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.
Posts Tagged ‘Old New York’
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
3
1912: Miss Bacillus, the Guinea Pig That Survived the Equitable Life Building Fire
Posted: 18th June 2016 by The Hatching Cat in Animal StoriesTags: Equitable Life Building, Equitable Life Fire, Jan Damen, New York History, Old New York, Peter Stoutenburgh, Vauxhall Garden
Two weeks after the Equitable Life fire, workmen who were trying to salvage the contents of the cellar vaults and safe boxes rescued a cat named Kaiser and a black guinea pig later named Miss Bacillus.
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.
