The skilled craftsmen of New York founded The General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen in 1785, and the organization's history is aligned with the city's physical and cultural development. In 1820, The Society founded its library. It began a lecture series in 1837 and opened the Mechanics Institute in 1858 to provide free education in the trades. Prominent New York members included Andrew Carnegie, Peter Cooper, Abram S. Hewitt and Duncan Phyfe. The Society's educational programs continue to improve the lives of New Yorkers while fostering an innovative and inventive spirit. Historian Polly Guerin presents the distinguished history of this essential New York institution.

The skilled craftsmen of New York founded The General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen in 1785, and the organization's history is aligned with the city's physical and cultural development. In 1820, The Society founded its library. It began a lecture series in 1837 and opened the Mechanics Institute in 1858 to provide free education in the trades. Prominent New York members included Andrew Carnegie, Peter Cooper, Abram S. Hewitt and Duncan Phyfe. The Society's educational programs continue to improve the lives of New Yorkers while fostering an innovative and inventive spirit. Historian Polly Guerin presents the distinguished history of this essential New York institution.

Uncover fascinating, little-known histories of the five boroughs in The Bowery Boys’ official companion to their popular, award-winning podcast. It was 2007. Sitting at a kitchen table and speaking into an old karaoke microphone, Greg Young and Tom Meyers recorded their first podcast. They weren’t history professors or voice actors. They were just two guys living in the Bowery and possessing an unquenchable thirst for the fascinating stories from New York City’s past. Nearly 200 episodes later, The Bowery Boys podcast is a phenomenon, thrilling audiences each month with one amazing story after the next. Now, in their first-ever book, the duo gives you an exclusive personal tour through New York’s old cobblestone streets and gas-lit back alleyways. In their uniquely approachable style, the authors bring to life everything from makeshift forts of the early Dutch years to the opulent mansions of The Gilded Age. They weave tales that will reshape your view of famous sites like Times Square, Grand Central Terminal, and the High Line. Then they go even further to reveal notorious dens of vice, scandalous Jazz Age crime scenes, and park statues with strange pasts. Praise for The Bowery Boys “Among the best city-centric series.” —New York Times “Meyers and Young have become unofficial ambassadors of New York history.” —NPR “Breezy and informative, crowded with the finest grifters, knickerbockers, spiritualists, and city builders to stalk these streets since back when New Amsterdam was just some farms.” —Village Voice “Young and Meyers have an all-consuming curiosity to work out what happened in their city in years past, including the Newsboys Strike of 1899, the history of the Staten Island Ferry, and the real-life sites on which Martin Scorsese’s Vinyl is based.” —The Guardian

The skilled craftsmen of New York founded The General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen in 1785, and the organization's history is aligned with the city's physical and cultural development. In 1820, The Society founded its library. It began a lecture series in 1837 and opened the Mechanics Institute in 1858 to provide free education in the trades. Prominent New York members included Andrew Carnegie, Peter Cooper, Abram S. Hewitt and Duncan Phyfe. The Society's educational programs continue to improve the lives of New Yorkers while fostering an innovative and inventive spirit. Historian Polly Guerin presents the distinguished history of this essential New York institution."