Christopher Bonanos Author Archive
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Christopher Bonanos

City Editor, New York Magazine
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@heybonanos
@polaroidland

Christopher Bonanos is New York’s city editor. He joined the magazine in 1993 and covers urbanism, transit, and theater, as well as running the magazine’s Reread newsletter and OldNYMag Instagram feed, surfacing the best of its archives. He is also the author of Flash: The Making of Weegee the Famous, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Best Biography of 2018, and Instant: The Story of Polaroid.

  1. Pictures of a Generation: Looking at 50 Years of Rolling StoneA new book recaps five decades as seen in the magazine of the baby boom.
  2. photography
    9 Rarely Seen New York Moments, Captured by Diane ArbusA preview of “Diane Arbus: In the Park,” opening today at the Lévy Gorvy gallery.
  3. from the archives
    Revisiting David Letterman’s 1987 Writers RoomThe relatively normal bunch of guys behind what was perhaps the creative peak of Late Night.
  4. art
    Satellite Views That Turn Geology Into GeometryBenjamin Grant is a photographer who never touches the camera he’s using. 
  5. from the archives
    Looking Back at 40-Plus Years of ‘Fall Preview’ PicksRocky seemed promising! But so did Cop Rock.
  6. Two Match Game Obsessives Discuss ABC’s Quiz-Show RebootThe return of tall skinny microphones and backstage cocktails.
  7. from the archives
    New York’s First Impressions of 9 Legendary TV ComediesLooking back at season one, episode one of Saturday Night Live, All in the Family, 30 Rock, and more.
  8. from the archives
    How New York Magazine Covered the O.J. Simpson VerdictHiring Norman Mailer on a very short deadline.
  9. See 23 Artworks From Robert Mapplethorpe: The ArchivePatti Smith will talk about the book on Tuesday night at Rizzoli.
  10. She Loves Me’s Laura Benanti Looks Straight AheadA day’s worth of heavy tune-ups and hot tea. 
  11. She Loves Me’s Laura Benanti Looks Straight AheadA day’s worth of heavy tune-ups and hot tea.
  12. from the archives
    Broadway’s Survival Was a Legitimate Question 20 Years AgoRevisiting Michael Goldstein’s 1995 New York cover story, “Can Broadway Be Saved?”
  13. mythology
    MythBusters and the Rise of Fact-checking EverythingA prominent place for public science.
  14. vinyl reality check
    Vinyl Reality Check: Watch 5 Real Andy Warhol Screen TestsAt the Factory, Devon spends a few minutes before the camera.
  15. That Huge Building Collapse on HBO’s Vinyl? True Story. Mostly.How the Mercer Arts Center really came down.
  16. Bob Elliott, Half of Bob and Ray, Is Dead at 92“—lly Ballou here, reporting for the final time.”
  17. For the Second Time, New York Loses the ZiegfeldAw, dammit.
  18. the hamilton papers
    Read the Actual Reynolds Pamphlet From Hamilton, Page by Original PageCourtesy of the New-York Historical Society, here it is.
  19. reasons to love new york
    How Hamilton’s Free Preshow Performance Became the Best Thing on BroadwayThe equivalent of a DVD extra, live on a Manhattan side street, a couple of days a week.
  20. books
    See Howard Schatz’s Limited-Edition Photography CollectionThe immense two-volume work includes “Body Knots” portraits, like Day-Glo interpretations of drippy food-porn photos.
  21. mad men
    A McCann Man Talks About Mad Men“There’s no way Draper did the Coke commercial.”
  22. See Vintage Mad Men–Era Ads From New YorkFrom the 1970 pages of the magazine, as the show’s final half-season plays out that same year.
  23. portfolio
    See Vintage Images From Hollywood Film SetsFrom the upcoming collection Ernst Haas: On Set.
  24. encounter
    John Cleese Revisits His Pre-Monty Python Time in New YorkTalking to the comedian about his new memoir, So, Anyway …
  25. books
    The Strand’s Stand: How It Keeps Going in the Age of AmazonThere is only one true long-term threat to the legendary bookstore, and it comes from within.
  26. radio
    Why You Wasted a Perfectly Good Hour Listening to ‘Car Talk’We took comfort in their expertise.
  27. close reads
    A Close Examination of Taylor Swift’s 1989 CoverFrom our Polaroid expert. 
  28. On His 90th Birthday, Unseen Photos of Truman Capote in BrooklynIn that house on the Heights.
  29. Buildings Aren’t Usually Funny. Filip Dujardin’s Are — and Here’s Why.A photographer who creates his own architectural follies.
  30. books
    Catching Up With Kids’-Book Legend Judith ViorstAt 83, the Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day author is in the middle of her biggest year yet.
  31. art
    Andy Freeberg on the Art of the Art-Fair BoothThe juxtapositions are funny, of course, but they also get at the strange reality of these events.
  32. photography
    Could Polaroid’s Beloved Type 55 Film Return?A Kickstarter campaign to reinvent this unique photographic film gathers momentum.
  33. slideshows
    See Vintage Mad Men–Era Ads From 1969New York magazine was the hot new magazine title right around then.
  34. obits
    All Hail: Sid Caesar, 1922–2014Even in fragments, his greatness comes through.
  35. photography
    The Art World Wakes Up, Once Again, to Marie Cosindas“I didn’t go out of fashion, but I was out of the ­public eye.”
  36. books
    A No-Frills Buyers’ Guide to January BooksAre Perfect, Shovel Ready, and Andrew’s Brain worth getting?
  37. books
    The Return of the Codex Seraphinianus“The book creates a feeling of illiteracy.”
  38. Ruthie Ann Miles on Her Role in Here Lies LoveMiles anchors the show, strikingly so for an actress only just out of her touring-company-and-understudy phase.
  39. theater review
    Theater Review: Kinky Boots Steps Up and Stands OutIt’s never boring; it’s never shocking; you are likely to leave entirely entertained and satisfied.
  40. the impossible
    Does Being a Dad Change the Way You Watch Film?Is it possible to watch The Impossible if you’re the parent of a small child?
  41. theater
    Chita Rivera Slings Opium in a New Edwin Drood“I like her because she understands and accepts those who belong to the seedy side of life.”
  42. burning questions
    Vulture Explains: What’s All the Fuss About The Master and 70mm?Short answer: It looks amazing.
  43. art candy
    Sample the Work of Alex Steinweiss, Inventor of Album Cover ArtA new book celebrates the man who invented the album cover.
  44. comparative lit
    New Books From Jay-Z and Stephen Sondheim: A Vulture IM DebateNitsuh Abebe and Christopher Bonanos of ‘New York’ met up via instant messenger to do a little comparative-lit exercise.
  45. theater review
    Theater Review: Andrew Jackson Is Bloodless on BroadwayWhat packed a wallop at the Public Theater rings hollow and glib in a big house.
  46. drama
    New York Inspires Stephen Sondheim’s First New Song in Six Years“God! / I mean the man’s a / God!”
  47. nobit
    The ‘I Saw My Own Obituary’ SocietyHe’s in good company.
  48. obit
    Remembering Thomas Hoving, Visionary (and Wonderfully Vulgar) Met DirectorHoving was a madman, and of a specific type: the utterly fearless, patrician vulgarian.
  49. treasured cultural documents
    Anne Frank’s Diary, as Interpreted by David MametANNE: When I write I can shake off all my cares. PETER: Then the machine gets a hold of you. You know they want rewrites?
  50. radio free new york city
    Why New York City’s Indie Radio Just Can’t Hack ItClassical stalwart WQXR is sold, but we’ve got much greater problems.
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