π™°πš πšπš‘πšŠπš πšπš’πš–πšŽ πš’πš— π™°πš–πšŽπš›πš’πšŒπšŠ

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π™°πš πšπš‘πšŠπš πšπš’πš–πšŽ πš’πš— π™°πš–πšŽπš›πš’πšŒπšŠ A journey through America's significant events. πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ

Actress Marlene Dietrich is hoisted up to kiss her loved one, as he arrives home from World War II. New York, 1945 ...
12/09/2025

Actress Marlene Dietrich is hoisted up to kiss her loved one, as he arrives home from World War II. New York, 1945

1976 β€” South Bronx.Four boys play with a shopping cart beside a vacant lot littered with trash. Abandoned buildings rise...
12/08/2025

1976 β€” South Bronx.
Four boys play with a shopping cart beside a vacant lot littered with trash. Abandoned buildings rise behind them.
Photo by Brownie Harris/Getty.

1980. Pubs full by 7pm, loud laughter, spray snow everywhere β€” good times.
12/08/2025

1980. Pubs full by 7pm, loud laughter, spray snow everywhere β€” good times.

Who were these men, and what was their link to the Bronx?
12/08/2025

Who were these men, and what was their link to the Bronx?


This was how the 1939 New York World's Fair envisioned cities of the near future, in an exhibit sponsored by the General...
12/03/2025

This was how the 1939 New York World's Fair envisioned cities of the near future, in an exhibit sponsored by the General Motors Corporation.....

Gothic Revival Mansion built in 1850 Bronxville, New York
12/03/2025

Gothic Revival Mansion built in 1850
Bronxville, New York

New York is often called β€œthe Italian American capital” because it has the largest Italian American population in the Un...
12/03/2025

New York is often called β€œthe Italian American capital” because it has the largest Italian American population in the United States. Italian communities exist in all five boroughs, many with roots going back more than a century. Italians helped build modern New York City and left an enduring mark on its arts, politics, language, and especially its cuisine.

In the city’s first two centuries, relatively few Italians lived in New York. In 1860, only about 1,400 residents were of Italian descent. Most worked tough jobs as dockworkers, fruit sellers, organ grinders, or rag pickers, often living in the deteriorating Five Points slum. But during the 1860s a wave of immigration beganβ€”one that became a flood by the end of the 19th century. From 1900 to 1914, nearly two million Italians came to America, the majority through New York. By 1930, the city had over one million Italian Americans, making up 17% of its population.

Most came from southern Italy, and many were contadiniβ€”landless farmers escaping extreme poverty. Early arrivals were often men who planned to earn money and return home. Some were recruited by padroni (labor brokers) who arranged their passage and lodging, then hired them out in work crews while keeping most of their wages. With limited formal education, many Italian men found work as laborers, digging trenches, paving streets, and helping build landmarks such as the Brooklyn Bridge, the subway, and Grand Central Terminal. Others built small businesses as vendors, grocers, or barbers. Italian women and girls commonly worked in the garment factories.

Like many immigrant groups facing language and cultural barriers, Italians formed tight-knit ethnic enclaves. Early communities grew along Mulberry Street north of Five Points, in Greenwich Village, and in East Harlem. Although New Yorkers referred to them simply as β€œItalians,” the immigrants identified more strongly with their regions and villages back home. Neighborhoods were organized the same way: Mulberry Street was primarily Neapolitan; Mott Street held the Calabresi; Hester Street the Apulians; while Elizabeth Street was overwhelmingly Sicilianβ€”sometimes with each block representing a single Sicilian town.

These close communitiesβ€”made even closer by crowded streets and cramped tenementsβ€”were built around family, food, and faith. Cultural tensions occasionally arose, especially when Italians were expected to share churches with Irish Catholics. Many preferred worshiping in church basements rather than attending what they viewed as an β€œIrish” Mass.

Facing discrimination and poverty, Italian Americans created mutual aid societies, cultural clubs (especially for music and opera), and organizations to preserve their regional traditions and religious festivals. Less positive were the rise of La Cosa Nostra crime groups, rooted in Sicilian secret societies, which expanded during Prohibition into the American Mafia.

Throughout the 20th century, Italian Americans gradually moved out of the old, overcrowded neighborhoods. Today, major Italian communities thrive in Bensonhurst and Bay Ridge in Brooklyn (famous from Saturday Night Fever), Howard Beach and Ozone Park in Queens, Belmont in the Bronx, and across Staten Island, where more than half the population is of Italian heritage.

Although few Italians still live in historic enclaves like Little Italy, Greenwich Village, or Italian Harlem, the cultural legacy remains. A handful of beloved family-run restaurants, food shops, and cafΓ©s continue to preserve the flavor of New York’s Italian immigrant past.

πŸ“· Italian grocery store, New York, 1943

12/03/2025

Trivia About Esther Williams (August 8, 1921 – June 6, 2013)

Esther Williams began swimming at a young age and quickly stood out for her exceptional speed. By 16 she was winning national titles, and by 19 she had broken several breaststroke and freestyle records. She planned to compete in the 1940 Tokyo Olympics, but the Games were canceled due to World War II.

During her time performing in the Aquacade, Williams worked alongside Olympic swimmer–turned–actor Johnny Weissmuller. In her memoir, she revealed that Weissmuller frequently tried to pursue her romantically, but his β€œTarzan-style” antics didn’t impress her. Williams rejected his advances multiple timesβ€”especially since she was interested in someone far more reliable than a Hollywood leading man.

According to MGM’s Louis B. Mayer, he recruited Williams as MGM’s answer to 20th Century Fox’s ice-skating star Sonja Henie. Williams secured her MGM contract after completing a screen test with Clark Gable for Somewhere I’ll Find You.

One of her best-known films, Million Dollar Mermaid, became so iconic that the title turned into her lifelong nickname. In the movie, Williams portrayed Annette Kellermann, the real-life Australian swimming and diving pioneer, and starred alongside Victor Mature. Released in 1952, the film was a major success and earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography. The nickname also reflected Williams’ growing fameβ€”and rising salaryβ€”during the 1940s and 1950s.

Many of Williams’ MGM productions, including Million Dollar Mermaid and Jupiter’s Darling, featured grand synchronized swimming sequences that came with significant risks. While filming a 115-foot dive for Million Dollar Mermaid, she broke her neck and spent seven months in a body cast. Although she recovered, she continued to experience persistent headaches. Long hours in studio water tanks caused repeated eardrum injuries, and she once nearly drowned after being unable to locate a trapdoor in a darkened tankβ€”she was saved only because a crew member noticed the door hadn’t opened.

In her memoir, Williams described 1959 as one of the most difficult periods of her life. She was coping with a recent divorce, struggling with exhaustion and alcoholism, and feeling increasingly emotionally fragile. These challenges ultimately contributed to her retirement from film.

Later in life, Williams helped design a line of retro-inspired swimwear modeled after the stylish suits she wore in her movies. This venture, along with a swimming pool company bearing her name, kept her active and engaged until her passing.

Do you remember the classic American barbershop?Let's go back!
12/03/2025

Do you remember the classic American barbershop?
Let's go back!

12/02/2025

Bison at 35 below zero. Yellowstone National Park, USA.

πŸ“Έ: Tom Murphy

Scarlett johansson
12/01/2025

Scarlett johansson

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