Slide Shows
Since 1985 David has been presenting slide shows on various subjects of local interest to historical societies, libraries, civic groups, and other organizations, including the Boston Public Library, Carleton-Williard Village in Bedford, Concord Historical Society, Daughters of the American Revolution, Dedham Historical Society, Dorchester Historical Society, Lynn Public library, Melrose Historical Society, Newburyport Public Library, Old South Meeting House in Boston, Society of Colonial Wars in Boston, and the Sweetster lecture Series in Wakefield, among many others.
David answers questions after a 2003 show in Burlington
on the then much-in-force Curse of the Bambino.
Slide shows include his newest, Law and Order: Boston, Great Boston Fires, Return to Scollay Square, Scollay Square, Route 128, The Curse of the Bambino, the Big Dig, Who Wrote Shakespeare?, Presidential Landmarks in New England, The Ponzi Scheme, and the West End.
A schedule of selected public shows is at the bottom of this page. Email David and book one of the following shows for your next event today!
GREAT BOSTON FIRES
A look at the devastating fires and their impact on Boston,
from the many "great" fires of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries (including
the truly Great Fire of 1872,) the Cocoanut Grove tragedy of 1942 (which
killed 492,) and the Hotel Vendome fire of 1972 (which resulted in the
deaths of eight fire fighters.) How did these fires happen? What
was learned from these events? What, if anything, was done to try
and prevent similar catastrophes? David's newest slide show, filled
with images from these events, answers these and other questions.
RETURN TO SCOLLAY SQUARE
In 2004 Arcadia Publishing released David's fourth book,
which, like his first, is all about Scollay Square. The new Scollay
Square book features dozens and dozens of never-before-seen or published
photographs (some taken backstage at the Old Howard) along with playbills,
postcards, theater programs – even loan shark receipts! To celebrate
this new Scollay Square book, David has put together a brand new Scollay
Square slide show which, like the book, also contains new images of the
Square to go along with brand new stories and tales about the performers,
politicians, inventors, and activists who made Scollay Square such an exciting
place.
SCOLLY SQUARE
Based on David's first book on Scollay Square (Always
Something Doing) this slide show describes the evolution of the part
of Boston where everyone went - but few admitted it! From John Winthrop,
(who settled here in 1630) to Sally Keith (who entertained here in the
1940s and 1950s) to Government Center today, this show will surprise you
with tales of Revolutionary War heroism, scientific breakthroughs, and
Civil War courage - all in the same place where a hot dog stand and a burlesque
theater made truants of all New England. (Jack Thomas of the Boston
Globe wrote that David has a "...a fascinating slide show...full of splendid
anecdotes...")
BUILDING ROUTE 128
This slide show is based on David's 2003 book, Building
Route 128, which he co-wrote with author and speaker Yanni Tsipis. In this
45-minute show David will present the complete story of Route 128, from
its beginning in the 1920s as an ad hoc collection of two-lane roads that
formed a rough arc 15 miles from Boston through the construction of the
divided highway in the 1950s, and then how one man’s vision became the
catalyst for the fantastic growth around the highway. Building Route
128 will appeal not only to those with an interest in Route 128 itself
but also to those curious about the history of Boston’s suburbs and the
fundamental changes Route 128 brought to the region over the past four
decades. Email David here.
NO MORE CURSE!
David will take your audience back 100 years to the roots
of Boston baseball, when the team (just like today) captured the heart
and soul of its citizens and was also (like today) inexorably intertwined
with politics and politicians. Then we'll see and hear the real story
behind Harry Frazee, his purchase of the Red Sox, and later of a young
Babe Ruth. Then we'll learn the differing reasons why, in 1920, the
Babe was sold to the New York Yankees. You'll be surprised at the
answer. As with all of David's shows, your audience will not need any previous
knowledge of the subject to enjoy the program. Of course, baseball
fans will certainly derive extra pleasure (or agony) out of reliving the
saga of the Boston Red Sox and their - ultimately successful - struggle
for a World Series championship since 1918, but the Curse of the Bambino
is being written so that even those who don't know the difference between
a home run and pop fly will enjoy the story.
THE BIG DIG
Get the scoop on the Big Dig (and all the little and
medium sized digs that came before it) with an illustrated slide show talk
by historian, writer - and former Big Dig spokesperson - David Kruh. David
will show how Boston has changed over the past 400 years, from the reduction
of Beacon Hill, through the filling in of the Back Bay, ending with the
country's most expensive construction job - the Big Dig. You'll go
deep inside the project's tunnels and soar high above the towers of Boston's
stunning new bridge over the Charles River. You'll also learn about the
amazing technological advances that were used to build this monstrous project
in a working city, and how the price climbed to a reported $22 billion!!!
Whether you're interested in Boston history, a fan of technology, or just
an angry taxpayer who wants to see the actual hole into which the government
is dumping your money, this is a must-see show.
WHO WROTE SHAKESPEARE?
The doubts have been around for over 300 years. How could
William Shakespeare - a man who never sailed - have written with such accuracy
about sailing in The Tempest? Or how - without studying law - written with
such insight about lawyers, courts and legal issues in plays such as Henry
IV? Or how - without ever serving in the military - written so splendidly
of the rigors and technical aspects of war as he did in Hamlet? In fact,
some ask how Shakespeare could have written at all without ever having
attended school! The answer, they say, is that he couldn't and didn't.
It is a fascinating concept that has amused many, tantalized
others, and consumed the lives of a few, including a Boston man who, in
1916, went to court to prove that someone other than Shakespeare wrote
all those great works. Before you laugh… he won the case. In this
slide presentation historian and author David Kruh presents the story of
one man's search for the "real" author of the works attributed to William
Shakespeare and how - in a stunning piece of historical irony - that search
played a role in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor!
THE PONZI SCHEME
In Boston during 1920, an enterprising immigrant by the
name of Charles Ponzi set the financial world on fire by promising investors
he would double their money in 90 days. He claimed he made the unheard
of profits by dealing in International Reply Coupons, an internationally
recognized form of pre-paid postage. At one time Charles Ponzi could barely
afford to ride the subway to work or pay his rent on a one bedroom apartment.
By April, as thousands lined up outside his School Street office to give
him money, he had a chauffeured luxury car and a six bedroom home in Lexington.
It wasn't until July that anyone suspected the truth: that Charles Ponzi
was actually perpetrating a pyramid scheme - one of the oldest swindles
in the world. But it was too late. By then he owed more than $28 million.
That was the day he was arrested for fraud. Relive the days of Boston's
most outrageous rogue in this one-hour slide lecture.
PRESIDENTIAL LANDMARKS IN NEW ENGLAND
Based on David's book, which was co-written with his
father Louis.
Do you know where in New England...?
• The oath of office was taken by a President of the United
States?
• A plaque commemorates a Presidential visit to a bar?
• You can see a coconut that saved a President's life?
• A former President, accused of being a traitor, was
almost lynched?
In this slide show, audiences will take a 50-minute trip through 200 years of the U.S. Presidency, focusing on the native New Englanders who called the White House home. Together, we will visit most of the sites in New England dedicated to the United States Presidents, including birthplaces, homes, libraries, and yes, even bars. Its a great combination history and travelogue will be of interest to both the historically minded and tourist alike.
BOSTON'S WEST END
The West End of Boston began as an isolated Federalist
enclave, but slowly evolved into a neighborhood teeming with immigrants
from all over the world. By the end of the 19th century it was the most
crowded part of the city, and was the perfect studying ground for sociologists
and urban planners. Although the home of one of Boston's most powerful
"ward bosses," Martin Lomansey, after his death the neighborhood was unable
to maintain its political clout, and in the 1950s and 1960s was bulldozed
to make way for an urban renewal project that still evokes outrage today.
Whether you are a former resident looking to relive a memory of a forgotten
street corner or a student who wants to know how 17,000 people could be
thrown out of the homes they loved, this is a fascinating 45-minute slide
show. (Look closely at the picture below and you'll see former West
End resident Leonard "Spock" Nimoy!)
Law and Order: Boston
Reading Public Library on September 28th, 2010
Building Route 128
Weston Historical Society on March 23rd, 2010
