NY SOCIAL DIARY

social

Of or relating to society or its organization
relating to human society and its members; “social institutions”; “societal evolution”; “societal forces”; “social legislation”
Needing companionship and therefore best suited to living in communities
sociable: a party of people assembled to promote sociability and communal activity
Of or relating to rank and status in society
living together or enjoying life in communities or organized groups; “a human being is a social animal”; “mature social behavior”

diary

A datebook
a personal journal (as a physical object)
A diary is a record (originally in handwritten format) with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. Diaries undertaken for institutional purposes play a role in many aspects of human civilization, including government records (e.
a daily written record of (usually personal) experiences and observations
A book in which one keeps a daily record of events and experiences

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Mrs (UK) or Mrs. (USA, Canada) is an English honorific used for women, usually for those who are married and who do not instead use another title, such as “Dr”, “Lady” or “Dame”. In most Commonwealth countries, a full stop (period) is not used with the title.
New York (in official postal use)
New York (locally or) is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation’s third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east.
New York: a Mid-Atlantic state; one of the original 13 colonies

ny social diary – New York

New York Diaries: 1609 to 2009 (Modern Library)

New York is a city like no other. Through the centuries, she’s been embraced and reviled, worshipped and feared, praised and battered—all the while standing at the crossroads of American politics, business, society, and culture. Pulitzer Prize winner and New York Times bestselling author Teresa Carpenter, a lifelong diary enthusiast, scoured the archives of libraries, historical societies, and private estates to assemble here an almost holographic view of this iconic metropolis. Starting on January 1 and traveling day by day through the year, these journal entries are selected from four centuries of writing—from the early 1600s to the present—allowing New York natives and visitors, writers and artists, thinkers and bloggers, to reach across time and share vivid and compelling snapshots of life in the Capital of the World.

“Today I arrived by train in New York City, which I’d never seen before, walked through the grandeur of Grand Central Terminal, stepped outside, got my first look at the city and instantly fell in love with it. Silently, inside myself, I yelled: I should have been born here!”—Edward Robb Ellis, May 22, 1947

“My experience is that a man cannot go anywhere in New York in an hour. The distances are too great—you must have another day to it. If you have got six things to do, you have got to take six days to do them in.”—Mark Twain, February 2, 1867

“A Peregrine falcon just flew past my window.”—Johnny/Quipu Blogspot, February 5, 2003

“I had a lot of dates but decided to stay home and dye my eyebrows.”—Andy Warhol, March 11, 1978

“At ten we have Orders to march up the River for Mount-Washington. Adieu, New-York; perhaps forever!”—Philip Vickers Fithian, September 3, 1776

New York Diaries reveals intimate, whimsical, profound, sobering, and indelible reflections on such historical moments as President Washington’s first State of the Union address, the death of Abraham Lincoln, the sinking of the Titanic, the end of World War II—even the first incursion of Europeans into the city’s Upper Bay on September 11, 1609, a presage to our country’s greatest catastrophe nearly four hundred years later. Featuring familiar faces and fascinating unknowns, these pages provide a rich mosaic that is uniquely New York.

With excerpts from the writing of Sherwood Anderson • William H. Bell • Albert Camus • Chad the Minx • Noel Coward • Dorothy Day • John Dos Passos • Thomas Edison • Allen Ginsberg • William B. Gould • Keith Haring • Henry Hudson • Anne Morrow Lindbergh • Judith Malina • H. L. Mencken • John Cameron Mitchell • Joyce Carol Oates • Eugene O’Neill • Philippe Petit • Edgar Allan Poe • Theodore Roosevelt • Elizabeth Cady Stanton • William Steinway • Alexis de Tocqueville • Mark Twain • Gertrude Vanderbilt • Andy Warhol • George Washington • Kurt Weill • Walt Whitman • and many others.

William E. Dodge House (Greyston)

Riverdale, The Bronx, New York City, New York, United States

Erected during the stormy years of the Civil War, this splendid country mansion was designed for William E. Dodge, Jr., by James Renwick, Jr., famed architect of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, of Grace Church and St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York. Construction was begun in 1863, following Dodge’s purchase of land early that year from Joseph Delafield. According to family tradition, the house may already have been completed by the end of 1863, but it was not occupied until the following Spring.

This large and picturesque mansion is constructed of native gray granite, skillfully cut and laid In a random pattern. RenwickTs design was strongly influenced by early Victorian houses of the English countryside which, typically, combined features of Tudor and Elizabethan manorial architecture with the earlier Gothic tradition. The present appearance of "Greyston," particularly at the north (entrance side) Is, however, very largely changed as the result of the addition of a large dining room wing and other later modifications.

"Greyston" was originally a much smaller house — as shown by an early sketch of the north side which is still preserved at the house. It was clearly conceived as a relatively unpretentious summer cottage in the Hudson River Gothic tradition. Part of the charming wood porch remains, but much of the original arched openwork and Gothic bracing have disappeared. The eastern portion of the porch was partially replaced by subsequent alterations. At the upper stories, the original rustic character of the house Is evidenced, in the sketch, by the pointed dormers and picturesque I ittle gables over the windows.

"Greyston" is three stories high, with a steep roof of polychrome slate. The mansion appears, at first glance, as a rather loose agglomeration of parts. Upon closer examination, however, a basic symmetry and balanced design is discernible, largely the result of the super imposition of a later aesthetic on the more picturesque, asymmetrical, original design. The monumental main entrance, with Its beautiful door near the center of the north facade, is set off by paired Gothic trefoil niches cut into the smooth stone. The porches flanking the entrance have handsome railings with balusters carved in Gothic Revival trefoil design. An approximate balance is achieved between the projecting dining room wing, at the left side, and the gabled section at the right. The river side is dominated by a picturesque polygonal porch, of which a portion has been glazed.

At the south side, the roof line is almost hidden behind a variety of pointed gables which emphasize projecting portions of the facade. The many tall chimneys, in true Victorian Gothic manner, emphasize the picturesque verticality of the building. A great variety of decorative elements, derived from the successive phases of the English Gothic, Tudor and Elizabethan traditions, are evident, particularly in the design of the window openings, which are usually paired or tripled. Pointed Gothic arches, cusping, trefoil and quatrefoil motifs, and mul Honed windows lend diversity and interest.

"Greyston" displays a sensitive response to its splendid setting. This is characteristic of the age of Emerson and the transcendentalIsts and illustrates the rise of interest in landscape architecture and landscape painting. There are many magnificent views from the porches and windows. Most important was the care taken by the architect not to disturb the immense oak and copper beech trees which

In some cases date back to the 18th century.

By the early 1860s, Riverdale-on-Hudson had become a favorite summer retreat for rich New York merchants and their families. As noted by a writer in Putnam’s Monthly Magazine, in 1856, all of this was made possible by the new Age of Steam. The development of the eastern shore of the Hudson River was largely the result of the Initiation of passenger service, in 1847, on the New York and Hudson River Railroad.

When New York City took over the West Bronx, incorporating It in the City limits in 1874, its rural quality was threatened and "Riverdale", the group of villas above the Hudson, might have lost its curvilinear streets and irregular-shaped properties. Frederick Law Olmsted and the municipal civil engineer submitted a report in 1876, which argued for the preservation of those streets which followed the natural contours of the terrain and that this area would provide excellent sites for villas for those New Yorkers who might wish to enjoy a country atmosphere within City limits, with obvious tax advantages accruing to the City.

The recommendations of this report prevailed and Riverdale retained Its character. In preserving what remains of these large country estates, and their mansions, we are aware of their rural background.

William Earl Dodge, Jr., (1832-1903), for whom this country residence w

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photo by Jeffrey Hirsch of Lisa Mahar’s home for NY Social Diary

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The best way to bring an event from the past into vivid life is to see it through the eyes of someone who lived it. In this book the reader sees the Civil War through the eyes of four Union soldiers who, although they were all from south central Pennsylvania, experienced the war in radically different ways. The journals of the four – Lt. William Glison of the 6th Ohio Infantry, Sergeant Will Duncan of the 2nd Pennsylvania Militia Battalion, John M. Kelly of the 39th Illinois Volunteer Infantry and Private George Schmittle of the 13th Pennsylvania Calvary – give the reader a glimpse into the daily life of the soldier. Written primarily during 1863 and 1864, entries are in each soldier’s own words (including idiosyncrasies of grammar and spelling). Commentary is added when necessary to elaborate or clarify as well as to fix each experience on the canvas of the war as a whole. A capsule history and muster roll are included for each company along with an appendix listing all the corps of the Federal army and giving a brief history of each corps’ service.