HISTORY & MYSTERIES
LIQUOR LADEN PLANE FROM CANADA FALLS AS IT NEARS CITY Drops 250 Quarts of Scotch Near Croton, Where Water for Highballs Comes From FLIER ESCAPES IN AN AUTO Car Apparently in Waiting Whisks Limping Aviator From Scene “Dusk was deepening into darkness” on the night of May 15, 1922, as a Curtis biplane circled slowly … Continue reading The Mystery of the Rum Plane
In the June 18, 1931 issue of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, arts and entertainment writer Rian James1 used his column to promote the 8th edition of his vest-pocket Gadabout Guide to New York’s most unusual Restaurants, Night Clubs, Roadhouses. The “Wide-Open Spaces Department” of his column gives us a flavor of life on the roads … Continue reading The Hoity-Toitiest Spot Extant
Here’s a real treat—a double-fold promotional postcard for the Nikko Tea House, probably printed circa 1907 to 1910.1 An artist with the initials “W.K.” created the beautiful images and hand-lettered the map and poem on the centerfold. The map has a wonderful depiction of the Nikko and helpfully provides the location of “police traps” on … Continue reading If You Follow the Road to Harmon, You Surely Can’t go Wrong
In a previous post we displayed two ads from 1917 for Goodyear Cord Tires, featuring detailed pen-and-ink drawings of Nikko Inn. These clever bits of Jazz Age cross-promotion appeared in magazines ranging from the Atlantic Monthly and The New Country Life to Travel and Forest & Stream. Now we’ve discovered a much more elegant ad … Continue reading A Sharp and Palpable Difference
Come take a stroll in the beautiful Japanese gardens of the Mikado Inn, in Harmon-on-Hudson. Enjoy a dinner of exotic oriental dishes (or, if you prefer something more familiar, try the $5.00 Porterhouse Steak for two). After dinner you can listen to that clever young man, Oscar Levant, play “Yes, We Have No Bananas” on … Continue reading Mikado Inn “Real Photo” Postcard, circa 1920
Who was the marketing genius behind this bit of Jazz Age cross-promotion? The 1917 ads for Goodyear Cord Tires appeared in magazines ranging from the Atlantic Monthly and The New Country Life to Travel and Forest & Stream . Both feature detailed pen-and-ink drawings of Nikko Inn in the background, suggesting the perfect place you … Continue reading You Can Expect Immediate Benefits
It’s a beautiful day and you’ve decided to take a jaunt in your newfangled automobile, going north along the scenic Hudson River. You can’t count on good, well-marked roads, so you’ve brought along the GPS system of the day—a copy of Photo-auto maps . . . New York to Albany which features “photographs of every … Continue reading Motoring Across the Croton, 1912
"Something New!" proclaimed this ad from the May 30, 1908 issue of the Peekskill Highland Democrat. "Right on the Beautiful Croton River, where Cool Breezes blow even on the warmest days." This ad must have been the beginning of a publicity campaign, because about a month later the New York Times 1 published a short … Continue reading American Cooking, Japanese Service!
On June 17, 1922 the New York Times published an article on several raids conducted by Federal prohibition agents. The Central Brewing Company in New York City was indicted for selling beer with more than 4% alcohol content. The Feds also seized a Rabbi's wine, a widow's whiskey still and further upstate some multi-talented agents … Continue reading Our Multi-Talented Federal Prohibition Agents
"Nikko Inn, in Harmon-on-Hudson, Must Close for Two Months," read the headline of a short article in the New York Times, on May 20, 1925. "Ten restaurants, saloons and speakeasies were ordered closed yesterday by Judge John C. Knox in the Federal Padlock Court. The Nikko Inn, a Japanese roadhouse and tea room in Harmon-on-Hudson, … Continue reading Roy Kojima, Busted and Boastful
CROTON 