On the evening of December 5, 1876, the glorious Brooklyn Theatre caught fire, trapping its audience in a nightmare of flame and smoke. The theater sat near Brooklyn City Hall (today's Brooklyn Borough Hall), and the blaze which destroyed it could be seen as far away as Prospect Park.

The terrible truth emerged by the morning -- almost 300 people died in this disaster. To this day, it remains the worst disaster in Brooklyn's history in terms of lives lost. Of individual one-day disasters in New York City, only the attacks on the World Trade Center and the General Slocum disaster have taken more lives.

But you wouldn't know it from walking through Cadman Plaza today, a bustling public area popular with skateboarders and office workers on lunch breaks. Several historic monuments decorate the plaza today -- but none mark this troubling event in Brooklyn's history.

It's a tragic story that also gives us a glimpse into daily life in Gilded Age Brooklyn. And this is a story of the theater world as well -- of a popular play which took American culture by storm, and of an actress whose reputation would be forever linked with the disaster. Why was star Kate Claxton unfairly called "the fire witch" in the press?

Visit our website for many images and illustrations from this tragic event.

This episode was edited by Kieran Gannon.

The ultimate bar crawl of Old New York continues through a survey of classic bars and taverns that trace their origins from the 1850s through the 1880s.

And this time we're recording within two of America's most famous establishments, joined by the people who know that history the best.

In Part One, we introduced you to the origin story of New York City tavern life in the Dutch and colonial periods, and we ventured into Fraunces Tavern to witness the creation of the United States itself. Then we headed out to Queens and to Neir's Tavern, which quenched the thirsts of horse-racing fans in the early 19th century -- and reinvented itself in the 20th century thanks to Mae West and Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas.

For part two, we fill out our list of the most historic bars and taverns still serving customers in the 21st century -- from SoHo to Williamsburg, from Midtown Manhattan to Red Hook, Brooklyn.

But we center our adventure within two classic Manhattan bars, which wear their histories proudly upon the walls:

-- McSorley's Old Ale House is the most famous Irish saloon in New York City (and dare we even say, the whole country?), and its stacked, cluttered walls -- every strange piece tells a story -- welcome you inside to become a part of its history. Historian Bill Wander and long-time bartender Shane Buggy provide a most intoxicating tour of the joint.

-- Pete's Tavern has become famous as one of America's most enduring literary bars thanks to its long-time association with O. Henry. But there are so many more secrets awaiting you -- from its association with Tammany Hall to its curious transformation into a "flower shop" during Prohibition. General manager Gary Egan and owner Steve Troy reveal many surprising twists in Pete's own history.

This episode was edited and produced by Kieran Gannon.

Visit the website for more images of the famous bars mentioned in this week's show.

We’ve put together the ultimate New York City historic bar crawl, a celebration of the city’s old taverns, pubs, and ale houses with 18th- and 19th-century connections. And along the way, you’ll learn so much about the city’s overall history — from its changing shoreline to the everyday lives of its working-class immigrant populations.

Being an old historic bar isn’t just a novel curiosity for history lovers. It can be good for business and many of the most popular landmark pubs literally wear their stories on the walls — framed newspapers and photographs, memorabilia, old clocks, sailors’ caps and fedoras.

The history of old bars is a little like a ghost story, where a legend has grown up around a historic place, and decades or centuries later, it can be hard to determine the pure truth. In many ways, the myths are as powerful and as interesting as the actual history itself.

In this episode, the first of two parts, Greg and Kieran visit two very different establishments representing the colonial and rustic world of Old New York:

— Fraunces Tavern, one of the most important American landmarks of the Revolutionary War, remains a vibrant spot over 250 years after its stools and tables were occupied with rebellious colonists. Today, its history lovers and workers from the Financial District who enjoy its labyrinthine bar and dining rooms, while upstairs an impressive museum celebrates the tavern’s many eras of greatness.

— Neir's Tavern, in the quiet residential neighborhood of Woodhaven, Queens, once sat next to the popular Union Race Course, one of the key American sports venues of the early 19th century. Horse-racing remains in the bar’s DNA — in its insignia and on its walls. But this surprising spot may be better known for its connections to sassy queen of comedy Mae West and to the iconic Martin Scorsese film Goodfellas, which was filmed here.

PLUS: The Ear Inn! And we tell you with absolute certainty the location of the oldest tavern structure in New York City. You can’t drink beer there anymore, but next to it, you can grab a coffee and a croissant.

Visit the website for more information and images from this week's show.

This episode was produced and edited by Kieran Gannon.

The Bowery Boys Podcast is proud to be sponsored by FOUNDED BY NYC, celebrating New York City's 400th anniversary in 2025 and the 250th anniversary of the United States in 2026. Read about all the exciting events and world class institutions commemorating the five boroughs legacy of groundbreaking achievements, and find ways to celebrate the city that's always making history. foundedbynyc.com

Once upon a time New York City oysters were not only plentiful and healthy in the harbor, they were an everyday, common food source. The original fast food!

For that reason, the oyster could be an official New York City mascot. Oyster farming was a major occupation. Oyster houses were an incredibly common place for people to eat. The greatest restaurants in the city served oysters, as did the small basement dives.

In many ways, they united all New Yorkers, not just from the Lower East Side to Fifth Avenue, but even with those people who came before – the Lenape indigenous tribes, the original Dutch settlers and even the colonial English.

Oysters defined the New York City palate by the early 19th century. Businessmen like Thomas Downing (one of New York's first successful Black restaurateurs) fed the stock brokers on Wall Street while the Delmonico Brothers served them on the half-shell in their new French inspired eatery.

But today -- New York City oysters are inedible. And for most of the 20th century, they were functionally extinct thanks to the harbor's notoriously poor water quality.

Thanks to organizations like the Billion Oyster Project, however, the oyster has returned to the harbor. And soon we may see a billion oysters -- and more! Brian Reagor, director of development and communications at the Billion Oyster Project, joins Tom and Greg to discuss the fascinating process of reintroducing the oyster to its old home in New York harbor.

Visit the website for more images and information on other Bowery Boys episodes

 The Bowery Boys Podcast is proud to be sponsored by Founded By NYC, celebrating New York City's 400th anniversary in 2025 and the 250th anniversary of the United States in 2026. Read about all the exciting events and world class institutions commemorating the five boroughs' legacy of groundbreaking achievements, and find ways to celebrate the city that's always making history at Founded by NYC.

A special presentation of our live show Bowery Boys History Live, recorded at City Winery, July 2, 2025

Bowery Boys History Live is a storytelling cabaret of all-true tales and spellbinding secrets from the past, hosted by Greg Young of the Bowery Boys Podcast and brought to you by a rotating roster of the city’s greatest historians.

And for this show, Greg’s has invited a premier lineup of special guests, including author Elizabeth L. Block (Beyond Vanity: The History and Power of Hairdressing), author and tour guide Keith Taillon aka @keithyorkcity (Walking New York: Manhattan History on Foot), and host of the Gilded Gentleman podcast Carl Raymond.

Featuring:

-- Carl Raymond with a cheeky comparison between the ladies of high society and the four comedy queens of Palm Beach, Florida

-- Elizabeth L. Block with an exploration of the Gilded Age's great gowns, bodices and hair preparations

-- Keith Taillon with a look at the life of Mrs. Astor through the places she lived

-- Greg Young with the origins of the phrase 'the Gilded Age' and a look at five influential women of the Gilded Age that NEVER got invited to Mrs Astor's ball

NOTE: This was a live show with slide presentations, so there may be a few moments referencing an image in the room.

This show was produced and edited by Kieran Gannon

For even more Gilded Age stories, check out Tom Meyers on the Official Gilded Age Podcast.

Ready for a little summertime spookfest? This week we're thrilled to present to you a podcast appearance Greg made back in April on the Spirits Podcast. Hosted by Amanda McLoughlin and Julia Schifini, the Spirits Podcast is a weekly conversational show about all things ghosts, mythology, folklore and urban legends. If you like fun spooky things, add the podcast to your regular rotation!

And as a sample, here is Greg's appearance on the show, talking about all sorts of New York City ghosty things.

Get your tickets for the Bowery Boys Ghost Stories of Old New York live show at Joe's Pub.

And here's the complete list of Bowery Boys ghost story podcasts

TERROR ON THE BEACH! Seaside resorts from Cape May, New Jersey, to Montauk, Long Island, were paralyzed in fear during the summer of 1916.

Not because of the threat of lurking German U-boats and saboteurs. But because of sharks.On July 1, 1916, Charles Epting Vansant was killed by a shark while swimming at a resort in Beach Haven, a popular destination on the Jersey Shore.

At first, this terrible tragedy received only limited attention. After all, millions were flocking to the beaches along the Jersey Shore and throughout the New York region -- Coney Island, the Rockaways and Staten Island's South Beach.

Shark attacks were the stuff of pirate legends and dramatic works of art. Most experts were skeptical that sharks were dangerous at all; the Maryland mogul Hermann Oelrichs offered $500 to any person with proof that sharks were dangerous to humans. Nobody claimed the reward.

But during that July, sharks did threaten the lives of humans -- not only on sandy beaches, but even in tranquil watering holes, several miles inland. What was in the water in July of 1916?

This show contains descriptions of violence related to shark attacks. You've been warned.

This episode was edited and produced by Kieran Gannon.

Visit the website for more episodes of the Bowery Boys Podcast.

At the heart of New York’s Gilded Age — the late 19th-century era of unprecedented American wealth and excess — were families with the names Astor, Waldorf, Schermerhorn, and Vanderbilt, alongside power players like A.T. Stewart, Jay Gould and William “Boss” Tweed.

They would all make their homes — and in the case of the Vanderbilts, their great many homes — on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue.

The image of Fifth Avenue as a luxury retail destination today grew from the street’s aristocratic reputation in the 1800s. The rich were inextricably drawn to the avenue as early as the 1830s when rich merchants, anxious to be near the exquisite row houses of Washington Square Park, began turning it into an artery of expensive abodes.

In this podcast, Tom and Greg present a world that’s somewhat hard to imagine — free-standing mansions in an exclusive corridor running right through the center of Manhattan. Why was Fifth Avenue fated to become the domain of the so-called “Upper Ten”? And what changed about the city in the 20th century to ensure the eventual destruction of most of them?

The following is a re-edited, remastered version of two past Bowery Boys shows — the Rise and Fall of the Fifth Avenue Mansion. Combined, this tells the whole story of Fifth Avenue, from the initial development of streets in the 1820s to its Midtown transformation into a mecca of high-end shopping in the 1930s.

This could also serve as a primer to the HBO series The Gilded Age, the official podcast co-hosted by Tom Meyers! You can listen to the Official Gilded Age Podcast on all audio podcast players as well as YouTube.

For even more Gilded Age tales, check out The Gilded Gentleman Podcast.

Visit the website for more images and adventures with the Bowery Boys Podcast.