Month: May 2013

Brooklyn Museum Renovations Continue

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAA major new first-floor Brooklyn Museum gallery opened in March with Fine Lines: American Drawings, which will remain on view through May 28. The new 6,000-square-foot space is the latest step in a phased renovation that will, within the next two years, dramatically alter the entire first and second floors of the Museum’s McKim, Mead and White building.

This new space, designed by Ennead Architects, incorporates both a larger and a smaller gallery and two vestibule areas. It is named the Robert E. Blum Gallery&#8211as was the previous special-exhibition gallery on the first floor.
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Coney Island Souvenirs Throughout The Years

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Gambling wheel, 1900-1920. Wood, glass, metal. Purchase, 1995.2In May 1654, the early settlers of Gravesend, Brooklyn purchased what is now known as Coney Island from the local Native Americans. Back then it was just a beach, but by the 1840s it had morphed into how many of us know it now: a vacation getaway right in our own city.

Roads and steamships around that time made travel time from New York City around two hours, making Coney Island an accessible beach destination for anyone.  By the 1920s it was even more popular, after the subway made its debut. But visitors weren’t content with just beaches and hotels. There were games to be played, rides to be ridden, and souvenirs to take home! Here are a few from the New-York Historical Society&#8216-s collection.
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NY Dog History: Famous Ticonderoga Canines

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Headline Ti Canine Hero 1935 4WIn an eight-month span in the 1930s, two Ticonderoga canines made headlines for something dogs are known for in general: loyalty. Few relationships are more rewarding in life than the human-canine experience, as anyone reading this who shares a dog’s life can attest. For those who have children as well … some might be loathe to admit it, but dogs provide many of the same positives without all the complicated baggage.

Humans in dire circumstances react in two ways—save themselves or save others. We part company there with dogs, whose devotion compels them to maintain the relationship to the sweet or bitter end. Read more →

Warren County Oral History Project Seeks Volunteers

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Warren County (Asher and Adams Atlas, 1871)The Warren County Historical Society will be conducting oral history interviews during the Rural Heritage Festival and Youth Fair at the Warren County Fairgrounds in Warrensburg, NY on August 10th.  The Warren County Historical Society is searching for individuals who would like to participate and are specifically interest in talking with individuals who have some knowledge in three specific areas:  Read more →

A Historical Perspective on Historical Societies

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Hancock House,Ticonderoga, NY (NYSHA)Many of the posts on this New York History website highlight the programs of historical societies or raise issues about their mission, funding, and impact.

Sometimes, a look back in our own history is useful in reminding us how enduring some of the issues are, and perhaps reminding us of strategies that have been up for discussion before. Read more →

This Weeks New York History Web Highlights

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Washington Countys Mysterious Black Migration

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9781479771912_p0_v1_s260x420New York author L. Lloyd Stewart has recently published an extensively researched and documented book on African American history in New York State titled, The Mysterious Black Migration 1800-1820: The Van Vrankens and Other Families of African Descent in Washington County, New York.

The author will be at the Rensselaer County Historical Society (RCHS) during May’s Troy Night Out, on May 31, 2013. Stewart will give a presentation at 6:30 pm and will be available to sign copies of his book afterward. Read more →

NYCs Green-Wood Cemetery To Mark 175th Anniversary

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556174_502184239813956_1305110578_nWhat do artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, toy merchant Frederick A.O. Schwarz and political powerhouse William Magear “Boss” Tweed have in common?

They’re all buried in Brooklyn’s Historic Green-Wood Cemetery along with abolitionist Henry Ward Beecher, musician Leonard Bernstein, industrialist Peter Cooper, composer Fred Ebb, piano manufacturer Henry Steinway, decorative master Louis Comfort Tiffany – and roughly 560,000 others – many equally famous (some infamous) and hailing from the worlds of sports, the arts, entertainment, politics, the military and industry. Read more →

Historian Russell Shorto Events In Albany Friday

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Russell Shorto Jennifer MayRussell Shorto, bestselling historian of the Dutch colonial experience in America, will give a preview of his new book (to be published this coming October), Amsterdam: A History of the World’s Most Liberal City, Friday, May 3, 2013 at 7 p.m. in the Clark Auditorium, New York State Museum, Cultural Education Center, Madison Avenue in downtown Albany.

Earlier that same day at 3:15 p.m., the author will deliver the Fossieck Lecture of the UAlbany History Department, “The Dutch Influence on American Colonial History,” in the Assembly Hall, Campus Center, on the University at Albany’s uptown campus. Read more →