December 24th in NYC History
Hitmaker Harry Warren;
Behind the Headlines I.F. Stone.
Rock Center's surprising first tree;
Joe Namath;
Caruso's last stand;
Idlewild->JFK

1893:  Harry Warren, 3-time Academy Award winning composer of "42nd St.," "Lullaby of Broadway," "Shuffle off to Buffalo, "September in the rain," and 300 others, born.  His birthname: Salvatore Gauranga from Brooklyn.


1907:  I. F. Stone, a guru and conscience for generations of political journalists, born.  He eventually started his own journal: "I.F. Stone's Weekly".  He died in 1989



1912:  The first public and electrically lit Christmas tree in Madison Square Park is celebrated by rich and poor alike.






1920:  Enrico Caruso's last public performance at the Metropolitan Opera.


1931:   Working on Christmas Eve, construction workers decorate the Rockefeller Center development (when whole thing was called "Radio City") with a makeshift humble Christmas Tree. 

Is it decorated with TP?  They are getting their paychecks.



1963:  Idlewild International Airport renamed for John F. Kennedy, a month after he was killed.




1967:  'Broadway' Joe Namath leads Jets football to its first winning season in its history, passing 4007 yards.


1997:  Woody Allen and Soon-Yi Previn marry.  He 62; she 27.  But there is  more to the story than that, so click the link.  I saw them once.