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Friday, November 28, 2008
This Week's top New York History News
NYS Parks & Historic Sites Capital Plan Update
Here is the complete text of testimony given November 19th by NYS Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation Commissioner Carol Ash at the New York State Assembly Public Hearing for the $132 million capital improvement spending plan for our parks and historic sites. A pdf of the Capital Plan presentation is located here. This page includes the initial announcement of the plan along with a Report to the Legislature and the Capital Projects List.
Thank you for inviting me here today to discuss our real success story of the past year -- our capital initiative -- "The Revitalization of New York State's Parks and Historic Sites".
I truly appreciate this opportunity to fully discuss our capital program, its economic significance, and the importance of our state parks in communities throughout the state.
The New York State Park system is made up of 178 parks and 35 historic sites encompassing 325,000 acres of lands and waters. The system is widely recognized as one of the best in the nation. Our parks and historic sites host more than 55 million visitors annually.
Our huge inventory of public recreational facilities includes 5,000 buildings, 29 golf courses, 53 swimming pools, 76 beaches, 27 marinas, 40 boat launching sites, 18 nature centers, 817 cabins, 8,355 campsites, more than 1,350 miles of trails, 106 dams, 640 bridges, hundreds of miles of roads, and dozens of historic structures listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places.
Niagara Falls State Park, established in 1885, is the oldest state park in the nation, and Washington's Headquarters, established in 1850, is the first publicly-owned state historic site. The Bethpage Black was the first publicly-owned golf course to host the U.S. Open Golf Championship in 2002. The 109th United States Open Championship will return to this world-class facility in June of next year.
In traveling to more than 150 of our state parks and historic sites across the state, I have seen first-hand some of the significant challenges facing our parks. In many parts of the state, I was able to share these experiences with members of the Assembly and to those legislators who were able to join me on these park visits, I offer a special thank you.
As a result of a thorough assessment of our system, we identified a backlog of critical capital project needs approaching $650 million.
How did a $650 million capital backlog come to be? Over the fifteen year period from 1992 through 2007, the state park system grew. Twenty-six new parks and 70,000 acres were acquired, representing a 25 percent increase in the system. But over this same period, the state parks' capital budget was cut by 50 percent, adjusting for inflation. Cutting the capital budget by 50 percent, while expanding the system by 26 new parks, led to a predictable outcome – we are now faced with the challenge of addressing a large backlog of health and safety and park rehabilitation needs.
Fortunately, this year Governor Paterson and the Legislature, with the support of Speaker Silver and Chairmen Englebright and Sweeney, responded to this challenge. The current year FY2008-09 state budget created a new State Parks Capital Initiative. This initiative, coupled with other funds OPRHP secured from federal, state, and private sources, enabled the agency to launch a program to revitalize the state park system totaling more than $100 million.
OPRHP's $100 million capital investment is delivering tangible, on-the-ground benefits to the residents of New York State. Last week, I submitted a six-month update report to the Legislature on the status of State Park's Capital Program. The agency has initiated more than 150 capital construction projects to remedy the health and safety issues and rehabilitate deteriorated facilities in State Parks and Historic Sites across the state—addressing health and safety concerns, and providing safe and affordable recreational and educational experiences for millions of New Yorkers.
Of the total $95 million State Parks Capital Initiative appropriation, $75.5 million was allocated to OPRHP. As charged by the Governor and the Legislature, we aggressively set out to efficiently spend these dollars. As of today –seven months later – OPRHP has spent or encumbered 96 percent of the $75.5 million.
Let me repeat, in just seven months through the fiscal year, we have spent or have under contract $72.5 million of the $75.5 million provided to the agency this year – and we have initiated bidding and contract awards for the remaining $3 million.
The agency is on track to encumber the entire $75.5 million by March 31, 2009, and the visiting public will see some noticeable improvements to our state parks during next year's summer operating season. And, we are ready to begin construction on the next installment of new projects for the next fiscal year, spurring even more economic activity in communities throughout the state.
These capital investments will not only improve the parks and protect the state's investments in irreplaceable public assets, but they also support the equivalent of 1,000 full-time private sector construction and engineering jobs which bolster the state's economy in these very difficult times. Due to the nature of construction jobs, this equivalent reflects thousands of actual, on-site workers for various periods of time. The nature and scope of agency's capital work also makes the projects ideal for small to medium-sized construction firms, businesses that will be most impacted by the economic downturn.
Here are some examples of revitalization projects made possible by this year's State Parks Capital Initiative.
Four Mile Creek State Park Comfort Station Renovations.
At Four Mile Creek in Niagara County, we are providing park patrons with a new, updated comfort station. The new building features several "green" components including water saving fixtures and skylights, and is fully accessible.
Letchworth State Park.
Roads throughout Letchworth were repaired and repaved, and several public parking areas were resurfaced – addressing critical but long-deferred park infrastructure needs. Other projects initiated at the park this year include waterline improvements and construction of a new washhouse to serve campers. Camping at the park was booked to capacity for most of the summer. About an hour's drive south of Rochester, Letchworth is a popular and significant tourist attraction in the Genesee region of the state, hosting about 750,000 visitors each year.Saratoga Spa State Park.
The large Peerless Pool complex, including the fully accessible main pool, slide pool, and toddler pool, were rehabilitated. A new pool liner was installed to improve durability and eliminate water leakage. In addition, a number of the park's roads, parking areas, bike paths, and walking trails were resurfaced. The spa park attracts 1.7 million visitors annually.Allegany State Park Cabin Loop Restoration.
Last year, we showed you pictures of severely deteriorating cabins at this park. This past summer, we initiated phase one of the cabin loop restoration project that will rehabilitate deteriorated public rental cabins throughout the park, which has 424 campsites and 375 cabins spread throughout its 65,000 acres. Allegany is a top destination for campers, hikers, and nature lovers.FDR State Park Bathhouse.
This bathhouse provided another of last year's memorable "uglies". Capital projects completed using this year's funding include the rehabilitation of bathhouse and pool fencing. FDR State Park, located in Westchester County, draws 570,000 visitors annually. (Here we are viewing some of the ongoing work with members of the local Assembly delegation)Green Lakes State Park Bathhouse Reconstruction.
Following a news conference attended by local Assembly members and Senators this summer, State Parks broke ground on a new $2.3 million bathhouse at the swimming beach in this popular park, located near Syracuse. The new bathhouse will incorporate green technologies, as well as current building code and accessibility standards, and will be open to the public for next summer. The park hosts 850,000 visitors annually.Riverbank Traffic Circle.
This past summer, we celebrated the 15th anniversary of Riverbank state park community supporters and local state representatives. As part of our capital initiative, we are replacing the traffic circle roadway which provides the park's main entrance for vehicles, including public buses. In addition to the traffic circle, the agency is in the process of letting contracts to rehabilitate failing roofs and HVAC systems, and has initiated other upgrades including rehabilitation of irrigation lines and the replacement of more than 100 trees donated by the Million Tree Project.
Brentwood State Park-Park Development.
Construction has begun at Brentwood State Park in Suffolk County, a major athletic complex that will provide greatly needed playing fields in this underserved area. This first phase of construction, which includes sixteen soccer fields and four baseball fields, is slated to open in the summer of 2009. The park will serve thousands of children in a community that has been very much in need of recreational facilities.These are just a few highlights. All told, this year's capital initiative funding enabled the agency to undertake capital improvements in more than 80 state parks and historic sites across New York State.
By any measure, the State Parks Revitalization Initiative is off to a solid start. However, contrasted against a capital backlog of $650 million, much more work remains to be done. As I outlined last year, the bulk of OPRHP's capital needs fall into two categories:
Health and Safety Projects.
The state parks continue to face a number of health and safety issues. We have outdated drinking water systems that need to be replaced. We have aging sewage treatment systems that have exceeded their useful life; dams on the state's "high hazard" list that do not meet modern dam safety standards, and bridges that have been flagged as potential hazards. We have failing electrical systems and landfills that, although inactive for many years, were never closed to DEC standards.Rehabilitation of Existing Facilities.
This category is by far the largest, comprising approximately two-thirds of OPHRP's total identified capital needs. It encompasses capital rehabilitation of existing infrastructure in the parks and historic sites – replacing facilities that have long exceeded their practical and operational effectiveness and are in various stages of disrepair, including roofs, heating and plumbing systems, visitor centers, bathrooms, campgrounds, shower buildings, picnic shelters, recreation fields, pools, swimming pools, bathhouses, nature centers, roads, parking areas, hiking trails, and maintenance centers.Looking forward to next year, the agency hopes to continue momentum on revitalizing New York's state parks and historic sites.
We understand that decisions about next year's investment in our state parks need to be made in the context of the unprecedented fiscal picture facing New York State. Like all state agencies, we are reducing operating expenses and focusing on the agency's core mission and priorities. Nonetheless, I believe that, even in this time of fiscal difficulty, continued funding for New York's State Parks' capital program is a smart financial investment. The State Parks Capital Program has and can continue to deliver:
Safe and Affordable Parks
Visitation at parks was very strong this summer and, given the challenging financial outlook facing millions of New Yorkers, we expect continued heavy public demand next year for our campgrounds, cabins, picnic and swimming areas, lakes and ocean beaches, and other recreational facilities.Private Sector JobsThrough this year's capital program, OPRHP has entered into 150 contracts and more than 400 subcontracts with private, local construction and engineering firms. Given the nature of our projects, we are contracting with small and medium-size local contractors. And, I am pleased to report that over the past two years more than 13 percent of the agency's capital construction spending has gone to minority- and women-owned businesses.Tourism
Revitalized State Parks and Historic Sites directly support recreational tourism, which is one of New York's largest industries. To grow our tourism industry, we need to make sure that these visitors have high-quality experiences, so that they will return in the future and tell others to do the same.Economically Vibrant CommunitiesParks, open space, and recreational amenities are important community assets that directly contribute to the economic vitality of cities, towns, and rural areas – enticing businesses to locate and stay in New York.Healthy Families
Parks provide a place for New Yorkers of all ages to and exercise and play. By investing is safe and attractive facilities, the initiative is part of a comprehensive state strategy to promote public health and wellness, particularly among children and underserved communities.
This year, OPRHP has proven our ability to quickly and efficiently put the State Parks Capital Initiative Funds to work – creating jobs and investing in tangible, lasting improvements to our public facilities. I hope that we are able to continue our momentum on this initiative, within the confines of what is affordable in the overall state budget.
In closing, I would like to thank you for your support of New York's State Park System. As I have traveled the state over the past two years – from Long Island's magnificent ocean beach parks, to our urban parks in New York City, to our hundreds of facilities across upstate New York – I have received universal support for the parks from our state's elected officials. Supporting our parks is a sound investment in the future of our state, and the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation is committed to continuing to make wise use of this investment in the future.
Thank you. I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
LIFE Magazine Picture Archive Hosted at Google
Google and LIFE Magazine have teamed up to present the magazines photo archive online. Strangely, a search for New York turned up nothing; a search for New York History turns up hundreds of photos, including the shot of men paving a street in Brooklyn in 1890 by George B. Brainerd which was not found in the search results for Brooklyn.
Those problems aside, the archive does include iconic images taken by famous photographers like Margaret Bourke-White, Gordon Parks, and Dorothea Lange. The project is similar to "The Commons" launched by Flickr which now includes photos from the Library of Congress. LIFE has said that as many as 97 percent of the photographs have never been seen by the public before.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Historians Win 2008 National Humanities Medals
AHA Today has noted that a number of historians were among the recipients of the 2008 National Humanities Medals and National Medals of Arts which were awarded last week. The NEH site devoted to the winners is here.
Gabor S. Boritt, director and founder of the Civil War Institute and professor of history at Gettysburg College received one of the National Humanities Medals. Dr. Boritt, recognized “for his scholarship on Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War era,” is a member of the AHA. Albert Marrin, emeritus professor of history at Yeshiva University, received the award as well, for his work in using children’s books to open “young minds to history and made the lessons of the past come alive with rich detail for a new generation.” Also receiving medals were Richard Brookhiser, popular biographer of the Founding Fathers; Abraham Lincoln scholar Harold Holzer; journalist Myron Magnet, “who…combined literary and cultural history with an understanding of contemporary urban life to imagine new ways of relieving poverty and renewing civic institutions;” Milton J. Rosenberg, radio host and emeritus professor of psychology at the University of Chicago; philanthropists Thomas A. Saunders III, Jordan Horner Saunders, and Robert H. Smith; the John Templeton Foundation; and the Norman Rockwell Museum. More information on all the winners can be found on the NEH web site.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Rock And Roll Hall of Fame Annex Opens Today
Starting today, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s New York Annex will open its doors for a preview; the Annex will open officially December 2nd. Daily News Music Critic Jim Farber had an interesting piece this past weekend that included an online sneak preview of the exhibits and some details about the new museum. Occupying 25,000 square feet at 76 Mercer St. in SoHo, the Annex takes up one-fourth as much space as the Ohio-based museum, though the new outlet charges four dollars more for entry: $26, to Cleveland’s $22... Upon arriving, visitors receive high-end headsets, designed by Sennheiser, which blast songs keyed to wherever you stand. Position yourself in front of a Bob Gruen photo of Freddie Mercury, and a Queen song pours forth. Stand by Bruce Springsteen’s 1957 Chevy, and you hear car songs by the Boss.
Special exhibits will rotate every six months. This first will be about the British Punk group The Clash.
Six distinct galleries make up the $9 million structure. They’re divided into categories, like “Roots & Influences,” which traces sounds that connect — say, Billie Holiday to Amy Winehouse. Another more loosely defined gallery calls itself “Moments to Movements” and features things like Madonna’s Gaultier bustier. Naturally, there’s a significant “Guitar Hero” section, complete with Jimi Hendrix’s fading, handwritten lyrics to “Purple Haze” and Angus Young’s crushed- velvet schoolboy suit. A “Poets” section contains some of the Annex’s rarest artifacts, including a never-before-heard 1961 recording of Bob Dylan
playing a private show in the Village.
To suit its setting, the Annex devotes major space to New York rock. Besides the CBGB installation, it boasts wigs sported by Debbie Harry and turntables used by Grandmaster Flash. A handbill from the Fillmore East advertises a show any classic-rock fan would kill to have seen: Traffic, Fairport Convention and Mott the Hoople playing the East Village venue in June 1970.
Highlighting the New York section is a 26-foot scale model of Manhattan. It’s lit up in 24 places that mark key locations in rock history, ranging from the site of the Mudd Club to the St. Marks Place building pictured on the cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Physical Graffiti.” Touchscreens tell the history of each site.
If you sign up at rockannex.com you'll have an opportunity to win tickets to a private preview night on December 1st.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Movies and The Streets of Albany: 2 Public Programs
The New York State Library is hosting two noontime talks in December. "From Nickelodeons to Cell Phones: A Brief History of the Motion Picture" on Wednesday, December 3rd, and "Gutters and Street Paving: Elkanah Watson, the New England Migration, and the Improvement of Albany, New York in the Early Republic" on Wednesday, December 10th.
From Nickelodeons to Cell Phones: A Brief History of the Motion Picture
Bruce G. Hallenbeck, author of the upcoming book "Comedy Horror Films: A Chronological History" and director of the independent feature film "The Drowned," will present a freewheeling history of the movies, from the earliest silent films of Thomas Edison and others to today's Hollywood blockbusters. The focus of the program will be on how films and filmmaking have changed and evolved over the past hundred-plus years and of how cinematic cycles come and go. A discussion of how digital filmmaking has "democratized" the process will also be included. The talk will be interspersed with numerous film clips from such classics as Fritz Lang's "Metropolis," Alfred Hitchcock's "Blackmail," and Jean Cocteau's "Beauty and the Beast." This program will be held in the Huxley Theater on the first floor of the Cultural Education Center.
Gutters and Street Paving: Elkanah Watson, the New England Migration, and the Improvement of Albany, New York in the Early Republic
In 1800, the culture of the New England migrants collided with the culture of Dutch Albany’s burghers, thus changing the city forever. Albany’s most vocal migrant, Elkanah Watson, settled in Albany in 1789 and criticized Albany and its Dutch citizens for their backwards ways. In attempting to make Albany a competitor in both the domestic and European trade, Watson launched many campaigns to “improve” Albany by encouraging New England-branded improvements to the city’s landscape such as street lighting, paved streets, better wharves, and proper street drainage and gutters. Elizabeth M. Covart, 2007 research resident at the New York State Library, will examine Albany’s changing public spaces in the Early Republic and the true impact that Elkanah Watson and his fellow New England migrants had on Albany and its longtime Dutch-American residents.
Friday, November 21, 2008
This Week's Top New York History News
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Online Resource: Immigrants to Canada (1803-1865)
The Library and Archives of Canada has just announced a new online resource, Immigrants to Canada (1803-1865). According to the site:In 1803, the British Parliament enacted legislation to regulate vessels carrying emigrants to North America. The master of the vessel was required to prepare a list of passengers. Unfortunately, few such lists have survived and therefore, there are no comprehensive nominal lists of immigrants arriving in Canada before 1865.
Here is the link.
Some lists have been identified and indexed by name in this database. It also includes other types of records such as declarations of aliens and names of some Irish orphans.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Beacons To Commemorate British Departure
The Hudson Valley Press Online is reporting on plans to mark the 225th anniversary of the evacuation of British troops on November 25, 2008 by lighting a series of five local beacons that "replicate the original signal locations used by the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War." The plan is a project of the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area, Scenic Hudson, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, the Palisades Parks Conservancy, and the Palisades Interstate Park Commission:These vital systems summoned the militia in both New York and in neighboring New Jersey and warned residents of the approaching British Redcoats. The types of beacons varied from tar barrels on top of poles, to pyramids, to wooden towers filled with dried grass or hay that could be ignited. The beacons enabled quick and effective communication with troops throughout the lower Hudson River Valley.
The five locations will include:
Instead of lighting fires, Palisades, the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area, and Scenic Hudson will create a symbolic Xenon light display that will light up Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area from Bear Mountain State Park to Beacon. This project is also part of the larger interstate effort with national heritage area partners in New Jersey, the Crossroads of the American Revolution National Heritage Area. Six additional Beacons will be lit in New Jersey. The total project area will stretch from Princeton, NJ to Beacon, NY.
Bear Mountain State Park, Bear Mountain, NY
Storm King Mountain State Park, Cornwall, NY
Washington's Headquarters State Historic Site, Newburgh, NY
Scenic Hudson's Mount Beacon, Beacon, NY
Scenic Hudson's Spy Rock (Snake Hill), New Windsor, NY
While we're at it, here is a story about Saturday's relighting of the lamp on top of the Prison Ship Martyrs Monument in Fort Greene Park, Brooklyn. It has been for 87 years and commemorates those who died in the British Prison ships in New York Harbor during the American Revolution.
Friday, November 14, 2008
This Week's Top New York History News
- » SUNY Tuition Could Jump
- » Blog: NY Library Association Conference Notes
- » AHA 2009 Meeting Program Online
- » Dutch Art & Culture Take Over NYC
- » Intrepid to Wave Bush Aboard
- » Remembering That 1945 Kiss
- » York Avenue and Sgt. Alvin York
- » Underground Railroad Lot Approved
- » Push to Reopen Old Fire Tower
- » Barack Obama's New York City
Thursday, November 13, 2008
NY State Library Research Grants Announced
The New York State Library has announced the availability of grants for research in New York State history. The Cunningham Research Residency Program was established to benefit scholars using the unique collections of the New York State Library to study the history and culture of New York. The New Netherland Institute and the Library will also make a Quinn-Library grant for specialized research in Dutch-related documents and printed materials at the New York State Library. Four Cunningham residencies ($1,000) and at least one Quinn fellowship ($2,500) will be awarded in 2009.
The Anna K. and Mary E. Cunningham Trust Fund
Funds for the research residencies are provided by a trust fund endowment created by a bequest from the estate of Anna K. Cunningham on behalf of her sister, Mary, and herself. It is a fitting celebration of the sisters’ lifelong interest in the study of New York State history. Anna Cunningham (1906-1996) was Supervisor of Historic Sites of New York State, as well as serving on the boards and councils of many state and national historic preservation organizations. Mary Cunningham (1917-1986), whose personal papers are among the collections of the State Library, held various executive positions in the New York State Historical Association, was a founder and the first editor of American Heritage magazine, and was a founder of the Yorkers program for teaching and involving young New Yorkers in the State’s history.
Quinn-Library Research Residency For 2009
Through generous support from the Doris Quinn Foundation, the New Netherland Institute (www.nnp.org) and the New York State Library will make a special Cunningham grant of $2500 in 2009 for specialized research in Dutch-related documents and printed materials at the New York State Library. Researchers interested in the history of New Netherland and the Dutch Colonial Atlantic world are encouraged to apply for these funds.
Eligibility requirements and application information are available online here.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
New Online Teaching With Media Resource
On October 1, 2008, the American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning (CUNY Graduate Center) launched their latest website, Picturing United States History: An Online Resource for Teaching with Visual Evidence.
Representing a unique collaboration between historians and art historians, Picturing U.S. History is based on the belief that visual materials are vital to understanding the American past. Visitors to the new website will find Web-based guides, essays, case studies, classroom activities, and online forums to assist high school teachers and college instructors to incorporate visual evidence into their classroom practice. The website supplements other U.S. history resources with visual materials, analysis, and activities that allow students to engage with the process of interpretation in a more robust fashion than through text alone.
The website will host a series of public online forums guest moderated by noted scholars of American history and culture. In November a discussion on Colonial America will be led by Professor Peter Mancall of the University of Southern California.
To sign-up for the Picturing U.S. History forum on Colonial America, go to:
http://www.picturinghistory.gc.cuny.edu/viewforums.php.
Picturing U.S. History is supported by a grant from the National Endowment
for the Humanities as part of its We, The People initiative.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
The New Jersey Forum: New Research in NJ Studies
Although this is a blog of New York History, occasionally we'll make announcements about regional events that New York historians might have interest in.
The New Jersey Forum: New Research in New Jersey Studies will be held Saturday, November 22, 2008 at the Trenton Marriott Hotel. The event is sponsored by the New Jersey Historical Commission, the NJ State Archives, and the New Jersey State Museum
Registration information and a preliminary program of events is available via word document here.
Expected sessions include:
Hope, Fear and Pestilence: Public Health in Eighteenth and Nineteenth-Century New Jersey
Newsprint, Fear, and the Cholera: A History of the 1832 Cholera Outbreaks in New Jersey (Margaret Charleroy, University of Minnesota )
The 1918 Influenza Outbreak in New Jersey (Jennifer Harmsen, Hillsborough Middle School + Rutgers-NJIT History Department)
Pestilence Across the Delaware: New Jersey and the Yellow Fever Epidemics of the 1790s (Sandra Moss, New Jersey Medical History Society)
Interpreting a Preserved Landscape: New Jersey Museums and Architecture
New Solutions for House Museums (Donna Ann Harris, Heritage Consulting, Inc.)
Take Any Exit: The Colonial Revival in New Jersey (Harriette Hawkins, independent scholar)
Telling the Straight Story: Truth & Fiction in Building Interpretation (Margaret Westfield, Westfield Architects)
Suburban Stories: Place and Race in Twentieth-Century New Jersey
Extremely Suburban: Narratives from 20th-Century Princeton (Michael H. Ebner, James D. Vail III Professor of History, Emeritus, Lake Forest College)
African American Suburbanization and Racial Politics in Pre-World War II Montclair
(Patricia Hampson, Rutgers University)
A National “Black Brain Center” in Post-WWII Fort Monmouth, NJ (Melissa Ziobro, staff historian, U.S. Army CECOM Life Cycle Management Command, Fort Monmouth, NJ)
Parks and Bonapartes: Landscapes of 19th and 20th century New Jersey
"He Will be a Bourgeois American and Spend his Fortune in Making Gardens”: A Preliminary Examination of Joseph Bonaparte’s Point Breeze Estate, Bordentown, New Jersey (Richard Veit, Department of History and Anthropology, Monmouth University)
The Development of Branch Brook Park – America’s First County Park (Kathleen Galop, Preservation Possibilities)
Morristown: A Cultural Landscape Study (Gillian Acheson, Department of Geography, Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville)
Revolutionary Women: Female Education and Political Activism in Early New Jersey
“A More Accurate and Extensive Education than is Customary”: Educational Opportunities for Women in Early Nineteenth-Century New Jersey (Lucia McMahon, William Paterson University)
The Ladies of Trenton: Women’s Political and Public Activism in Revolutionary New Jersey (Catherine Hudak, Morris Hills High School, Rockaway, NJ)
“Working for the Slave as a Mother would Work for her Children”: Abigail Goodwin and the Anti-slavery Movement in New Jersey (Bruce Scherer, Project Archivist/Librarian, Salem County Historical Society, Salem, NJ)
Eighteenth-Century New Jersey Families
From London Publisher to American Farmer: Benjamin Clarke and his Diary of East New Jersey (Robert Craig, Historic Preservation Office, NJ Department of Environmental Protection)
Black and White Together? Slavery and Freedom in Upper Freehold Township from the Colonial Period to the Early Republic (Sue Kozel, Independent scholar)
Vital History: What Two Generations of a Loyalist Family Reveals About the American Revolution (Donald Sherblom, President, 1759 Vought House, Inc.)
Monday, November 10, 2008
New Rockwell Kent Exhibition at NYS Museum
The next exhibition in the Great Art Series -- Rockwell Kent: This is My Own – opens at the New York State Museum on November 22. On view through May 17, 2009 in the Museum’s West Gallery, the exhibition is the 20th installment of the Great Art Exhibition and Education Program, which brings works from New York State’s leading art museums and collections to the State Museum. This exhibition will feature works from the collection of the Plattsburgh State Art Museum, State University of New York at Plattsburgh, the most complete and balanced collection of Kent’s work in the United States. The collection was established by a gift and bequest from Kent’s wife, Sally Kent Gorton. This exhibition is curated by Cecilia M. Esposito, director of the Plattsburgh State Art Museum.
"We at Plattsburgh, and I as a Regent, are delighted to share the life work of Rockwell Kent with visitors to the New York State Museum from across the state and the nation,” said James Dawson, member of the State Board of Regents. “This powerful and unique exhibition will give visitors an opportunity to engage with, and understand, the life and artistic contributions of Rockwell Kent to American art. As a faculty member at the State University of Plattsburgh, I have been familiar with the Kent Collection for decades. So, I am delighted to see that others in the state and nation will have this same profound opportunity to share in Kent's incredible artistic talent.”
A critically acclaimed artist who provided the illustrations for such classics as “Moby Dick” and the “Canterbury Tales,” Kent succeeded in multiple endeavors during his lifetime. He was a painter, muralist, illustrator, printmaker, book designer, graphic artist, architect, builder, writer and editor, lecturer, navigator, world traveler and political and social activist.
Kent once said that “art is no more than the shadow cast by a man’s own stature.” This exhibition is unique in the breadth of materials on display, including hundreds of items that chronicle Kent’s life and work, reflecting remarkable personal experiences and a deep sense of moral and political principle. On display are paintings, drawings, prints, books, bookplates, photographs, dinnerware, advertising art and more. “Rockwell Kent,” a documentary produced by Frederick Lewis, and the book, “Rockwell Kent: The Art of the Bookplate” will be for sale in the Museum Shop.
Born in Tarrytown in 1882, Kent experienced a comfortable, upper middle-class lifestyle until the sudden death of his father in 1887. As a young boy he developed a resilience and remarkable work ethic that was evident in all of his future endeavors.
From 1900 through 1902, while studying architecture at Columbia University in New York City, Kent attended painter William Merritt Chase’s summer school for art at Shinnecock Hills, Long Island. He changed his studies to painting and continued classes with Chase in New York. He spent the summer of 1903 with artist Abbott H. Thayer in New Hampshire. Bolstered by the sale of two paintings he quit Columbia and enrolled in the New York School of Art, where he was instructed by Robert Henri, the leader of what is now known as the “Ashcan School.”
Kent achieved both critical and financial success as an artist during the 1920s and 1930s. He became well-known for his book illustrations, bookplates and commercial work. Private collectors and major museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, acquired his paintings and prints.
Between 1918 and 1935, Kent traveled to remote parts of the world, often staying for long periods of time to learn about the people who lived there and to express and record his experiences through his paintings and books.
In 1915, during World War I, he was ordered to leave Newfoundland over fears that he was a German spy. While in Newfoundland he painted one of his major works, “House of Dread.” In Alaska, as in other countries he visited, Kent demonstrated his building skills, renovating an abandoned goat shed and turning it into a comfortable home. “Wilderness: A Journal of Quiet Adventure in Alaska” chronicled his adventures there. He also traveled to Tierra del Fuego, where he wrote “Voyaging” about his dangerous travels through the most exposed islands of the archipelago. “N by E” was about another hair-raising adventure -- an ill-fated cruise he took to Greenland in 1929. He returned to Greenland in 1931 where he wrote “Salamina,” named in honor of his housekeeper and mistress. Kent also designed dinnerware by the same name.
Kent purchased a dairy farm in the Adirondacks, outside of the village of Au Sable Forks, in 1927 and named it Asgaard, meaning “home of the gods.” It served as his retreat for the rest of his life. From 1912 to 1968, Kent practiced the time-honored art of the bookplate, creating more than 185 custom-designed bookplates in response to mail orders that came his way, including one for Joseph P. Kennedy Sr.. He also pursued wood engraving, a passion that rivaled his great love for painting.
Kent painted several major murals during the 1930s and 40s. His designs for the 1939 Christmas Seals campaign were used on billboards, stamps and posters. During this time, Kent also produced political art, becoming very active in social and political issues as a member of the Socialist Party he had joined in 1908. In 1953, he was summoned to appear before a subcommittee, chaired by U.S. Senator
Joseph McCarthy, to answer questions about his membership in the Communist Party. From 1957 to 1960, three major exhibitions of Kent’s work were held in the Soviet Union, and in 1960 he gave the country 80 canvases and 800 drawings and prints. He traveled to Moscow in 1967 to accept the International Lenin Prize for Strengthening Peace Among Peoples.
One of Kent’s last lucrative commercial contracts was with General Electric (GE). His painting of a solitary farmhouse on a winter’s night was reproduced in GE’s 1946 calendar and proved so popular that he was asked to provide another for the following year. In January 1946, Kent walked a picket line at GE in Schenectady at the request of the striking workers there. GE officials were not pleased and tried to cancel Kent’s contract but reneged after he threatened a lawsuit.
Kent died at the age of 88 and is buried at Asgaard. His gravestone bears the title of his first autobiography “This is My Own,” a line taken from “Native Land,” a poem by Walter Scott.
On February 14, from 1 to 3 p.m., the Museum will sponsor “ARTventures,” a program planned to complement the Kent exhibition. During a hands-on, art-making experience with instructor Peggy Steinbach, participants will visit the exhibition and then create their own interpretations in paint. Pre-registration is suggested. Call 518-473-7154 or e-mail psteinba@mail.nysed.gov. The program is limited to 15 participants. It is free for Museum members and $5 for non-members.
The New York State Museum expresses its gratitude to Bank of America, the New York State Senate and New York State Assembly for making the Kent exhibition possible. Additional support is provided by The Times Union, WRGB (CBS 6) and Potratz Partners Advertising.
The New York State Museum is a cultural program of the New York State Education Department. Started in 1836, the Museum has the longest continuously operating state natural history research and collection survey in the United States. Located on Madison Avenue in Albany, the Museum is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free. Further information can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the Museum website at www.nysm.nysed.gov.
Friday, November 7, 2008
This Week's Top New York History News
- » Blog: Stop Lying About Roosevelt's Record
- » Fort Stanwix to Host Re-enactments
- » An Erie Canal Revival?
- » Local Tagging Projects That Make Sense
- » Submarine Returns to NYC
- » Studs Terkel's Bronx Legacy
- » America Gets Professor in Chief
- » The Smithsonian Cuts Salaries
- » NY Library Assoc Conference Thur
- » An Erie Canal Energy Project
2009 THATCamp Announced
An announcement yesterday from Dan Cohen, posted on his digital humanities blog:
THATCamp (The Humanities and Technology Camp), which brings together scholars, librarians, curators, technologists, and developers for a two-day “unconference” that interactively explores the cutting edge of the digital humanities, was such a success this year that we’re bringing it back in 2009. Better yet, we are pairing it with the Digital Humanities 2009 conference being run by our friends on the other side of the Washington beltway, the Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities. THATCamp 2009 will immediately follow DH2009 on June 27-28, 2008. Stay tuned to the THATCamp site for a more formal announcement and application guidelines.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Three Outstanding History Blog Series
Here at the New York History blog, I follow hundreds of history oriented blogs, good and bad, from around New York and around the nation. Some of the best have focused their work through regular posts on unique topics - call it "serial blogging." Here are three of the more outstanding examples:
The Bowery Boys: Know Your Mayors
According to the Bowery Boys, their regular series "Know Your Mayors" is a "modest little series about some of the greatest, notorious, most important, even most useless, mayors of New York City." Recent posts have covered "Philip Hone, the party mayor," and "Hugh Grant, our youngest mayor" - he was just 31. Check out the entire series here.
Bad Girl Blog: Why I Started Chasing Bad Girls
Brooklynite Joyce Hanson describes her Bad Girl Blog as "a chronicle of my research, experiments and studies about wild women in both history and the present--and my struggle to be more like them." Hanson's series "Why I Started Chasing Bad Girls" offers a little insight into the author herself and women she's hoping to emulate (at least a little more). Posts have included Isabelle Eberhardt who Hanson describes as "A Russian Jew who converted to Islam, Isabelle Eberhardt ran off to the Sahara Desert in 1899 when she was 22, served as a war correspondent for an Algerian newspaper, dressed as a man and called herself Si Mahmoud, slept with Arab boys, routinely smoked kif, and drank absinthe and chartreuse until she fell asleep on the dirt floor of whatever random café she happened to be passing through." Hanson has also written about Bessie Smith, Empress Theodora of Constantinople, and Victoria Woodhull. You can read all the posts in the series here.
Early American Crime: Convict Transportation
Independent scholar Anthony Vaver's blog Early American Crime only began in September, but he has already staked some substantial bloggy ground with what he calls "an exploration of the social and cultural history of crime and punishment in colonial America and the early United States." Vaver's short series on convict transportation to the American colonies has covered "Early uses of Convict Transportation," "The Transportation Act of 1718," and "The Business of Convict Transportation." You can read the entire series here.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Bernard Margolis Appointed NY State Librarian
The Board of Regents has announced the appointment of Bernard A. Margolis as the New York State Librarian. He will assume his new responsibilities in January 2009.
State Education Commissioner Richard Mills said, “We live in an age of information, and libraries play a critical role in providing us with access to that information. They are vital to our economy and our communities. They promote literacy and lifelong learning. And in these trying economic times, they are vital to people seeking information about jobs. I am thrilled that the Regents have appointed a dynamic and innovative person like Mr. Margolis to serve in the critically important position of State Librarian.”
The New York State Library provides information and library services through its Research Library and the Division of Library Development. Mr. Margolis will have oversight responsibility for a $13.4 million operating budget, 180 employees, over 20 million collection items and nearly $100 million in State and federal aid to libraries.
One of the largest research libraries in North America, the New York State Research Library is the only state library which is a member of the Association of Research Libraries. The Library’s holdings include a significant manuscript and rare book collection, as well as holdings in a wide variety of formats, including paper, microform, digital and electronic records. It is also a Federal Depository and Patent Library; has the responsibility for the acquisition, distribution and maintenance of New York State documents; and is a regional library for the blind and visually impaired in New York’s 55 upstate counties.
The Division of Library Development provides leadership and technical assistance to New York’s 73 library systems through a comprehensive program of State aid for public, school, academic and special library services. Staff experts work with librarians, trustees, school administrators, public officials and local leaders to solve problems and find new ways of making library services and resources available to their community. Library Development administers more than $100 million in State and federal aid to New York’s libraries and helps them to take full advantage of federal and private funding programs like E-rate telecommunications discounts and Gates Library Foundation grants.
Mr. Margolis served as the President of Boston Public Library (BPL), Boston, Massachusetts, from 1997 to 2008. BPL is the oldest municipal public library in the country, with 27 neighborhood branches. The Library’s collections of over 34 million items include the library of President John Adams, Shakespeare’s first folio, Gutenberg’s Catholicon, and many other unique and rare materials. BPL is a member of the Association of Research Libraries.
Mr. Margolis’s achievements as BPL president include expansion of branch library hours; appointment of a children’s librarian in every branch; creation of a nationally recognized Homework Assistance Program and online tutoring program; implementation of Reading Readiness to prepare preschoolers for school success; creation of local history centers in eight branch libraries; creation of the award-winning Norman B. Leventhal Map Center; development of a collection conservation program; and growth of the BPL’s trust funds from $37 million to $55 million. Under Mr. Margolis’s leadership, BPL secured $7 million of direct grants and $18 million in federal funds for technology improvements and many foundation grants, designated gift funds, and major bequests.
Mr. Margolis led the effort to restore and renovate the historic central library building, securing funding from a number of sources. He worked with the City of Boston to establish a critical repair fund, allowing BPL to address building and equipment repairs in a timely manner. BPL collaborated with other cultural institutions and more than 4,500 different community groups and organizations.
Mr. Margolis holds a BA in Political Science and an MA in Librarianship, both from the University of Denver. His library experience includes management and executive positions in libraries and library systems in Colorado and Michigan. Prior to moving to Boston, he served as Director/CEO of the Pikes Peak Library District in Colorado Springs (from 1988 to 1997).
Mr. Margolis’s service includes a number of elected positions within the American Library Association, leadership in the Association of Research Libraries, service as a professional delegate to the White House Conference on Libraries, and service on the boards of library organizations in Massachusetts, Colorado, and Michigan. He has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Library Administration and Bottom Line: The Magazine of Library Financial Management. He has contributed to several books and has published articles in American Libraries, Public Libraries, and Library Journal.
Monday, November 3, 2008
5 New York Spots Become National Landmarks
Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne has designated 16 sites in 11 states as new National Historic Landmarks, including five sites in New York. The designation recognizes the sites as nationally significant historic places because they possess exceptional value or quality in illustrating or interpreting the heritage of the United States.
National Historic Landmarks are buildings, sites, districts, structures, and objects that have been determined by the Secretary of the Interior to be nationally significant in American history and culture. Many of the most renowned historic properties in the Nation are landmarks. Mount Vernon, Pearl Harbor, the Apollo Mission Control Center, Alcatraz, and the Martin Luther King Birthplace in Atlanta, Ga. are landmarks that illustrate important contributions to the Nation's historical development.
The newly designated sites range from the Aaron Copland House in Cortlandt Manor, NY where the musician worked and lived from 1960 until his death in 1990; to The Forty Acres in Delano, Calif., which served as the headquarters for the first permanent agricultural labor union in the United States, the United Farmworkers of America; to Lyceum in the Circle Historic District of Oxford, Miss. where riots and unrest accompanied the ultimately successful efforts of James Meredith to transfer from a historically black college to the previously all-white University of Mississippi.
Today, fewer than 2,500 historic places bear this national distinction. Working with citizens throughout the nation, the National Historic Landmarks Program draws upon the expertise of National Park Service staff, who work to nominate new landmarks and provide assistance to existing landmarks. Completed nominations are reviewed by the National Park System Advisory Board, which makes recommendations for designation to the Secretary of the Interior. Designation as a National Historic Landmark automatically places a property in the National Register of Historic Places, if it is not already so listed.
The new sites were formally designated on October 7, 2008. The designations also included the acceptance of additional documentation for three existing sites, a boundary change for two existing sites and a name change for one existing site.
For more information on the National Historic Landmark Program, please visit www.nps.gov/history/nhl/.
New National Historic Landmarks in New York
Aaron Copland House, Cortlandt Manor, NY
* Aaron Copland purchased this house, known as “Rock Hill” in 1960 when he was 60 years old; it was his home, studio, and base of operations for the next 30 years, until his death in 1990.
* Copland was one of the most important and profoundly influential figures in the history of American music. Copland’s compositions brought a distinctly American sound, character, and zest to the European-bred classical music tradition.
* Copland’s reputation rests on works such as Billy the Kid, Rodeo, Fanfare for the Common Man, and Appalachian Spring—a series of compositions on American subjects and lore that has few equals. By age 50, Copland had become one of the pivotal figures in American musical history. While at this property, Copland composed symphonic works, as well as ballet, chamber, orchestral, and piano works.
* This house reflects Copland’s lifestyle, values, and personal modesty.
Camp Uncas, Mohegan Lake, NY
* Camp Uncas was developed 1893 to 1895 on Mohegan Lake in what is now the Adirondack Forest Preserve.
* Camp Uncas is one of the best examples of Adirondack camp architecture, which was designed for leisure. It is of exceptional historical and architectural significance as the first Adirondack camp to be planned as a single unit by William West Durant, widely recognized as one of the most important innovators of the property type.
* At Camp Uncas, Durant developed the camp as a single cohesive unit: a “compound plan” for camps that provided for an array of separate buildings, all subordinate to the natural setting. Camp Uncas was built as an ensemble from start to finish.
* The Adirondack camp had a strong and lasting influence on the design of rustic buildings developed for national and state park systems in the 20th century.
First Reformed Protestant Dutch Church, Kingston, NY
* The Renaissance Revival First Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Kingston, New York was designed by Minard Lafever, who is considered one of the most important architects practicing in antebellum America.
* The First Reformed Protestant Dutch Church is deserving of recognition within the larger body of Lafever’s work as a mature handling of Renaissance Revival forms and details, an eclectic mode that he helped to pioneer in America. He used a number of classical sources and precedents, including those of English architects Sir Christopher Wren and James Gibbs.
* The church is one of the most intact and most fully-developed examples of Lafevers Renaissance Revival work, a style that he was heavily involved in developing and promoting.
Frick Collection and Frick Art Reference Library Building, New York, NY
* Completed in 1912 and 1935 respectively, the Frick Collection and Arts Reference Library in New York City comprise an institution that is considered one of the great legacies of the first period of major art collecting in the United States, one of the defining activities of the Gilded Age elite.
* Among his contemporaries, Henry Clay Frick (1849-1919) stood out as both a collector and, with his superb Carrère & Hasting edifice sensitively designed for a high-profile Fifth Avenue site, architectural patron.
* Frick’s daughter’s establishment of the library was meant to encourage and develop the study of the fine arts and enhance her father’s legacy through education and scholarship.
* Frick’s vast fortune, knowledge of the arts and architecture, and desire to create a monument of the most personal sort resulted in a museum and institution with few rivals. It is one of the best examples of the arts house museum subset of the museum building type in the nation.
* The collection and arts library maintain an uncommon degree of physical integrity that conveys the exceptional importance of the Frick as a cultural institution and as an outstanding work of architecture.
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY
* The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is nationally significant as one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s most important commissions during his long, productive, and influential career.
* Built between 1956 and 1959, the museum is recognized as an icon of mid-20th century modern architecture. One of his last works, the Guggenheim represents the culmination of a lifetime of evolution of Wright’s ideas about an “organic architecture.”
* At this point in his career in the late 1940s and 1950s, Wright was experimenting with combinations of hexagons, spirals, and circles and produced designs with spiraling and circular forms. No matter what the museum and art professionals thought of the building as an art museum, they could not question the building’s power and genius as a design.
* The Guggenheim launched the great and continuing age of museum architecture, where the building is a central part of the museum experience, on par with its contents.
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