Tangible History

Last Wednesday, I was fortunate enough to meet Pete Hamill, author of 10 novels, articles and the book Downtown: My Manhattan, which is about the history of Manhattan. He has a voice made to be heard. I listened to him dreamily as he talked about his book writing experience and how passionate he was about this city.
Hamill lived on Second Avenue and 9th Street during the 1960s. I asked him the biggest difference between living there now and then. “Rent,” he answered without hesitation. When Hamill was a resident, he paid only $65 a month to live in the East Village! Today, it is unheard of to find an apartment in that area for under $1,000 a month. Hamill recounted his memories of living on the same block as Jimi Hendrix and drinking $1.50 beers at The Five Spot, a bar which was located at Cooper Square between Third and Fourth streets. When Hamill would visit, he would “nurse a beer” and listen to the house band – Thelonious Monk!
Talking to Hamill was almost like having my very own time machine. It was like looking at the East Village how I have always wanted to see it, but never will. It made me want to take his book and use it like a treasure map to discover the pockets of history around every corner. “Many of the buildings [from the past] are still around,” Hamill says. I recommend his book to anyone who loves history, nostalgia, and discovery.
And while Hamill was signing books, we were listening to Sinatra (how very appropriate old New York). I will always look to his note in mine, which says, “Keep the world on a string!” and I encourage everyone to do the same.