The Bowery Boys is an interesting podcast about New York City history. The hosts are Tom Meyers and Greg Young. The episodes I listened to are about Freedomland U.S.A. and the Jersey Shark Attacks of 1916. The hosts have a good sense of humor and you learn a lot while enjoying a laugh.
Freedomland U.S.A. was an American history themed amusement park in the Bronx from 1960-1964. In the podcast episode, the hosts explain the origin of the park, which was designed by C.V. Wood. Wood worked with Walter Disney in creating Disneyland until the two had a falling out-it is unclear exactly what happened. He raised sixty-five million dollars to build Freedomland U.S.A. and it was completed in 1960.
Freedomland U.S.A. was built in the shape of the United States and rides/attractions were built in the parts of the park to match states in the U.S. Some of them included a Great Chicago Fire attraction where children could extinguish a mock fire with a water hose, a staged robbery demonstration in the “Wild West”, and a tornado ride in the southern part of the park. The hosts describe how Freedomland struggled to make money from day one and ultimately filed for bankruptcy in 1964. Co-op City was built in its place. Listeners will enjoy hearing the story of how Freedomland was built and be amused by the quirkiness of the rides and attractions at the park.
In the episode about the Jersey Shark Attacks of 1916, you learn shark attacks were unheard of until 1916. This why people initially doubted that there were shark attacks. When it became obvious that they were indeed shark attacks and they continued to happen, residents of New Jersey and New York City panicked and set-up steel gates at beaches and fishermen hunted sharks. The hosts explain how this frenzy inspired the book and movie Jaws. It is interesting to hear the history of how we came to fear sharks.
The Bowery Boys is filled with interesting facts and stories about New York City. For those eager to learn more about its history, I highly recommend this podcast.
If you are interested in learning more about Freedomland U.S.A., please attend the program Freedomland’s Celebrity Entertainers at the Grinton I. Will Library on September 18. This lecture will be given by author Michael Virgintino and is about the over 150 celebrities that appeared and performed at Freedomland U.S.A.
Michael Walsh is an Adult Services Librarian. He is currently reading War by Sebastian Junger.