The Bowery: A History of Grit, Graft and Grandeur

Originally a Lenape trail running the length of Manhattan Island, The Bowery has become one of the most notorious thoroughfares in America. Developed in stages by the Dutch, the British, and then Americans, this stretch of street has continually risen from its own ashes, interminably experiencing periods of popularity, poverty and prosperity. It has been celebrated as a haven of culture, entertainment, and theatre, and denigrated as New York’s skid row. Home to bums, bohemians, criminals, artists, performers, and the rich and poor alike, The Bowery has attracted the most diverse population of any place in all of New York City’s history. Travel down the Bowery with New York City author and researcher Eric Ferrara, as he explores its rich, fascinating, and at times, troubling past.