New York City
How to Live in a City - 1960's
Have you ever wondered what makes some cities better than others? In public access television pioneer George C. Stoney's 'How to Live in a City,' the argument is that it all depends on the quality of the public space.
New York City folk singer and architectural critic Eugene Ruskin guides us through unique locales which illustrate the fine line between organic and sterile urban spaces. It all depends on a place's ability to attract and sustain, even if only momentarily, a sense of community.
And while some spaces succeed and others fail, one may wonder whether if it was designer's intention to drive people away, or not.
Aside from amusingly hep score and the nostalgic longing for Old New York that the film leaves you with, Stoney & Ruskin's How to Live in a City presents a considerably modern approach to documentary filmmaking, especially when compared to other productions of the time.
ShareThisGreenwich Village Sunday - 1960
Greenwich Village (pronounced /ˌɡrɛnɨtʃ ˈvɪlɨdʒ/), in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families. Greenwich Village, however, was known in the late 19th to mid 20th centuries as the bohemian capital and the East Coast birthplace of the Beat movement. What provided the initial attractive character of the community eventually contributed to its gentrification and commercialization.
The name of the village is Anglicized from the Dutch name Groenwijck, meaning "Pine District", into its near heterograph Greenwich, a borough of London, England.
Currently, artists and local historians mourn the fact that the bohemian days of Greenwich Village are long gone, because of the extraordinarily high housing costs in the neighborhood.
ShareThis3rd Avenue El - early 1950's
What is a 3rd Avenue El?
It's the elevated train that used to run up and down Manhattan until the mid-1950's, when it was decommissioned and turned into scrap metal.
Despite this, you can still experience the trip through New York City that vanished over half-a-century ago, not only from the overhead view of the train window, but through the actual neighborhoods and with the authentic people who road it daily.
A beatnik photographer with a tripod, a stumbling drunk from the old Bowery, a giddy little girl traveling with her father, and a couple on a romantic excursion help create a loose narrative.
For the soundtrack, a sprightly rendition of Haydn's Concerto in D for Harpsichord is accompanied by all of the real sounds of a metropolitan elevated subway trip. Along with it's superb photography and creative editing, a viewing of '3rd Avenue El' is like taking a ten minute vacation to a place that is no more.
ShareThisConey Island - 1940's
Coney Island, "the place where merriment is king!"
Take a trip back in time 50 years before the Mermaid Parade.
See masses of old school New Yorkers beat the heat by hitting the beach.
See Side Shows! Carnies! Freaks! Thrill rides! Includes the original Coney Island Hot Dog, the Bathing Girl Review, and people getting sick on rides.
Not to mention the Tiger Rag, if 1940's Coney Island existed today an insurance agent would have a field day.
Still, 1940's Coney Island kicks the ass of Disneyland any day.
(This film is forever dedicated to artist and Coney Island mermaid Mary Karam. She is greatly loved and will be sorely missed. - Sept 19, 2009.)
ShareThis
