talk about Thomas Edison’s short film starring Professor Henry Welton and his famous Boxing Cats! This 1894 film may very well be the first ever funny cat film ever made. (I even found out the names of the Boxing Cats…)
