MAD MEN Features New York's Own Hare Krishna's

This week's episode of MAD MEN featured a trip to the Hare Krishna's hangout on Second Avenue in the East Village.  The formerly kinda cute Paul (who I wrote about here a couple years ago) had shaved his head and started chanting with other hippies seeking enlightenment and love.

Over on The Bowery Boys website, their weekly MAD MEN-related history lesson provides some great background on all this.  The Krishna movement got its start in New York in 1966 when A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, a Hindu teacher and proponent of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, arrived from India and started gathering followers who believed in leaving their earthly possessions behind. One of their most famous early followers?  None other than Beat poet Allan Ginsberg.

The Krishnas hit the mainstream two years later in 1968 when they were featured in a number from the Broadway musical HAIR. Below is a clip of that number from the film version directed by Milos Forman that was released in 1979. I look forward to some reference to HAIR in the next season of MAD MEN.  OMG--Maybe Megan will audition for the show's off-bway version?!

Bowery Boys Look At Manhattan & The Movies

When people think of New York and the movies, you tend to think of how the city has been featured in many classics;  from "Taxi Driver" in the 70's, to "Working Girl" in the 80's, to "Men In Black" in the 90's, and "Sex & The City" in the 'aughts.  However, NYC's movie history as a pretty backdrop runs way more than skin deep.  A lot of people forget that, long before Los Angeles became home to the film industry, it all started here in the city.  And also in New Jersey, at Thomas Edison's Black Maria (left)....America's first movie studio located in glamourous West Orange, NJ.

My favorite local history podcast, The Bowery Boys, takes a look back in their current episode to the start of the film business here in New York and all the various players, many lost to history while some including a fellow named Loew, live on today.  They provide a nearly hour-long overview of the nascent movie business as it got its start before the turn of the century and, in the 10's, started to migrate West where the light was better and the real estate a helluva lot cheaper.  A great listen if you're interested in the history of the movies.

The Story of The Verrazano Narrows Bridge

If you look at this picture of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, you'll see there's something missing.  Taken in 1963, when this massive bridge was still under construction, the traffic deck is not yet in place on what was, for some time, the longest suspension bridge in the world.

The remarkable story of this NYC landmark is now being told by the Bowery Boys in one of their highly entertaining historical podcasts.  There are all sorts of fun factoids and crazy stories in this story, namely about the bridge's namesake who was an Italian explorer who discovered the narrows in 1524 (almost a hundred years before Henry Hudson sailed in) but didn't go any further because he thought New York's harbor was a big lake.  So instead of the Verrazano River we have the Verrazano Narrows Bridge.  So why name a bridge after a second rate explorer?  The story behind that is even more surprising.

Some Big NYC Anniversaries in 2011

I often take note here on Hi-Fi Bri of famous anniversaries here in NYC.  In fact, one of the most widely viewed and linked posts was last year's story about the 100th anniversary of the Manhattan Bridge.  Well, as I found out today on the Bowery Boys blog, 2011 is shaping up as a banner year for centennial celebrations here in the city.

The biggest birthday is 100 years for the New York Public Library's landmark building on Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street.  In preparation for the centennial celebration, this landmark has been getting a facelift and, while in midtown yesterday, I noticed the scaffolding had come off the south side of the building on 40th and it looks incredible!  The marble facade is now blindingly white after decades of NYC grime were removed with soap and water.

A more grim anniversary coming up in March is that of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire of 1911.  More than 146 people died in this infamous tragedy, with many young immigrant women leaping to their deaths from a locked sweatshop.  And, of course, another sad anniversary will be the the marking of a decade since the September 11th attack on the World Trade Center.  To read more about all the upcoming anniversaries, you can check out the Bowery Boys blog which has a full listing and more information as well.