Splinter Beach

In the sweltering heat of a New York summer, city kids once sought refuge in front of the johnny pump or by diving into the murky waters of the East River.

Weegee ( Arthur Fellig ): Children playing in water sprayed from an open fire hydrant (johnny pump), 1942.

George Wesley Bellows, Splinter Beach, lithograph, 1913


Coming: The Floating East River Pool

Cezar Del Valle is the author of the Brooklyn Theatre Index, a three-volume history of borough showplaces. The first two volumes chosen 2010 OUTSTANDING BOOK OF THE YEAR by the Theatre Historical Society. Final volume published in  September 2014.

He conducts a series of popular theatre talks and walking tours.

Now selling on Etsy.

The Oldest Photograph

We begin our blog with the oldest known photograph of New York City, a daguerreotype, circa 1848.

Upper West Side (likely Bloomingdale Road, later Broadway)

Written on the back:

"taken the last of October, when nearly half of the leaves were off the trees."

Daily Mail 

Gizmodo

New York Times

PetaPixel

In addition to to being an artist, Cezar Del Valle is also the author of the Brooklyn Theatre Index, a three-volume history of borough showplaces. The first two volumes chosen 2010 OUTSTANDING BOOK OF THE YEAR by the Theatre Historical Society. Final volume published in  September 2014.

He conducts a series of popular theatre talks and walking tours.

Now selling on Etsy.