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Historiography

(Courtesy of New York Public Library)

Christopher Columbus & Washington Irving

The current historic interpretation and understanding of Christopher Columbus stands as complicated. To put it mildly. Controversy aside, Christopher Columbus figured prominently in the formation of a uniquely American cultural identity. This seems to be forgotten today amid our debates over identity politics and historical grievances. Proof: Washington Irving, the writer with whom I’ve been…

Valiant Ambition Cover

Valiant Ambition: Rethinking the American Revolution

During my early adulthood, I lived in Philadelphia and spent a majority of my leisure time visiting historic sites, cemeteries, and museums. I loved learning about colonial and early America. I loved living in a place where I could see, hear, and even touch history. Although I no longer call Philadelphia home, I still enjoy…

Jersey City: The Quiet Stories of History

Recently, a local historian and lifelong Jersey City resident shared with me his joyous surprise upon discovering a cache of newspaper articles concerning a prominent late-nineteenth-century resident of his neighborhood and this resident’s failed attempt to sell his private park to the Jersey City government. This nineteenth-century gentleman was Bernard Vetterlain. Bernard Vetterlain earned his…

Ruins Among Us: (Post) Industrial Space

A few weeks ago, my friend and I spent a Sunday morning documenting a gargantuan industrial property situated on the borderlands between Essex and Hudson Counties, New Jersey. We snapped hundreds of photographs, jotted down notes, and exchanged innumerable observations. Recently, we transformed our creative material into an article submitted to a very niche and…

Restored interior of apartment of an Irish-American family, Tenement Museum (Courtesy of The Secret Victorianist).

Old Homes, Historic Homes: Why are We Drawn to Them?

My previous post discussed the Ballantine House in Newark, New Jersey and touched upon the fascination and attraction of such spaces. Why do people decide to spend their leisure time or vacations visiting historic neighborhoods and sites, especially houses and homes? Aren’t they just moldy, musty aging places full of shadows of (largely) dead rich…

Why Jersey City?

About ten years ago, I moved to Jersey City, following a girl (now my smart, sophisticated, and stylish wife) and needing cheap rent. The second reason likely sounds familiar to many of the newer residents discovering and building their households in Jersey City since its “rebirth” in the 1990s. I immediately fell in love with…