The Morris-Jumel Mansion

The oldest house still standing on Manhattan, the Morris-Jumel mansion has an illustrious history, from its earliest days as a country estate commanding the heights, to serving as General George Washington’s headquarters from mid-September to mid-October 1776. The mansion was confiscated by the Americans and transformed into a tavern after […]

The Jefferson Market and Courthouse

The Jefferson Market and Fire Tower, c. 1866. The police court was towards the back of the assembly room building. From Glimpses of Old New York by Henry Collins Brown. Greenwich Village, once a sleepy hamlet far outside the boundaries of the city that formerly was dotted with country estates […]

The (Short) History of Cannabis in NYC

Recreational cannabis usage in New York City can generally be traced back to the infamous Harlem “tea pads,” underground clubs where jazz musicians gathered to talk, jam, and enjoy “cannabis cigarettes.” Many of these musicians had been barred from larger institutions that were whites-only such as the Apollo and Cotton […]