I tell my latest animal story backwards in order to encourage readers to appreciate the history behind every building, park, and street in New York City. This cat tale of Old New York will start with a look at the Art Wall on the northwest corner of Bowery and Houston Street, where 100 years earlier a cat named Blackie made friends with a future president.
Archive for the ‘Cat Mascots’ Category
1900: Judy, the Grant Street Court Cat of Flatbush, Brooklyn
Posted: 10th December 2024 by The Hatching Cat in Cat MascotsTags: 35 Snyder Avenue, Alfred E. Steers, Brooklyn History, Flatbush History, Flatbush Town Hall
Judy began her career as the Grant Street court cat in April 1900, when she surprised a sergeant by jumping on his shoulders just as he was telling a prisoner that he had to be searched. The doorman put her outside, but Judy came right back in and stayed.
A Petition for Jerry Fox, The Blind Hero Cat Who Saved Brooklyn City Hall
Posted: 23rd August 2024 by The Hatching Cat in Cat MascotsTags: Brooklyn Borough Hall, Brooklyn Cat Cafe, Cats About Town, Cats of Old Brooklyn, Jerry Fox
If you would like to help honor a true hero cat of old Brooklyn, please take a minute to sign our petition for Jerry Fox.
1898: General Weyler and the New York City Army Cats at 39 Whitehall Street
Posted: 27th April 2024 by The Hatching Cat in Cat Mascots, Working CatsTags: 39 Whitehall Street, Army Building, Army cats, Army History, Cats of Old New York, NYC History
In Old New York, most warehouses and other large buildings in Lower Manhattan were infested with mice and rats (many still are, of course). Despite its military affiliation, the U.S. Army Building was not immune to the enemy vermin. The best soldiers cut out for the job of extermination were the Army cats.
