The Bowery Boys: New York City History

Marilyn Monroe was born Norma Jeane Mortenson 100 years ago on June 1, 1926. In late 1954, on the cusp of major Hollywood stardom, Marilyn moved to New York City on a quest to become a better actress and to find a little peace on streets where she could sometimes go unnoticed.

The year 1955 was one of discovery for the star of The Seven-Year Itch and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes — exploring the city, working on her craft and generally being the toast of the town.

In particular, she came to New York to become a better actress via the Actors Studio and the influence of Lee Strasberg. But she also managed to see the most glamorous corners of New York.

That deep connection she made with New York City never left her.

As an extra treat, Greg and Tom are joined on the show by Alicia Malone of TCM (and Tom’s co-host on “The Official Gilded Age Podcast”) and author of the book Girls on Film: Lessons from a Life of Watching Women in Movies to discuss how the city changed her career and performances.

We’re big old movie buffs here on the Bowery Boys, and to celebrate a century of Marilyn, we’ve remastered and re-edited a show we recorded on Marilyn’s New York back in 2022. So raise a toast to Marilyn tonight — and put on something a little extra glamorous for fun.

This episode was remastered by Kieran Gannon.

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She arrived in New York calling herself Eliza Brown — but she’d been born Betsy Bowen, daughter of a woman jailed for running a disorderly house in Providence.

By the time she died in 1865, she was Eliza Jumel -- Manhattan’s richest woman, mistress of a hilltop mansion in Washington Heights, the widow of a former vice president, and the subject of so many wild rumors that even her New York Timesobituary couldn’t keep the facts straight.

Tom is joined by Catherine Hughes and Danielle Gaita of the historic Morris-Jumel Mansion to sort the legend from the life. Born in 1775 to grinding poverty, Eliza reinvented herself as an actress at the Park Theater, married the French merchant Stephen Jumel in 1804, and in 1810 moved into the grand house that had served as George Washington’s headquarters in the fall of 1776 — Manhattan’s oldest surviving residence.

And from there the story only grows more intriguing. Paris in the age of Napoleon. A staggering art collection. Real estate dealings while her husband stayed an ocean away. A whirlwind second marriage to the 77-year-old Aaron Burr — and a scandalous divorce, finalized on the very day Burr died.

Plus: Lin-Manuel Miranda writing Hamilton lyrics in Burr’s old bedroom!

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The Lincoln Center revival of Ragtime — with music by Stephen Flaherty, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, and a book by Terrence McNally, adapted from the novel by E. L. Doctorow — has just garnered 11 Tony Award nominations, including Best Revival of a Musical, along with multiple acting nods for its acclaimed cast.

This new production feels more timely and resonant than the one that first played on Broadway in 1998. In addition to the fictional Coalhouse Walker Jr. and the archetypal figures known simply as Father, Mother, and Younger Brother, Ragtime brings to life several real celebrities and power brokers from turn-of-the-century New York.

Anna Grace Barlow, who portrays Broadway sensation Evelyn Nesbit, and Rodd Cyrus, who embodies legendary illusionist Harry Houdini, join Carl Raymond from The Gilded Gentleman podcast for a behind-the-scenes conversation about their characters and their experiences bringing this revival to the stage.

This show is brought to you by The Gilded Gentleman podcast, produced by the Bowery Boys and edited and produced by Kieran Gannon.

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Perched over the Hudson River near the city of Hudson sits Olana State Historic Site, once the wondrous home of painter Frederic Church. This Gilded Age mansion is unlike any in the valley, mystical and imposing, evoking Persian and Moorish architectural styles and reflecting the art and ambitions of its former owner.

Church was more than a Hudson River School painter; he was an adventurer and dreamer, bringing the vistas of the world to America within his massive landscape creations. In 1859, when his Heart of the Andes made its New York debut, thousands lined up to soak in its impossible beauty.

Victoria Johnson, author of the new biography Glorious Country: How the Artist Frederic Church Brought the World to America and America to the World, has walked in his footsteps — from the Ecuadorian volcano Cotopaxi to the heights of ancient Petra.

She joins Greg and Tom on the podcast this week to discuss Church’s unusual life — both as a New Yorker and as a daring traveler. After this show, you may never look at a landscape painting the same way again.

This show was edited and produced by Kieran Gannon

Visit the website to take a look at some of Church's paintings, as well as a list of other Bowery Boys podcasts related to this show. 

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The Garment District in Midtown Manhattan has been the center of American fashion for almost one hundred years. The lofts and office buildings here still buzz with the business of making clothing — from design to distribution.

But the district has become endangered today as clothing manufacturers move out and the entire industry faces new challenges from online sales and overseas production.

During the mid-19th century, garment production thrived in New York thanks to thousands of arriving immigrants skilled in making clothes. Most clothing in the United States was made below 14th Street, in the city’s tenement neighborhoods, especially the Lower East Side.

As the industry grew more prominent, the residents and merchants of Fifth Avenue feared it would overtake their fashionable street. So, by the 1930s, a new district was born. Hardly a stitch was sewn in the United States without passing through the blocks between 34th Street and 42nd Street, west of Sixth Avenue.

Listen in as we describe the Garment District’s chaotic flurry of activity — from the fabulous showrooms of the world’s greatest designers to the nitty-gritty bustle of its crowded streets.

Visit our website for images related to this subject and other podcasts related to the Garment District and New York's garment-making history.

In celebration of Made In NYC Week, we present our tribute to New York City's active and thriving garment industry. A version of this show was originally presented in January 2016. Now with a new introduction and ending, this show was reedited by Kieran Gannon.

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