A Block in Time: A New York City History at the Corner of Fifth Avenue and Twenty-Third Street

by Christiane Bird

Gotham meets The Island at the Center of the World in this dazzling history of a single block in Manhattan from the Age of Exploration to the present.

This is the story of New York City, told through the prism of one block, bordered by Twenty-third Street to the south, Twenty-fourth Street to the north, Fifth Avenue and Broadway to the east, and Sixth Avenue to the west. It's a story of forest and cement, bird cries and taxi horns, theaters and factories, gambling dens and gourmet foods. It's also the story of high life and low life, immigrants and tourists, farmers and aristocrats, crooked cops and moral reformers, toy stores and social climbers--from Solomon Pieters, a former slave who was the first owner of the block, to Alexander “Clubber” Williams, the notorious police officer of the 1870s who accepted bribes and wielded his club with equal impunity, to Marietta Stevens, whose Sunday-night socials and scheming became the stuff of legend. Greed and generosity, guilt and innocence, extravagance and degradation--all have flourished on this one Manhattan block, emblematic of the city as a whole.

Venturing from the opulent halls of the Fifth Avenue Hotel to grimy Sixth Avenue brothels, from the era of the Lenape to that of the Dutch, from the Gilded Age to the twentieth century, when the block and the city were transformed into something closely resembling the Manhattan we know today, A Block in Time takes us on a dynamic, exhilarating tour of history. Welcome to New York, past and present, and hear all the sordid and edifying stories this small patch of land has to tell.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, New York, Audiobook

384 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2022

About the author

Christiane Bird has written about a wide variety of topics, ranging from the world of music to the Middle East. Her books have involved travels in place (to Iran, Turkey, Iraq, Oman, and Zanzibar) and travels in time (from New York City's prehistory through to its present days). She has worked on staff at the New York Daily News and published articles in many different publications, including the Washington Post and Los Angeles Times. She is also an avid reader of fiction and has published short stories in The Southern Review and Antaeus.

Reviews

[Jenn Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Giving this a 4.5 but rounding down.
I really enjoyed this and felt it was a creative way to cover a whole range of social and cultural history of NYC, but I was a little confused at times. I started it as an audiobook and lost access partway through, which led me to the ebook, which I actually enjoyed more. While mostly chronological, sometimes a chapter would exclusively tell one story beginning to end (e.g. the chapter on Evelyn Nesbit, which was morbidly fascinating) but other times a chapter would center on a concept and then jump around a little in time. This was easier to follow by reading the ebook than when I was listening to the audiobook. Would definitely recommend, but note that sometimes it felt like a collection of interrelated essays about this block/NYC history instead of one cohesive tale.

[Nina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC from Bloomsbury Publishing in exchange for an honest review.
This is a fascinating, highly readable look at the history of New York City, told through the microcosm of a single city block, Madison Square, from prehistoric times, when it was a haven for mastodons and giant beavers, through to its gentrified present. There's high life and low lifes, luxury hotels and brothels, scandal and good, upright society families. Like New York itself, there are delights to be found around the turn of every page.

[LJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thoroughly engaging and informative history of New York city filtered through a specific location. My primary interest was the Gilded Age but other decades were just as interesting. The book covers the very beginnings of New York as a colonized entity up through the pandemic of 2020. It's an entertaining overview and a good choice for anyone wanting to get the inside scoop on a few juicy details.

[Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though based on copious and meticulous research, Christiane Bird's latest book doesn't read like a history book in the least — not a history of the city nor the history of a block. That's because its chapters tell the riveting stories of NYC denizens whose lives intersected with Block 825, the City's designation of the tract of land spanning Fifth to Sixth Avenue and 23rd to 24th Street, with which Bird frames the book. Some are famous (like Stanford White, Evelyn Nesbit and her husband, Harry Thaw) while others are largely unknown, such as Marietta Reed Stevens, a savvy widow hellbent on joining the upper echelons of New York society despite a modest upbringing, and Alexander "Clubber" Williams, a corrupt and violent cop who managed to escape guilty verdicts 18 times. Certain buildings, like the long-gone but enormously influential Fifth Avenue Hotel, are so lovingly brought to life that in the end they become beloved protagonists themselves. Of course, through telling these stories across time, Bird illuminates historical moments as well, from the origin and building out of the grid system that created Block 825 to the draft riots of 1863, which expose the city's sympathies for the South before and during the Civil War. Interweaving societal change and upheaval seamlessly with a fascinating cast of characters, Bird pulls off the remarkable feat of telling history through the eyes of those who lived it, much like we all experience it ourselves.

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of 2022's most delightful surprises, so far. Ms. Bird walks an impressive line between academic and storyteller with her history of New York City through the prism of one block. Defined by 23rd Street to the south, 24th Street to the north, and sandwiched between 5th and 6th Avenues, every age of Manhattan is given a vivid close-up. The block saw the displacement of the original Lenape inhabitants, freed slave farmers, outrageous Gilded Age wealth, the rise of the manufacturing class, 1980s and 1990s societal desolation, and finally its current state of gentrification and technology. The book is packed with mini-biographies of Manhattan's biggest names, both famous and infamous. A delightful read.

[Charles R · Rating 5 out of 5]

A friend, who knows my interest in New York City and its history, suggested I read "A Block in Time." I received a copy three days ago and I'm halfway through. Fabulous.

Who would think that an author could write a book as detailed and as interesting about one block in NYC, but Christiane Bird has done it. Interesting characters...famous, infamous and heretofore unknown...come to life...one after another.

I'm enjoying this book so much I just ordered a copy for my friend, author and historian, Peter Quinn, one of NYC's preeminent Irish-American historians. He will love this, as will anyone interested in reading a great work about a great city.

Highly recommended.

[Ruth Berkow · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a remarkable book -- It brings New York City to life in a new way through the history of one city block told through the lives of the people who lived there. I have lived in NYC for many years and thought I knew a good deal of history of the City; yet, I'm learning a lot from this book. Enjoy --

[Pam Erickson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book fol!ows a single city block of Manhattan, beginning with the Native Americans and ending near modern times. It's a pretty dry narrative, interesting to me only because I am visiting New York soon. It was interesting to follow the transitions of a particular area, and how the city spread to the north.

[James Gale · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book rules. Incredible lens to look at the history of New York, with narratives on a place without tightening the look too much. Early part of the 20th century felt a little more like a rattling off of comings and goings, otherwise fantastic.

Biased because I work here

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great history that follows the changes on a parcel of land that makes up one block of modern-day Manhattan. It begins in pre-history and goes all way through the pandemic.

[Nan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the book because I’m very familiar with NYC. Might be less interesting to someone that doesn’t know the City

[Eva · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't like history books, but this was pretty cool

[Carol Kosse · Rating 5 out of 5]

The history of Manhattan seen through the lense of a single block - the block bordered by 23rd St to the South, 24th St to the North, 5th Ave and Broadway to the East and 6th Ave to the West.

In this book Christiane Bird brings to life this small patch of land from its pre-ice age days to the present via a collection of fascinating, well-researched and colourful accounts of the area and the many people who lived and worked there.

What a fun, engrossing, read this was!