Although thousands of immigrants from Greece in the early 1900s have collectively left their mark on U.S. culture and business, their individual contributions are largely unheralded.
Fortunately, Nicholas Calamaras kept documentation which now reveals fascinating insights into the activities, associations and influences of New York City’s Greek American League.
This volume provides unique and rich primary source information about a little-known aspect of the tightly knit society of the Greek immigrant, and of an association created to assist those new Americans in their new world.
The work of Dean G. Calamaras in assessing, interpreting and preserving this material has yielded a treasure--both to the historian and to the families whose ancestors are named in these pages.
Carol Kostakos Petranek - Spartan Roots.com
From the Greek Revival architecture of the first half of the 19th century to the excellent Greek restaurants of the 20th and 21st centuries, Greeks have had a profound influence on American life. Immigrant Greeks are among the bravest, true pioneers of America. These immigrants bravely faced many obstacles. They had to learn an alien language and the ways of an alien culture. They believed America offered better work and educational opportunities, a better future for their children, and, above all, more rights and freedoms. To protect and encourage immigrant Greeks in a strange, new world, among them Nicholas Calamaras stepped forward as a leader. His story is important. He deserves to be recognized for his contributions during a difficult period of American history.
Paul R. Huey Ph.D. - Historian - Archeologist
The Baron of Second Avenue compiles and presents an archive of papers, documents and other material that will be an invaluable resource to anyone interested in the history and development of the Greek American community of New York. It encompasses a treasure-trove of information that pertains specifically to the ways that Greek Americans navigated and participated in the social, public and political life of New York as they began to organize themselves from a mass of immigrants into a cohesive community.
Gerasimus Katsan Ph.D. - Associate Professor, Modern Greek, Chair, European Languages and Literatures Director, Center for Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies, Queens College Dept. of European Languages and Literatures
The Baron of Second Avenue, Nicholas Calamaras and the Archive of the Greek-American League: A Glimpse into the Greek Immigration Experience in New York takes readers back to early 20th century New York City through the work of the Greek-American League and its founder.
Dean Calamaras’ manuscript provides an in-depth look at immigration and assimilation as experienced by a Greek American immigrant, Nicholas Calamaras, with deep ties to his home country and those who, like him, made an arduous journey across the Atlantic Ocean in search of opportunity and a new life.
This work arose from a chance discovery of a treasure trove of primary source documents, all of which are provided within the text, inviting readers to join the author in the archive and view these documents nearly lost to history.
Calamaras highlights the complications facing Greek immigrants in New York due to the outbreak of the First World War and the growth of Greek immigrant-led organizations dedicated to supporting and advocating for Greek immigrant interests, most importantly to this text, the Greek American League.
Of particular note is Calamaras’ focus on the immigrant experience. He delves deep into topics such as Greeks from Kastoria sharing living quarters and the unique banking practices that allowed the flexibility necessary for newly arrived immigrants who were short on money but still needed the many services afforded to more affluent clients.
The text makes clear the importance of Nicholas Calamaras’ Greek-American League to the immigrant community it served and affords readers an intimate view of the immigrant experience in the United States in the early 20th century.
Jeremy Bucher - Collections & Archives Manager, National Hellenic Museum
Bringing to light the hitherto unknown story of Nicholas Calamaras and the Greek-American League, The Baron of Second Avenue offers welcome new insights into the social conditions and everyday concerns of New York City’s Greek community during the early part of the 20th century while chronicling the advocacy efforts that placed Calamaras in a position of community leadership and political power. This volume will be especially useful since it includes reproductions of all primary-source documents from Calamaras’ archive.
George I. Paganelis - Curator, Tsakopoulos Hellenic Collection, California State University, Sacramento
Copyright Dean G. Calamaras 2024