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.
Posts Tagged ‘New York City History’
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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1922: Minnie, the the RMS Cedric Ship Cat Who Saved Her Christmas Kittens
Posted: 26th December 2020 by The Hatching Cat in Cat Stories, Feline MascotsTags: Cats of Old New York, G.R. Metcalfe, New York City History, RMS Cedric, Seafaring cats, White Star Line
On December 26, 1922, Minnie, the ship cat of the RMS Cedric, was honored for saving 36 lives (herself and her three kittens). The rescue took place during a severe storm in the Atlantic Ocean that disrupted Atlantic shipping and damaged or completely destroyed numerous steamships heading toward New York.
1854: The Cats of McSorley’s Old Ale House
Posted: 17th December 2020 by The Hatching Cat in Cat Men, Cat StoriesTags: Bill McSorley, Bouwerie #1, Cats of Old New York, John McSorley, New York City History, Nicholas William Stuyvesant
It’s been said that Bill McSorley was gruff with his customers, but he displayed plenty of kindness toward his cats. He owned as many as 18 feline barflies at once, and they reportedly had the run of the saloon.
Dec. 8: Virtual Event– Christmastime Animal Tales of Jolly Old Gotham
Posted: 28th November 2020 by The Hatching Cat in Virtual EventsTags: Christmas in Old New York, Christmas Stories, New York City History, Virtual Event
Take a virtual sleigh ride back in time as I take you over the river and through the woods to Christmas past in jolly Old New York. Explore some of the city’s timeless holiday traditions via fun and amazing animal stories that made the headlines in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
1902: The Great Bronx Zoological Park Panther Hunt
Posted: 18th November 2020 by The Hatching Cat in Animal Stories, Cat StoriesTags: Bronx Zoological Park, John Spears, New York City History, panther escapes, Raymond Lee Ditmars, William Temple Hornaday
On July 28, 1902, The New York Times reported that a seven-month-old, 45-pound, grey-brown panther had gnawed his way out of a large pine shipping box near the park’s Puma and Lynx House. It was the first time the captive cat–which had just been shipped via a Ward Line steamship from Mr. Charles Sheldon of the Mexican Zoological Society in Chihuahua to Director William Temple Hornaday of the New York Zoological Society–had ever experienced a taste of freedom.
