A Day Off With Sharona

12/19/2025

Today, I went to to see and TOUCH the New Years Eve ball that will drop on December 31st. This experience was absolutely incredible! When you visit NYC, add it to your list of must-do’s! In addition to interacting with the NYE ball, there is an observation deck that overlooks Times Square, and an outdoor glass-bottom walkway. The views are breathtaking, and help you realize why NYC is so great.

01/20/2023

Happy Fun Fact Friday! Today, let’s learn about Carnegie Hall. You’ve hear the old joke: How do you get to Carnegie Hall? The answer: Practice! Well, Carnegie Hall was built in a residential part of town in the 1890’s, so to get there, you needed to take a horse and buggy!

The Music Hall was the brainchild of Walter Damrosch, the conductor and musical director of the Symphony Society of New York, and the Oratorio Society of New York. He met the newly wed Carnegies on a transatlantic trip from New York to Scotland, Andrew’s country of birth, in 1887. It was on that trip that Damrosch shared his vision for the Music Hall with them.

When the Carnegies returned to New York, Andrew began enacting his plan to build the Music Hall. He started The Music Hall Company of New York, Ltd. which purchased land along Seventh Avenue between 56th and 57th Street, an area which was mostly residential at the time. Chief architect William Tuthill designed a 5-story brick and limestone building. Inside, there would be a 2,800-seat main hall, along with smaller studios that could be used for concerts, rehearsals, etc. The cornerstone was laid by Andrew’s wife Louise on May 13, 1890. The cost to build it was $1.25 million - a small fortune in any time!

On May 5, 1891, Carnegie Hall had its Opening Night. The building was filled with everyone who was anyone in New York society. If you were there, you would have been among the Rockefellers, the Fricks, the Whitneys, and of course Andrew Carnegie. The Symphony and Oratoria societies played two pieces by Beethoven that were conducted by Damrosch, and then the audience was treated to composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky conducting his own composition. The final piece of the evening was the New York premiere of Berlioz’s Te Deum. A resounding success, and the Music Hall has been filled with music for over a century.

Many famous musicians have graced the stages of Carnegie Hall. It is a wonderful space to hear your current favorite musicians! When you are in town, be sure to see if one of them is playing. And if you’re lost, you can ask the age old question: How do I get to Carnegie Hall? My answer: Follow me!

01/13/2023

Happy Fun Fact Friday! Today, let’s learn about the Staten Island Ferry. All aboard!

When the Dutch arrived in what is now New York City, they encountered the Lenape Indian people. They had established many boat landing areas around Staten Island. They were constantly traversing the waters around the islands. You could say that they operated the first Staten Island ferries!

Fast forward to 1810. Cornelius Vanderbilt, who grew up on Staten Island, started his ferry service business shuttling people across the waters from Staten Island to Manhattan and back. He purchased his first periauger (the name for that type of boat) with $100 given to him by his father.

Cornelius was quite good at captaining the ships, and his business took off. He continued to buy more periaugers and build his fleet.

Steamboats came along around 1817 and, because they were much faster than the periaugers, Cornelius sold his ships to his father and began working for another company, eventually buying it outright. There were 2 other main ferry companies that operated between Staten Island and NYC. One of them, the New York and Staten Island Steam Ferry, ended up coming out on top. (Spoiler alert: Cornelius Vanderbilt did just fine for himself!).

In the 1880’s, the Staten Island Rapid Transit Railroad Company controlled the railroad and the boats.They built the St. George Terminal, which ran ferries between Staten Island and various docks around Manhattan. The “last terminal standing” for the Staten Island Ferry in Manhattan is the Whitehall Ferry Terminal. Due to limited space to write, our ride continues in the comments!!

01/09/2023

01/06/2023

Happy First Fun Fact Friday of 2023! Let’s start this year learning about one of two film studios, located in the great borough of Queens in New York City. Kaufman-Astoria Studios.

Located in Astoria, Queens, the studio was built in 1920 for a motion picture and distribution company called Famous Players-Lasky Corporation. Paramount pictures ended up forming, born of some wheelings and dealings brought about by Adolph Zukor. The studio was associated with Paramount until all of Paramount’s operations were moved to California in 1932.

Many films were made at the studios, and starred some very famous actors: Mary Pickford, Rudolph Valentino, Gloria Swanson, Milton Berle, Ethel Merman, George Burns, and Diana Ross to name a few.

From 1942 - 1971, the US Army Signal Corps Army Pictorial Service made Army training films at the studio. In 1992, the beloved Sesame Street began taping at Kaufman-Astoria. (Now you know how to get to Sesame Street! - take the N train to 36th Street and walk 4 blocks east.)

The studio has NYC’s only backlot where some of our favorite films and tv shows have been filmed. The first two Marx Brothers films were shot at the studio (The Cocoanuts 1929, Animal Crackers 1930), the musicals Hair and The Wiz, Goodfellas, The Money Pit, Orange Is The New Black, Where in the World is Carmen San Diego?, The Cosby Show, Law & Order…and so many more.

Kaufman-Astoria studios is on the National Register of Historic Places, as well as being a NYC Landmark. It is in a great area of Queens. I would love to show you around the neighborhood when you visit. Come spend A Day Off With Sharona in Astoria!

www.adayoffwithsharona.com
📸 , last photo from Google

12/30/2022

Happy Fun Fact Friday! Tomorrow night, all eyes will be on Times Square, so let’s learn some fun facts about the crossroads of the world!

The area we call Times Square today was countryside on the island of Manhattan for many years. John Jacob Astor acquired the land, and quickly grew his fortune by selling lots to real estate developers and hotels as Manhattanites moved “uptown” for more space. Good ROI, wouldn’t you say?

In the late 1800’s, the horse and carriage trade was centered in the area. The neighborhood didn’t have a name, so people began calling it Longacre Square after the area in London, England named Long Acre.

At the turn of the century, many theaters opened in Longacre Square, bringing with them electric lights and a lot of people. It bustled with theatre patrons and people seeking entertainment in whatever form they could find.

In April of 1904, the New York Times moved their offices into a newly built skyscraper (now called One Times Square) that sat between 42nd and 43rd Streets, and between Broadway and Seventh Avenue.

I found conflicting information about the name change from Longacre to Times Square. One story is that Times publisher Adolph S. Ochs talked the mayor into building a subway station there, and thus the area was renamed Times Square. Another was that the mayor signed a resolution changing the name “without any effort or suggestion on the part of The Times.” If that isn’t all the news that’s fit to print, I don’t know what is!

They say that if you stand in Times Square long enough, you’ll meet everyone you know. Spend A Day Off With Sharona and meet me in Times Square!

Thanks to limited caption space, there are more fun facts in the comments below.

www.adayoffwithsharona.com
📸 and Google

12/23/2022

Happy Fun Fact Friday! Today, we take a look at the Flatiron Building, located in Manhattan on 23rd Street between Broadway and 5th Avenue.

You’ve probably seen photos of the building before. It’s shaped like a triangle, with the point of the building situated at the north end at 23rd Street. It was originally named the Fuller Building, after George Fuller, the founder of the Fuller Company. The name didn’t stick, thanks to people constantly referring to it as the Flatiron Building due to its triangular shape, which resembled a clothes iron.

Daniel Burnham’s architectural firm designed the 21-store building in 1901. It ended up being 22 stories, and was the fist skyscraper north of 14th Street. It is a steel-framed building with limestone exterior at the base, and terracotta tiles on the upper floors. It’s a beautiful example of the Renaissance Revival style architecture.

The building’s most recent tenant was the publishing house Macmillan. However, in 2019, they moved their offices to another building, and the owners of the Flatiron Building started renovations. Fortunately, the building has a good pedigree, and will not be torn down. It has landmark status in New York City (1966), it is on the National Register of Historic Places (1979), and is designated as a Nation Historic Landmark (1989).

My favorite fun fact (which may not be a fact, but I think it’s fun), is in the comments below!
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12/16/2022

Welcome back to Fun Fact Friday! Since Hanukkah begins on Sunday, I’d like to share some fun facts about New York’s oldest Jewish congregation: Shearith Israel.

The congregation of Shearith Israel makes its home on West 70th Street & Central Park West, but it has met in different locations in NYC over the centuries.

The congregation traces its roots back to 1534 in Brazil. The largest Jewish community in The Americas was living in the northeast of Brazil. More than once, they were given the ultimatum to convert to Christianity or be expelled. Some chose to convert, but secretly practiced Judaism.

In 1654, Jews were forced to migrate from their homes by the new regime. Some went to Amsterdam, some to the Caribbean, and 23 refugees made their way to New York City. They were not given a warm welcome, as Peter Stuyvesant was an antisemite and hated Jews. So, the Jewish people appealed to the Dutch West Indian Company, and they were granted the right to stay, and to do trade along the Hudson River.

The first synagogue was built in 1730. People from all over the world sent funds to help build it. It was initially consecrated as Sephardic, but most of the worshippers were Ashkenazi. Ultimately, Shearith Israel became the synagogue for all Jews.

The congregation has held services in 5 different locations in NYC. They have been on West 70th Street since 1897. They have moved their cemetery 4 times, and a few of them can still be seen today.

I hope you learned something new. Happy Hanukkah to all who celebrate!

First 📸 Second 📸 wikepedia

12/09/2022

Fun Fact Friday is here! With the holidays a hop, skip, and a jump away, I want to share some fun facts about The Radio City Rockettes.

It is likely you have seen the famous lineup of lovely ladies at some point in your life. They have been associated with Radio City Music Hall for most of their careers, but their origin story starts the UK.

The group, called the Tiller Girls, began in the 1890’s in England. In 1922, the Tiller Girls made their way to New York City and the Ziegfeld Follies, where a choreographer named Russell Markert saw them perform. Their performance inspired him to create his own troupe of dancers in St. Louis, Missouri. He called them the Missouri Rockets.

In 1925, the Rockets traveled to New York City to be a part of the Broadway show “Rain or Shine”. It was there that S.L. Rothafel - aka “Roxy” - saw them and implored Markert to start a new line that would remain in New York City.

Rothafel’s theatre was called the Roxy, and he renamed the troupe the Roxyettes. He was involved with opening Radio City Music Hall, and brought the Roxyette’s to perform on opening night. To say that they were a hit is an understatement! Their names changed to the Rockettes, and their stars began to rise.

They were a permanent fixture at Radio City Music Hall as featured performers after the movies that were shown at the Music Hall. Their performances often helped the venue secure first-run showings of new movies. Can you imagine attending the opening of King Kong, or Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and then seeing a performance by the Rockettes? Very New York!

More fun facts in the comments!

Have you seen the Rockettes perform in person? It’s quite the site to behold. If you are around NYC during the holiday season, grab a ticket and enjoy the show! Have A Day Off With Sharona before or after the show while you’re at it. 😃

www.adayoffwithsharona.com
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Rockette 📷’s from Google

12/02/2022

Happy Fun Fact Friday! It was an exciting week in NYC. The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree was officially lit up on Wednesday, so let’s learn something about the history of the tradition.

The first Rockefeller Center Christmas tree was put up in 1931. It was purchased by the construction workers who were working on building Rockefeller Center. It was a 20 foot high balsam fir. They decorated it with homemade strings of paper garland, cranberries, and tin cans.

In 1933, a 50-foot tall tree made its debut. Rockefeller Center wanted it to be a gathering place for people during the holiday season. They really sealed the deal when they built an ice skating rink in front of the tree three years later!

During WW2, the decorations were patriotic in red, white, and blue unlit bulbs, and some painted wooden stars. They kept the tree unlit in 1944 and 1945 due to the blackout regulations imposed on NYC. The tree would be decorated in red, white, and blue again in 2001, following the events of September 11th.

Up until 2007, the trees were mulched after they were taken down. Since 2007, the trees get milled into lumber and donated to Habitat for Humanity. It’s nice to think that they continue bringing joy to people after the holiday season.

Christmas is one of the best times to visit NYC. If you are local, make your plan to see this beautiful beacon of joy. If you’re from somewhere else, be sure to make the tree a stop on your visit. I’d be happy to share the tradition with you on A Day Off With Sharona!

www.adayoffwithsharona.com
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B&W 📷 from Google

11/25/2022

Today’s Fun Fact Friday is inspired by a conversation with one of you! Let’s talk about the history of holiday window displays in NYC.

As we head into the holiday season, many locals and visitors will admire the festive holiday-themed windows around town. The most famous ones can be seen at Macy’s, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman, and Bloomingdale’s, and there are countless others that are not as famous, but still delightful. So…how did this tradition begin?

R.H. Macy is said to have created the first holiday window display in 1874. He arranged some porcelain dolls posed in scenes from Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and thus, the NYC holiday window display was born!

At the turn of the 20th century, the industrial revolution made buying larger plate glass more affordable. Department stores were then able to build bigger windows and display more of their wares. This made “window shopping” a way to entice even more customers to shop in their stores.

Electric lights and steam powered technology entered the scene in the late 1900’s, and retailers began using them to enhance their displays. Stores would employ Display Men (the name for people in the window trimming trade…likely there were also women!) to create dynamic displays.

The first animated display was at Erich Brothers in 1881. In 1883, Macy’s created a steam powered display, featuring figures moving along a track. Nowadays, there is no limit to the creativity on display at the various retail stores.

When you are here during the holidays, be sure to do some window shopping. You will be a part of a long holiday tradition in NYC! I’d be happy to share the tradition with you on A Day Off With Sharona!

www.adayoffwithsharona.com
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11/19/2022

Welcome back to Fun Fact Friday! Thanksgiving is less than a week away, so let’s talk about the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade!

The first parade took place in 1924. They recruited store employees to participate, borrowed animals from the Central Park Zoo, had floats, and live musical acts. Santa made an appearance on the balcony at the 34th Street entrance!

It’s estimated that over 250,000 people watched that first parade. Nowadays, the in-person attendance is 2.5 million! Add in people watching on TV, and that is quite an audience.

There was no parade from 1942 to 1944. This is because the helium and rubber used to to make the balloons and floats was need to support the war efforts during World War ll.

Some other fun facts:

- The parade was not televised on network TV until 1948.
- The movie “Miracle on 34th Street” helped introduce the movie to folks outside of NYC in 1947. This definitely helped grow its audience!
- The 2020 parade happened, but it was downsized by 88%, social distancing was enforced, and it was closed to the public.
- Balloons replaced live animals in 1928. They were made by the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company.
- Each of the larger balloons has 90 handlers guiding it along the route. Many of the handlers are Macy’s employees.

If you are in NYC the day before the parade, head up to Central Park to watch the balloons being inflated. This free event happens near The Museum of Natural History at 72nd Street and Columbus Avenue. This year, they are inflating them between 1pm and 6pm, so get there early to get in line and get through the security screening.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

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Ballon and parade 📸 from Google images
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