In 1932, the George Washington Bicentennial Planning Committee partnered with Sears, Roebuck and Company to construct a wood and plaster replica of Pierre Charles L’Enfants’s Federal Hall at Bryant Park. Few humans took interest in the structure, but it made the perfect home for a family of stray cats and a flock of pigeons.
Archive for the ‘Cats in the Mews’ Category
1933: Poor Mary Kane and The Federal Hall Felines of Bryant Park
Posted: 1st January 2021 by The Hatching Cat in Cat Stories, Cats in the MewsTags: Bryant Park, Cats of Old New York, Federal Hall, Grover A. Whalen, New York City History, Walter R. Herrick
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1906: Thomas, the Horse-Saving Blacksmith Cat of Lenox Hill
Posted: 22nd October 2020 by The Hatching Cat in Cat Stories, Cats in the MewsTags: 428 East 75th Street, Alois Dill, Arch-Brook Mansion, Henry Bock, New York City History, Richard Riker
“Thomas, a big cat, was the hero of a fire that destroyed the upper part of a stable at 426 and 428 East Seventy-fifth Street early yesterday morning.” So begins a story about the cat in The Sun on November 26, 1906.
1910: The 300 Cats Wanted to Act at the Manhattan Opera House
Posted: 17th September 2020 by The Hatching Cat in Cat Stories, Cats in the MewsTags: Cats in the Mews, Cats of Old New York, Manhattan Opera House, New York City History, Oscar Hammerstein
On September 16, 1910, The New York Times ran a small article about a want-ad soliciting 300 cats for performances at the Manhattan Opera House on 34th Street.
According to the article, the stage director would accept all cats–with or without stage experience–to take part in the production of “Hans, the Flute Player.” The comedic opera was going to be the opening act for Oscar Hammerstein’s opera house.
1897: The Shower of Cats That Invaded the Brush Block in Huntington, Long Island
Posted: 19th August 2020 by The Hatching Cat in Cat Stories, Cats in the MewsTags: Bank of Huntington, Brush Block, Cats of Old New York, Huntington, James Madison Brush, New York History
On August 19, 1897, it rained cats in front of the Brush Block building on Main Street and New York Avenue in Huntington, Long Island. Customers of the human kind could do nothing but walk cautiously along the sidewalk as the business owners used brooms to sweep cats out and hold others at bay.
1904: Lady Gray, The Mother Cat Who Adopted 5 Pedigree Orphan Puppies in Brooklyn
Posted: 21st July 2020 by The Hatching Cat in Cat Stories, Cats in the MewsTags: ASPCA, Cats of Old New York, Grace Louise Fahnestock, Malbone Street Wreck, Ralph Malbone, Samuel Fergusen Fahnestock, Tom French
On July 19, 1904, the New York Times and many other newspapers across the country reported on a mother Maltese cat who was caring for her two kittens and five pedigree orphan puppies in the Kensington neighborhood of Brooklyn.
