CHRONOLOGY OF NEW YORK CITY'S FACTUAL "FIRST" 1524-1999
Researched and Compiled by Miriam Medina

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*Please note this is a work in progress. New researched information will be added periodically.

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1) The Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Sponsored by Yeshiva University, the institution will be the first medical college in the U.S. under Jewish auspices.

2) The biggest public housing project on the East Side, the Baruch Houses, named for Dr. Simon Baruch, father of Bernard Baruch and a distinguished physician in the Confederate Army . The first part of the $32,000,000 Baruch Houses was dedicated by President Eisenhower on August 19, 1953.

3) The President Theater, at 247 W. 48th Street was established in 1953 as the first Yiddish Theater on Broadway since 1938.

4) The first cinemascope movie, "The Robe," premiered in New York, September 16, 1953. *(afp.com)

5) James Baldwin, American author, b. New York City. His first two novels, Go Tell It on the Mountain (1953), and Giovanni's Room (1956), * (Bartleby)

6) The African-American Institute at 380 Lexington Ave in New York was founded in 1953. * (t.a.)

7) In the first mass migration by airplane, 58,500 Puerto Ricans arrive in New York City, fleeing acute poverty at home . * (nyct)

8) The President Theater at 247 W. 48th St., was established in 1953 as the first Yiddish theater on Broadway since 1938. * (ajtg)

9) The Bernard M. Baruch School of Business and Public Administration, formerly the City College School of Business Administration, is located at 23rd St. and Lexington Ave. It was renamed in honor of one of the most distinguished graduates of City College, Bernard M. Baruch, , on September 27, 1953. Mr. Baruch, a former trustee of City College and a member of the class of 1889, was one of the first proponents of a business school for the college. * (ajtg)

10) The Albert Einstein College of Medicine, the initial unit in a $25,000,000 medical teaching center, to include colleges of dentistry, nursing, public health and post-graduate studies occupies the triangle of land bounded by Westchester Road, Morris Park Ave, and Tenbrook Ave. Ground for the college was broken on October 25, 1953. Sponsored by Yeshiva University, the institution will be the first medical college in the U.S. under Jewish auspices. * (ajtg)

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1) Irving Howe, American literary critic and historian was one of the founders of the political magazine "Dissent" in 1954.

2) March 19, 1954 - Joey Giardello knocked out Willie Tory in round seven at the Garden in the first televised prize boxing fight shown in color.

3) Murry and Leonie Guggenheim Institute of Dental Research, 339 E. 25th St., a part of the New York University College of Dentistry, was founded in 1954 through a $500,000 grant by the Murry and Leonie Guggenheim Foundation. * (ajtg)

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1) New York's Long Island Expressway first opens to traffic.

2) In New York City the first publication of the Village Voice, a liberal weekly paper.

3) 1955 The Medical Science Building and the Henry W. and Albert Berg Institute opens at NYU. *(NYU)

4) The aircraft carrier, U.S.S. Saratoga, the world's most powerful warship, was launched at the Brooklyn, New York Navy Yard, October 7, 1955. *(afp.com)

5) The Honeymooners, a television show set in Bensonhurst, is first broadcast. * (BTL)

6) Marian Anderson is the first black singer to perform at the Metropolitan Opera. * (nyct)

7) New York Institute of Technology in Old Westbury, N.Y. was founded in 1955.

8) College of Staten Island, N.Y. was founded in 1955.

9 ) The Brooklyn Dodgers finally win a World Series, defeating the Yankees.

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1) New York Coliseum begins operations

2) Li'l Abner opened on Broadway, November .

3) Bells Are Ringing opened on Broadway, November 29, 1956. *(afp.com)

4) "My Fair Lady" opened on Broadway, March 15, 1956. *(afp.com)

5) Museum of Contemporary Crafts at 29 West 53rd Street (between 5th and 6th avenues in N.Y.C. opened in 1956 to promote every aspect of craftsmanship and the use of craft products for the enrichment of our lives and culture. * (Museums)

6) Paddy (Sidney) Chayefsky, American playwright and screenwriter. His first Broadway play "Middle of The Night" (1956). * (Benet's)

7) Socony Mobil, at 150 E. 42nd street was completed in 1956.

8) Twenty volunteers help public school teachers under the School Volunteer Program - the first of its kind in the nation. * (nyct)

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1) New York's Althea Gibson is the first black world champion tennis player, and is honored with a ticker-tape parade. * (nyct)

2) The Asia Society at 112 E. 64th Street (between Park and Lexington Avenues) New York City, is a non-profit, non-political membership organization founded in 1957. It deals with the Cultural heritage of Asia. * (Museums)

3) The Glee Club of The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, made their first television appearance in New York City on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1957.

4) Museum of Primitive Art in NYC, a privately supported institution established in 1957. Nelson A. Rockefeller was its founder and first president. * (c.e.)

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1 Seagram Building (Ludwig Mise van der Rohe, Philip Johnson).

2) Oct. 26, 1958. Pan American World Airways begins first regular jet service between New York City and Paris, using American-built Boeing 707 jet transports. (Aviation History)

3) The youngest American and first black playwright to win the Best Play Award from the New York Drama Critic's circle was Lorraine (Vivian) Hansberry. Her first play was "A Raisin in the Sun". * (Benet's)

4) Anne Bancroft, American actress, b. New York City as Anna Maria Italiano. Her New York stage debut in Two for the Seesaw (1958) was a major triumph. * (Bartleby)

5) First domestic Jet airline passenger service in the United States opened by National Airlines on December 10, 1958 between New York and Miami. * (t.a.)

6) Alvin Ailey creates the American Dance Theater.

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1) Located on Broadway at about 66th Street, Lincoln Center is the largest performing arts center in the world. Construction on the project began in 1959. Avery Fisher Hall was the first structure in Lincoln Center to be completed.

2) Jan. 25, 1959. American Airlines, using Boeing 707s begins transcontinental jet service between Los Angeles and New York City; 4 hours,3 minutes, 53.8 seconds. (Aviation History)

3) The Miracle Worker, a play by William Gibson, opened at the Playhouse in New York City, with Anne Bancroft playing the leading
role as Anne Sullivan Macy, Helen Keller's childhood teacher, October 19, 1959.*(afp.com)

4) Jack Gelber, an American playwright. His first play was "The Connection" (1959)

5) In musical theater, the Sound of Music, based on the Von Trapp family, premieres with Mary Martin, while Ethel Merman appears on Broadway in Gypsy.

6) Lorraine Hansberry's play A Raisin in the Sun is the first play by a black woman to appear on Broadway. It wins the New York Drama Critics Circle Award. (1959) * (WTL)

7) The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum opens.

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1) 1960 The Clinical Research Center, funded by the NIH, is established at NYU. *(NYU)

2) An Evening with Mike Nichols and Elaine May opened at the St. James Theater in New York City; written and performed by Nichols and May, October 8, 1960. *(afp.com)

3) American Montessori Society, 281 Park Avenue South, New York was founded 1960.

4) Research to Prevent Blindness, 598 Madison Avenue, New York City was founded in 1960. * (t.a.)

5) One Chase Manhattan Plaza was completed in 1960.

6) 1960, the Fantasticks opens, and is still running after more than 16,000 performances * (nyct)

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1) Throgs Neck bridge opens.

2) Chase Manhattan Bank helps to revolutionize checking by instituting automated check processing. Its processing center is the first in New York.*nyca

3) A new state law allows New York City police to live outside the city .

4) Floyd Paterson American Boxer. After a troubled childhood in Brooklyn, he was sent away to a school for boys at Esopus N.Y. where he first began to box. In 1961 he became the first man ever to regain the heavyweight title. * (c.e.)

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1) One of the first M.D.-Ph.D., programs in the United States is established at NYU. *(NYU)

2) First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt died in New York City, 1962 *(afp.com)

3) The Cow Neck Peninsula Historical Society, founded in 1962. The Society is a non-profit, voluntary organization concerned with the political, social and cultural history of its community and of Long Island.

4) Streisand first gained critical and public acclaim for her supporting role in the Broadway musical I Can Get It for You Wholesale (1962). * (Bartleby)

5) Richard Charles Rodger born in NYC, at 14 he composed his first song and at 16 his work was first published. In 1962 he was named head of the Music Theater of the Lincoln Center of New York. * (c.e.)

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1) New York's Pan Am Building over Grand Central Terminal is completed. It is the world's largest office building. *(NYU)

2) 1963 The new University Hospital opens.

3) The Museum of American Folk Art at 49 West 53rd Street in N.Y.C. was opened in 1963. It is the first Museum in N.Y.C. devoted exclusively to the exhibition and study of the work of untutored native artist-craftsmen. *(Museums)

4) American Society of Magazine Editors at 919 Third Avenue, in New York City was established in 1963.

5) Met Life Building at 200 Park avenue was completed in 1963. * (t.a.)

6) The IBM Building at 590 Madison avenue was completed in 1963.

7) 1963, Queens resident Jean Neditch founds Weight Watchers . * (nyct)

Continue On Page: 9  (1964-1977)