Join me this Wednesday, June 3, at 5 p.m., for a virtual trip back in time to explore the city’s history via amazing stories about fire cats, police cats, theatrical cats, and other fabulous felines that made the news headlines in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Archive for the ‘Cat Stories’ Category
Virtual “Cat Men of Gotham” Presentation: Wednesday, June 3, 5 pm
Posted: 1st June 2020 by The Hatching Cat in Cat Men, Cat Stories, UncategorizedTags: Boonton Public Library, Cat Men, Cat Men of Gotham, Cat Stories, Cats of Old New York, New York City History
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1897: The Cat Fight That Started a Fire in Battle Row on West 60th Street
Posted: 30th May 2020 by The Hatching Cat in Cat Stories, Cats in the MewsTags: Battle Row, Cats of Old New York, Maggie Callahan, New York City History, Patrick W. Gallagher
On May 30, 1897, The New York Times and New York Sun reported on a cat fight that took place in the Battle Row neighborhood on the west side of Manhattan. Both cats survived, but they caused quite a bit of damage to an apartment on West 60th Street.
1892: Signorita Succi, the Cat Who Walked the Plank at Waverly and West 11th Street
Posted: 14th May 2020 by The Hatching Cat in Cat Stories, Cats in the MewsTags: Cats of Old New York, New York City History, Sir Peter Warren
On May 14, 1892, The New York Sun reported a cat stuck in a tree in the yard of Mrs. King’s three-story brick row house at 227 West 11th Street. The scheme devised to rescue the cat was amazing!
1908: Commissioner, the Police Cat Who Jumped Off the Brooklyn Bridge and Took a Train to Utica
Posted: 8th May 2020 by The Hatching Cat in Cat Men, Cat StoriesTags: Brooklyn Bridge Squad, Cats of Old New York, John J. Lussier, New York City History, police cats
In February 1908, Lieutenant John J. Lussier retired from the New York Police Department. He and his family left their home in Brooklyn, and moved to Utica, New York. According to The Sun, the lieutenant took everything with him except his favorite police cat, Commissioner. What a surprise when the cat showed up in Utica 2 months later!
1904: Speckled Pete, Wild Bill, and the Cat Colony of Adams Express Company
Posted: 3rd April 2020 by The Hatching Cat in Cat Men, Cat StoriesTags: 61 Broadway, Adams Express, Alvin Adams, Cats of Old New York, Express Row, New York City History
One week after a fire gutted the offices of Adams Express on Broadway, cats of all colors and sizes were seen prowling around the financial district. Tenants in neighboring office and residential buildings began receiving visits from these strange cats, who were in turn trying to make new deals to be adopted and furnished with food and lodging.
