Category Inspiration Vault

The Mysterious Murder of the Beautiful Cigar Girl

High on a hilltop in Brooklyn’s historic Greenwood cemetery, is an imposing mausoleum. Written large on the granite stone lintel is the name John Anderson. He was once the owner of an upscale tobacconist’s in Lower Manhattanm but one hundred and seventy six years ago, he was also at the centre of one of the […]

Murder over the World’s First Supermodel at Madison Square Garden

Madison Square Garden is one of New York’s most well known landmarks. It is arguably one of the most famous arenas in the world. Unfortunately, it is also one of the least appealing, but it was not always so. For there have been four incarnations of Madison Square Garden, located throughout the city since 1879. […]

The Lost Art of Vintage Store Front Mosaics

It is a sad fact that modern buildings rarely have the artistic flourishes and details of their forebears. Once buildings were often proudly decorated with eye catching touches, such as elaborate cornices and ornately carved door frames. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, nothing was quite as swish and fancy as a beautifully tiled […]

Found in a Flea Market: A 1930s Scrapbook of a Young Lady’s American Dream

A recent visit to the Brooklyn flea market unearthed a quite remarkable treasure; a lovingly compiled 1939 scrap book once belonging to a young lady called Lotta June Miller. The scrap book records her journey across America to become a theatre director. Photographs, old signed playbills, tickets for sleeper cars on trains and Valentine’s cards […]

The Secret World of After Hours Magic in New York City

One of the most magical evenings you can spend in New York City, is also one of its most secret. Imagine walking down one of the busiest thoroughfares in the city, the famous Thirty Fourth Street, making your way past tens of thousands of people, who every day come to visit some of Manhattan’s most […]