history


The Knickerbocker Door

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Have you ever noticed the Knickerbocker Door? In Manhattan’s Times Square station, at the southern end of the S train’s Track 1 (which is nearest to the other train lines), is a lonely white door. Most people go right past it without seeing it. But if you look above it, you see a lintel sign,… Read more »


The case of the missing Berlin Wall

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Every city has its Penn Station. Every modern city, at some point, eats its young and then regrets the decision. New York wrecked its cathedral to rail travel. London knocked down Euston Station and tossed it into the swamps. And Berlin, ironically, had its Wall. Yesterday in Berlin, I asked a wide-eyed German working on… Read more »


Harpers Ferry

A few years ago, I was doing something mundane when the feeling hit me. I want to go to Harpers Ferry, I thought. Can’t explain why. I went through a John Brown period about 15 years ago (doesn’t every American history buff go through a John Brown period?), when my collaborator and I were trying… Read more »