The Reverse Mayflower

As some readers know, I'm beginning research for a new book, which is going to branch out beyond New York City to other locales and time periods. While the exact structure of the book is still gelling, the first section is going to be about the Pilgrims and the Mayflower; in preparation, my wife and I are about to commence on a "reverse Mayflower" expedition, tracing the path the Pilgrims took, but going backwards from Massachusetts to the U.K. to the Netherlands.

I'll be posting various images, short movie clips, and various musings as we go.

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On a related noted, today marks the day 395 years ago that the Mayflower reached Cape Cod. As Edward Winslow (or another, anonymous author) wrote in Mourt's Relation, one of our only primary sources for the Pilgrims:

image courtesy of Thomas D. Brown Real Estate

[A]nd after many difficulties in boisterous storms, at length by God's providence upon the ninth of November following, by break of the day we espied land which we deemed to be Cape Cod, and so afterward it proved. And the appearance of it much comforted us, especially, seeing so goodly a land, and wooded to the brink of the sea, it caused us to rejoice together, and praise God that had given us once again to see land.

Not the Mayflower. But a nice ship.

A Year on Curbed

In 2014, I had a number of pieces published by Curbed NY, the city's leading online source for real estate journalism.

In case you missed any of them, here's a look back at those pieces.

How Gracie Mansion Became New York's "Little White House"

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2014/01/03/how_gracie_mansion_became_new_yorks_little_white_house.php

See 11 Centuries-Old Remnants of New Amsterdam in NYC

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2014/05/05/see_11_centuriesold_remnants_of_new_amsterdam_in_nyc.php

The Dramatic History of Gramercy Park's National Arts Club

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2014/05/27/the_dramatic_history_of_gramercy_parks_national_arts_club.php

The Controversial Origins of New York City's Frick Collection

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2014/07/29/the_controversial_origins_of_new_york_citys_frick_collection.php

Mapping Central Park Architect Calvert Vaux's Other New York City Work

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2014/08/07/mapping_central_park_architect_calvert_vauxs_other_nyc_work.php

The Strange History of the East Village's Most Famous Street

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2014/09/04/the_strange_history_of_the_east_villages_most_famous_street.php

Tracing Three Centuries of Williamsburg's Bedford Avenue

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2014/11/06/tracing_three_centuries_of_williamsburgs_bedford_avenue.php

Mapping 13 Surviving Civil War Sites Across New York City

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2014/11/25/mapping_13_surviving_civil_war_sites_across_new_york_city.php

Bleecker Street Evolution from Sleepy Suburb to America's Left Bank

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2014/12/19/bleecker_streets_evolution_from_sleepy_suburb_to_americas_left_bank.php

AND STAY TUNED.... I will have a featurette on the oldest buildings in New York City running soon, followed by an examination of forgotten real estate mogul Thomas E. Davis.