March 12th was snow joke 124 years ago! The Great Blizzard of 1888...

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Madison Avenue

Not unlike this year, the weekend of March 9th, 1888 was unseasonably warm.  A balmy Saturday was followed by a drizzly Sunday, and New Yorkers were looking forward to an early Spring.   No one was prepared for what happened that Monday, Macrh 11.  A blizzard moved in,  accompanied by 85 mile an hour winds, creating snow drifts of up to 20 feet high.

Trolleys stuck on the Brooklyn Bridge

 In just under twenty-four hours, 21 inches of snow fell bringing the city to a standstill.  Subzero temps froze the East River, and commuters --unable to take the trolleys paralyzed by the storm -- walked between Brooklyn and Manhattan on the frozen river.

Despite the hardships caused by the storm that crippled the city for 14 days, one good thing came out of it:  so severe was the damage to overhead telegraph, electric and telephone wires, that New York's Mayor Grant ordered all overhead wires to be buried. The result? A beautiful city that remains uncluttered by cables that criss-crossed throughout the streets. Just look at the before and after pictures of Park Row site of the former domed beauty, the City Hall Post Office.


 

So make the best of the great weather this week and take one of our tours!