Last week I had the opportunity to head downtown on the F train and celebrate the oldest street in NYC…you guessed it…The Bowery. A long overdue designation, The Bowery Historic District was honored by being added to the National Register of Historic Places. A bit of history taken from the evening’s program:
“From its earliest history as a Native American trail, its role in fostering American entertainment and artistic genres as diverse as vaudeville and punk, to serving as a refuge to the homeless and downtrodden as America’s “Skid Row,” the Bowery has played a central role in the cultural development of Manhattan and beyond.
In 2011, Two Bridges Neighborhood Council and the Bowery Alliance of Neighbors successfully co-sponsored the New York State Historic District designation of the Bowery to highlight and honor the area’s rich history. The Bowery Historic District was officially listed in the National Register of Historic Places on February 20, 2013.”
The evening was one of celebration, and all things that come along with that! I particularly enjoyed musician Lenny Kaye, who shared his love for the Bowery, “Long live the Bowery! This is a street of heartache, don’t ever forget it, but it’s also a street of possibility as we see here tonight.”
In need of some inspiration of great places to eat on The Bowery post-event, I posted the question to Romio, and soon had a selection of restaurant faves from other NYC bloggers and residents alike. I like to think of the platform as NYC’s personal Facebook Page, where locals are always there to share recommendations based on their knowledge and experience of a particular neighborhood, from The Bowery to The Bronx.
Jessica Tiare Bowen lives in the juicy Big Apple with her adorable pink-nosed chihuahua, Gillman. He’s the inspiration for her first published children’s book, “Park Avenue Pound Puppy.” The book is the combined result of her two greatest passions: pooches and penning stories.
Her passions include art, urban hikes through Manhattan, drinking coffee with 3 creams and 6 sugars, making extremely detailed itineraries and traveling to far away places, singing along to Broadway shows, Netflix movie nights, discovering incredible treasures at Goodwill and thrift stores, and listening to stories from little people under 7 and big people over 70.
She started her career as New York City Teaching Fellow, teaching elementary school and theater arts at a special education school in the South Bronx for 6 years. She is now a Special Education School Improvement Specialist working in public schools throughout New York City. She is the Editor-In-Chief of the online New York City travel magazine, Used York City. The magazine focuses on finding the best of New York…as used by New Yorkers. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and an ASPCA Ambassador.
