It is almost inconceivable today, but in the 1920s Greenpoint had as many as eight Vaudeville theaters. Some of the buildings still survive, but with other uses. In the days […]
Tag: Mae West
Posted inCulture
Mae West’s Gay Drama That Shocked 1920s America
Mae West was much more than a local-born movie star or even a sex symbol. She was a playwright, a woman decades ahead of her time in dramatizing questions of […]
Posted inUncategorized
Teddy’s: Williamsburg’s Historic Bar
Gazing through the luminous 100-year-old stained glass windows at Teddy’s Bar and Grill (96 Berry St.) in the Northside of Williamsburg, it’s possible to imagine that time has stood still. […]
Posted inHistorical Greenpoint
The Illicit Affair That Brought Greenpoint’s own Mae West to Hollywood
In a previous piece I described how Mae West funded her scandalous 1927 play sex through her romance with the rich, handsome, but very dangerous gangster Owney Madden. However, it […]
Posted inHistorical Greenpoint
How New York’s Most Notorious Gangster Bankrolled Mae West’s Broadway Hit
In my book about local history, Greenpoint Brooklyn’s Forgotten Past, I told the story about how in 1927, local Greenpoint gal Mae West scandalized New York by staging a play called […]
Posted inHistorical Greenpoint
Women’s History Month: Mae West, Feminist and Progressive
A lot of people know that movie star Mae West was born in 1893 on Herbert Street and that she became a and one of Hollywood’s first sex symbols, but […]
Posted in(Not)Forgotten Greenpoint, Culture, Historical Greenpoint
When Freedom of Expression and Censorship Battled on Manhattan Avenue!
The other day, I gave a talk on the Irish history of Greenpoint, and a long-time Greenpointer offered me a new twist on a famous old Greenpoint legend. Before diving […]
Posted inHistorical Greenpoint
Famous Greenpointers: Happy Birthday Mae West!
Mae West was a renowned stage actress, director, playwright and film star whose career spanned over seven decades. Born on Herbert Street in 1893 to a German mother, Tillie Doelger, with a […]
Posted inCulture
Famous Greenpointer : Mae West
Mae West is Famous Greenpointers of the month! According to Wiki, “during her childhood, West’s family moved to various parts of Woodhaven, Queens, as well as the Williamsburg and Greenpoint […]
Posted inCommunity, News
(Not) Forgotten Greenpoint: “Taj Mahal For All The Birds… & Elvis!” – Beverly’s Memories & Karen None Of Your Business
When I first took over Greenpointers, Beverly, an original Greenpointer who now lives in Florida and stays connected through the website, wrote me one of the most inspiring messages about […]