Like most cats that became the popular mascots of New York City police stations, fire stations, hotels, and theaters in the 1800s and 1900s, Jim began his life as a vagrant cat without friends or influence. It didn’t take him long, however, to win the hearts of the managers, actors, and patrons of the old Union Square Theatre.
Archive for the ‘Cat Stories’ Category
1888: Union Square Jim, the Mascot Cat of New York’s Union Square Theatre, I
Posted: 13th August 2016 by The Hatching Cat in Cat Mascots, Cat Men, Cat StoriesTags: Cat Stories, Morton House Hotel, New York History, Old New York, Sheridan Shook, Union Place Hotel, Union Square Theatre
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1912: The Ten Lives of Kaiser, the Equitable Life Building Fire Cat, Part II
Posted: 4th June 2016 by The Hatching Cat in Cat StoriesTags: Cat Stories, Edna Blanchard Lewis, Equitable Life Building, Equitable Life Fire, FDNY, New York History, Old New York
Unbeknownst to the FDNY firefighters, a cat named Kaiser was trapped in the basement of the Equitable Life Building as it burned to the ground.
1912: The Ten Lives of Kaiser, the Equitable Life Building Fire Cat, Part I
Posted: 29th May 2016 by The Hatching Cat in Cat Men, Cat StoriesTags: Cafe Savarin, Cat Stories, Equitable Life Building, Equitable Life Fire, FDNY history, New York History, Old New York
Many articles have been written about the iconic Equitable Building fire in New York City, but few mention Kaiser, the Equitable Fire Cat.
1917: Crazy Cat and the Bohemian Greenwich Village Felines of Jessie Tarbox Beals
Posted: 21st May 2016 by The Hatching Cat in Cat StoriesTags: Cat Stories, Greenwich Village, Jessie Tarbox Beals, New York History, Old New York, Sheridan Square, Vintage Cat Photos
In Part I and Part II of this Old New York bohemian cat tale, many of the photos were taken by photojournalist Jessie Tarbox Beals. In this final post in the series, I’ll share many of her cat photos and take you on a tour of her Sheridan Square studio in Greenwich Village.
1916: Crazy Cat and the Bohemian Greenwich Village Felines of Sheridan Square, Part II
Posted: 13th May 2016 by The Hatching Cat in Cat StoriesTags: 58 Washington Square South, 61 Washington Square South, Cat Stories, Grace Godwin's Garret, House of Genius, Jessie Tarbox Beals, New York History
Crazy Cat did not belong to any one human in particular, but rather made the rounds from one tearoom to another, no doubt dining on a few morsels or taking a cat nap near a warm fire in every establishment that would welcome him.
