Cultural notes for chapters 1 -3

Shingle - The Shingle Style in America was made popular by the rise of the New England school of architecture, which eschewed the highly ornamented patterns of the Eastlake style. In the Shingle Style, English influence was combined with the renewed interest in Colonial American architecture which followed the 1876 celebration of the Centennial. Architects emulated colonial houses' plain, shingled surfaces as well as their massing, whether in the simple gable of McKim Mead and White's Low House or in the complex massing of Kragsyde, which looked almost as if a colonial house had been fancifully expanded over many years. This impression of the passage of time was enhanced by the use of shingles. Some architects, in order to attain a weathered look on a new building, even had the cedar shakes dipped in buttermilk, dried and then installed, to leave a grayish tinge to the façade.

Fish fries - In the Southern portion of the United States, a fish fry is a family or social gathering, held outdoors or in large halls. At a typical fish fry, quantities of freshwater fish (such as bream, catfish, flounder and bass) available locally are battered and deep fried in cooking oil. The batter usually consists of corn meal, milk or buttermilk, and seasonings. In addition to the fish, hushpuppies (deep fried, seasoned corn dumplings), and cole slaw are served. These events are often potluck affairs. The world's largest fish fry is held each spring in Paris, Tennessee. In Georgia and South Carolina, fish are dipped in milk, then into a mix of flour, cornmeal and seasonings before frying. Buttered grits is often a side dish.

Vaudeville - was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s in which each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill. Types of acts included popular and classical musicians, dancers, comedians, trained animals, magicians, female and male impersonators, acrobats, one-act plays or scenes from plays, athletes, lecturing celebrities, minstrels, and movies. Vaudeville developed from many sources, including the concert saloon, minstrelsy, freak shows, dime museums and literary burlesque. Dubbed by one "the heart of [the era's] American show business," vaudeville was one of the most popular types of entertainment in North America during the several decades of its existence.

Trolley - A tram, tramcar, trolley, trolleycar, or streetcar is a railborne vehicle, of lighter weight and construction than a train, designed for the transport of passengers (and, very occasionally, freight) within, close to, or between villages, towns and/or cities, on tracks running primarily on streets. Certain types of cable car are also known as trams.

Parasol - An umbrella or parasol (sometimes colloquially; gamp, brolly, umbrellery, or bumbershoot) is a canopy designed to protect against precipitation or sunlight. The term parasol usually refers to an item designed to protect from the sun.

Boater - A boater (also basher, skimmer, katie, or sennit hat) is a kind of hat associated with sailing and boating. It is normally made of sennit straw and has a stiff or soft flat crown and brim, typically with a ribbon around the crown, which is often in colours representing a school, rowing crew or similar institution.

Madi­son Square Garden - often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, has been the name of four arenas in New York City. It is also the name of the entity which owns the arena and several of the professional sports franchises which play there.

Mamzelle Champagne - Mam'zelle Champagne was a musical revue with book by Edgar Allan Woolf, music by Cassius Freeborn, produced by Henry Pincus, which opened June 25, 1906. On opening night at Madison Square Garden, millionaire playboy Harry K. Thaw shot and killed architect Stanford White: the musical's run continued for some 60 performances largely on the publicity from this incident.

Stanford White was known to have seduced Thaw's wife, showgirl Evelyn Nesbit. During the opening-night performance of Mam'zelle Champagne, audience members noticed Thaw repeatedly glaring at White. Thaw eventually got up, crossed over to White's seat and shot him point-blank while the show onstage was in the midst of a number titled "I Could Love a Million Girls". It has never been established whether the subject matter of this particular song was a factor in prompting Thaw to take action at that particular moment.

Charles Dana Gibson’s "The Eternal Question"

Peddler - a travelling vendor of goods.

Warn the Duke - In the original version of Ragtime, before editing, Doctorow wrote a chapter in which Houdini tells the Archduke Ferdinand that his life is in danger, and then German officials throw Houdini in jail. Doctorow cut it out, though, because it posed a dead end for Houdini's character. That's also why, when he's suspended from the Times building, he thinks back to the "boy staring at his reflection in the headlights" as he wonders about Franz Ferdinand's death.

Derby - The bowler hat, also known as a coke hat, derby (US) or billycock, is a hard felt hat with a rounded crown originally created in 1849.

Ellis Island - at the mouth of the Hudson River in New York Harbor, is the location of what was from January 1, 1892, until November 12, 1954 the main entry facility for immigrants entering the United States; the facility replaced the state-run Castle Garden Immigration Depot (1855–1890) in Manhattan. It is owned by the Federal government and is now part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument, under the jurisdiction of the US National Park Service. Ellis Island was also the subject of a border dispute between the states of New York and New Jersey (see below). It is situated predominantly in Jersey City, New Jersey, although a small portion of its territory falls within neighboring New York City.

Pope-Toledo Runabout (see picture)

Winslow Homer - (February 24, 1836 – September 29, 1910) was an American landscape painter and printmaker, best known for his marine subjects. He is considered one of the foremost painters in 19th century America and a preeminent figure in American art.

Peary - Robert Edwin Peary (May 6, 1856 – February 20, 1920) was an American explorer who claimed to have been the first person, on April 6, 1909, to reach the geographic North Pole. Peary's claim was widely credited for most of the 20th century, though it was criticized even in its own day and is today widely doubted.

Jacob Riis - Jacob August Riis (May 3, 1849 - May 26, 1914), was a Danish-American social reformer, muckraking journalist and photographer. He is known for his dedication to using his photographic and journalistic talents to help the impoverished in New York City, which was the subject of most of his prolific writings and photography. He helped with the implementation of "model tenements" in New York with the help of humanitarian Lawrence Veiller. As one of the most prominent exponents of the newly practicable flash, he is considered a pioneer in photography.

Mameh, Tateh - Hebrew for Mother, Father

See the reference part for personalities of:

Stanford White

Harry K. Thaw

Evelyn Nesbit

Emma Gold­man

Harry Houdini

Date: 2015-04-20; view: 801