stanfordwhite

This picture was taken BEFORE they had trucks and roads that could get them a big Adirondack Tree

More Bain/LOC photos of the 1913 tree-raising project:

Interestingly, in most of these photographs of the tree-raising in Madison Square, there are, in fact, people in the tree either tying or releasing ropes. They are only visible if you view the larger digital files over at the Library of Congress website by following the link at Persistent URL above. Quite a job!

And here I had figured that "learning the ropes" was only a seafaring term! Aye, aye Cap'n! Ahoy and avast! Batten down the mizzenmast!

More than two dozen homing pigeons were released in New York City on February 13, 1915, as part of the Poultry and Pigeon Show being held in Madison Square Garden. Officials of the show, pictured above, sent a message of peace, via homing pigeon, to President Wilson, in Washington, DC. On each pigeon's leg was a narrow strip of tissue paper bearing the message: "Universal peace soon will be a god-send". The message was signed by Colonel Lee Crandall. After their arrival in Washington, the pigeons were released the following day at 9:15AM, and almost all of them had arrived in New York City later that day. Three of the pigeons, which belonged to Fred C. Schmidt (pictured above) arrived simultaneously at their loft in Brooklyn at 3:20PM. That six-hour flight was considered to be a "fast flight". — The New York Times                   ( To see the previous photo in this series, click here.)

I was wondering if that was the original Madison Square Garden -- incredible picture.

Pixel Wrangler: thank you for the New York Times article describing what is shown in this image. JE Piper: The photo depicts people releasing pigeons from the roof of the second Madison Square Garden arena which was built at 26th Street and Madison Avenue. Designed by Stanford White, the building opened in 1890 and was demolished in 1925. This photo from the New York Public Library shows a similar roof area during the demolition: digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?1691083 We will add some additional information to the description when we update.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Kendall_Thaw

Actually, not the courthouse, but instead the photo was taken in front of the Ludlow Street Jail, no longer standing. The sign by the front door reads "New York County Jail" (New York County is essentially Manhattan), and that is what the Ludlow Street Jail was.
Thaw, in 1915, was returned to New York City after escaping confinement at Matteawan State Hospital (He had been acquitted of the 1906 murder of architect Stanford White by reason of insanity). His lawyers successfully asked the court to move him from The Tombs to the Ludlow Street Jail, on the basis that he was not charged in a criminal matter, but that he was to have a jury trial only as to his present sanity.
query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10916F93E5D16738...
In this old print, you can see that the door was near the corner of Ludlow and Essex Market Place. [Essex Market Place ran from Essex to Ludlow Streets between Broome and Grand Streets and was closed in 1926, around the time the jail was demolished.] You can see that there was a giant gas lamp over the door, whereas in Bain's 1915 picture just the bracket remained.
digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/dgkeysearchdetail.cfm...

knickerbockervillage.blogspot.com/2009/10/seward-park-aer...

This was probably taken when Thaw was due to be taken from the jail to court.
He and 5 others who helped him escape the state hospital were tried in March, 1915 and acquitted. He then had a second trial in 1915 to determine if he was presently sane. He was determined sane in this trial on July 14, 1915, which is presumably about when this shot was taken.
The New York Times account describes 2,000 people gathered at the courthouse, cheering thaw after the trial:
query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0E10FC3E5A15738...

See also:

And not to forget, the Thaw trials were about Evelyn Nesbit Thaw, or more exactly Thaw's shooting of her presumed lover, Stanford White.