Automats, Taxi Dances, and Vaudeville Excavating Manhattan's Lost Places of Leisure

The richness of the New York stories he presents, in elegant prose, is more abundant than the actual brick and mortar that remain. His is a guidebook to the citys history, to what it has bequeathed us, even as much may be lost. (Library Journal) Exceptionally well-written and researched, this volume will satisfy anyone curious about New York, or the way a modern metropolis builds and rebuilds itself to reflect the times. (Publishers Weekly, starred review) Reading this book is like going on a walking tour with a really knowledgeable guide, who knows not only what building to point out but also what stories lurk behind the front door. (The New Leader) With an archaeologists eye and a storytellers wit [Freeland] roams from Chinatown to Harlemconcentrating on scenes of the citys nightlife a century ago during the vaudeville era but also reaching back into the nineteenth century as he summons up forgotten neighborhoods and personalities who gave old New York its raffish vigor. (Wall Street Journal) Freelands affectionate, detail-packed tome about Manhattans forgotten pleasure centersfrom dance halls to gambling densadds a lyrical song to the cacophony. Organized geographically and for the most part chronologically, the book explores eight neighborhoodsChinatown, Chatham Square, the Bowery, the East Village, Union Square, the Tenderloin, Harlem and Times Squarevia their entertainment centers, with the added hook that physical remnants of these historical hot spots still exist. (Time Out New York)