The Story of New York in 10 Objects
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Object #1: The Greek Coffee Cup
The top object in our countdown is perhaps the most accidental of New York icons. In its heyday the Anthora cup, with its crisp blue and white Greco design, was the way you drank hot ... Mar 16, 2012
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Object # 2: The Subway Token
It might seem odd that our listeners chose an object that hasn’t been used in New York City for nearly a decade as number two on our list. But as Robert Del Bango of the New York City... Mar 16, 2012
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Object # 3: The Food Cart
Eating outside has always been a part of the New York City way of life. “The early colony was downtown,” Fabio Parasecoli of The New School told us. “Food had to be brought to souther... Mar 14, 2012
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Object #4: The Oyster
Our listeners chose the lowly oyster—not the exalted bagel— as the only edible object on our list of ten items which define New York City. In a number of ways, the rise and demise of... Mar 12, 2012
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Object #5: 18th-Century Ship Excavated from WTC Site in 2010
This object is an example of New York’s past colliding with its present. “We’ve never seen a boat like this before,” Warren Reiss a maritime historian and archeologist at the Univers... Mar 12, 2012
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Object #6: Frank O'Hara's Lunch Poems
It was slightly surprising that Frank O’Hara’s 1964 collection Lunch Poems came in at number six on our list, but it turns out to be a very good way of looking at New York City. As... Mar 7, 2012
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Object #7: The Brooklyn Bridge
The seventh object on our list violates the central rule of our contest that it “must be able to fit in a museum”—but just this once we’ll make an exception. Richard Haw, a professor ... Mar 5, 2012
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Object #8: "Wall St." Sign
The Wall Street sign is the first object on our list that is central to both the long history of New York City and the current moment. William D. Cohan, author of Money And Power told... Mar 2, 2012
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Object #9: Manhattan Schist
Who knew so many of our listeners were geology enthusiasts? Or that, to use a pun Leonard would probably dream up, they really know their schist? Charles Merguerian, chairman of the G... Mar 1, 2012
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Object #10: The NYC Subway Map
It’s fitting that we kick off our countdown of the 10 objects that tell the story of New York with an object that, quite literally, lets us explore the city. Even the most savvy, life... Feb 29, 2012
