Overview

Devil's Mile tells the rip-roaring story of New York's oldest and most unique street. The Bowery was a synonym for despair throughout most of the 20th century. The very name evoked visuals of drunken bums passed out on the sidewalk, and New Yorkers nicknamed it ""Satan's Highway,"" ""The Mile of Hell,"" and ""The Street of Forgotten Men."" For years the little businesses along the Bowery-stationers, dry goods sellers, jewelers, hatters-periodically asked the city to change the street's name. To have a Bowery address, they claimed, was hurting them; people did not want to venture there. But when New York exploded into real estate frenzy in the 1990s, developers discovered the Bowery. They rushed in and began tearing down. Today, Whole Foods, hipster night spots, and expensive lofts have replaced the old flophouses and dive bars, and the bad old Bowery no longer exists. In Devil's Mile, Alice Sparberg Alexiou tells the story of The Bowery, starting with its origins, when forests covered the surrounding area, and through the pre-Civil War years, when country estates of wealthy New Yorkers lined this thoroughfare. She then describes The Bowery's deterioration in stunning detail, starting in the post-bellum years. She ends her historical exploration of this famed street in the present, bearing witness as the old Bowery buildings, and the memories associated with them, are disappearing.

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9781531507268

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Reviews

"[A]n engaging cultural history of the Bowery . . . Ms. Alexiou's passion for her subject is palpable and admirable.-- ""The Wall Street Journal"" Alexiou guides us through this checkered history with gusto.-- ""The New York Times Book Review"" New York historian Alexiou enlivens the street's history with insightful portraits of the street's denizens. A very valuable addition to any urban-history collection.-- ""Booklist (starred review)"" This anecdote-laden urban history of New York City's Bowery by Alexiou makes for addictive reading. The chapters on the city's tumultuous early days are top-rate urban history, yet Alexiou hits her stride in describing the 19th century, when the Bowery was 'America's center of sin.' Astutely written and smartly researched, this is a fascinating micro-take on New York's cycle of boom and bust.-- ""Publisher's Weekly"""

Author Information

Alice Sparberg Alexiou (Author) Alice Sparberg Alexiou is the author of Jane Jacobs: Urban Visionary and The Flatiron: The New York Landmark and the Extraordinary City That Arose with It. She is a recent contributor to the New England Review and a contributing editor at Lilith Magazine. Peter Quinn (Foreword By) Peter Quinn is a novelist, political historian, and foremost chronicler of New York City. He is the author of Banished Children of Eve, American Book Award winner; Looking for Jimmy: In Search of Irish America; and a trilogy of historical detective novels—Hour of the Cat, The Man Who Never Returned, and Dry Bones.

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