Portugal The Man · @portugaltheman
17th Sep 2014 from TwitLonger
Last Night's Dad Facts
Spuds,
Tonight you’re playing in Central Park in New York City. This is the last night of your tour. However, I know you play Anchorage this weekend, so I’ll send you a note prior to your show at the Hard Rock Café. I’m sorry I didn’t send you a note about Boston…we were travelling and I just couldn’t get to it. If you want to know more about Boston, just let me know and I’ll get you caught up. As you recall, we visited New York City on January 1, 2008. I have some great pictures of you, Nick and Prudy from that trip … let’s get them out the next time you’re at the house. Also, recall that Grama Marge lived in New York after World War II … she lived on East 68th Street.
New York City is the most populous city in the US, is one of the most populous urban areas in the world. It is home to the UN and is the financial capital of the world. In fact, if you ranked the metro area GDP, it would rank higher than Spain. The city was founded in 1624 by Dutch colonists and was named New Amsterdam in 1626. It came under English control in 1664 and was renamed “New York” after the Duke of York. He later became King James II. In 1673, the city was taken over by the Dutch and renamed “New Orange”. But guess what … one year later the English were in charge and renamed it “New York”. New York also served as the capital of the United States from 1785-1790.
Central Park first opened in 1857, but the park as you know it today was really constructed between 1858 and 1873. It was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted … a distant relative of your Aunt Julie’s. Some pretty fantastic artists have played concerts at the park … from the Supremes to Dave Matthews to Bruce Springsteen and just about everyone in between. Play well tonight!!!
I imagine you are aware of much of art and cultural history of New York, but there are a few things you may not know.
Joe DiMaggio played for the New York Yankees and was the greatest player of all time. He played for 13 seasons, went to 10 World Series and won 9 of them. He was the MVP 3 times. Keep in mind, he was in the Army for 3 seasons at the peak of his career. Clearly, the best ever.
I saw that you were at McSorley’s Irish Pub with your Uncle Sam. Did you know McSorley’s didn’t allow women inside until 1970? The bathroom became unisex and a ladies room wasn’t installed until 1986.
And one more thing (you can make a lot of money with this knowledge) … the next time you are in a bar, bet someone on who was the first president born in The United States of America. They likely will say George Washington. However, that would be wrong … he was born in the American Colonies. Martin Van Buren, the 8th president of the United States was the first president actually born a US citizen. He was born in 1782 in Kinderhook, NY … up the Hudson River (the lower half of the river is actually a tidal estuary). All presidents before him were born British subjects.
Who knew??????????????
Love,
Dad