The Great Fire That Transformed New York episode artwork

EPISODE · Dec 12, 2025 · 34 MIN

The Great Fire That Transformed New York

from The Bowery Boys: New York City History · host Greg Young, Tom Meyers

This month marks the 190th anniversary of one of the most devastating disasters in New York City history — The Great Fire of 1835.This massive fire, among the worst in American history in terms of its economic impact, devastated the city during one freezing December evening, destroying hundreds of shops and warehouses and changing the face of Manhattan forever.It also underscored the city’s need for a functioning water system and a permanent fire department.So why were there so many people drinking champagne in the street? And how did the son of Alexander Hamilton save the day?PLUS We give you a another reason to check out the Stone Street Historic DistrictTo mark this special anniversary, we have newly remastered and edited our classic Bowery Boys podcast on this subject which was originally released on March 13, 2009This episode was produced by Kieran Gannon Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Dec 12, 2025

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On a cold winter's evening in 1835, a terrible fire tore through lower Manhattan, destroying hundreds of buildings. But this fire also changed the course of New York City history.

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