HISTORY OF NYC – FALL 2025 VIDEOS

Coordinators: Ilene Winkler, Susannah Falk-Lewis, Penelope Pi-Sunyer, Michael Wellner

The 1898 consolidation of New York and Brooklyn created the largest and richest city in the United States. The History of NYC explores events, people, and issues from the city’s past.

To view a video click on the link above its description.

HISTORY OF NEW YORK CITY
From the Civil War to the Gilded Age

Presenter: Ilene Winkler
Presentation Date: September 2, 2025

• Civil War to Guilded Age

By 1900, New York was our nation’s undisputed financial and commercial center, and most major U.S. corporations had moved their headquarters to lower Manhattan. Millionaires had built lavish mansions on Fifth Avenue, while poor immigrants crowded into ramshackle tenements. Because of the widespread disparity between rich and poor, the era became known as The Gilded Age—gilt being a thin veneer of gold over a plain metal.

This class will provide an overview of our city during the latter half of the 19th century–Tammany Hall and Boss Tweed, the ups and downs on Wall St and high society, and attempts by workers and the poor to improve their circumstances amidst chaotic economic conditions. We will have time to ponder how this history has influenced today’s city and what insights may be relevant to our Second Gilded Age.

HISTORY OF NEW YORK CITY
Brooklyn

Presenter: Sandra Abramson
Presentation Date: September 16, 2025

• Brooklyn

Brooklyn from 1850-1900: from a lofty City to a Borough among others. It was an incredibly exciting time in the City of Brooklyn. We’ll look at its physical and population growth, its changing demographics as a result of immigration, its transportation networks, its neighborhoods, the commerce that drove much of its growth, sports (particularly baseball!) and, finally, the dreaded consolidation.