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The City Concealed Explores Forgotten NYC Locations

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The idea is a simple one: Take viewers to historical locations around New York City that are either off-limits to the general public, or are otherwise difficult or impossible to see. Then post them to the web.

Being an old city, New York has hundreds of overlooked locales to explore. The City Concealed produces about 2 videos a month. They’ve previously shot a boat tour of Newtown Creek, the tombs & catacombs of Green-Wood Cemetery, an eccentric rock sculptor on the furthest reaches of Staten Island, and the abandoned buildings of Brooklyn’s sprawling Navy Yard.

The latest episode is Up in the Fulton Ferry Hotel

You can submit a location idea here.

NYC Parks Tribute To African American History

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Do you know what Jackie Robinson, Marcus Garvey and Booker T. Washington have in common? They are all famous African Americans who have New York City parks named after them. This month, the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation is celebrating Black History Month by paying tribute to these and many other influential African Americans with events across the city. From an exhibit on the work of George Washington Carver at the New York Botanical Garden, to a performance on the history of black dance at the Jackie Robinson Recreation Center, there is a free and fun way for everyone to get involved in this lesson on cultural history.

In addition, the Arsenal Gallery in Central Park is hosting “The African American Experience”, an exhibition of over thirty artworks including photographs, paintings, quilts, and ceramics created by artists, Parks & Recreation employees, retirees, and members of recreation centers and programs throughout the city. The exhibit will remain open through March 5, 2009.

For those who can’t make it out to enjoy the festivities, you can learn more about Parks’ relationship with African American History on the Parks website, www.nyc.gov/parks.

February 1-22: 1:30 p.m.–4:30 p.m.: The Life and Work of George Washington Carver, The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx. Explore the fascinating life and accomplishments of this plant scientist extraordinaire in this hands-on program and exhibition.

February 17, 18: 1:00 p.m.: Hooray for Martin Luther King, The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx. Celebrate the heart of the inspiring message of peace and brotherhood for all.

February 18, 21: 3:00 p.m.: A Man Named Pearl, The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx. Watch a documentary on the inspiring story of self-taught topiary artist Pearl Fryar.

February 19: 6:30 p.m.–8:00 p.m.: History of Black Dance, the Jackie Robinson Recreation Center, Manhattan. Enjoy a performance featuring variations of Egyptian, African, and Spanish dances. Audience participation is included. February 21: 1:00 p.m.: Rosa’s Ride, The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx. Come watch a musical dramatization of the life of Rosa Parks.

February 22: 1:00 p.m.: Seneca Village, Central Park, Manhattan. Learn about the history of Manhattan’s first known community of African-American property owners and what New York City was like at the time.
February 28: 12:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.: African Lives: From Wyckoff to Weeksville, Wyckoff Farmhouse Museum, Brooklyn. Come enjoy the Colonial Dutch and African celebration of Pentecost with music, food, children’s crafts, and more!

12:00 p.m.: African Drumming, Inwood Hill Park Nature Center, Manhattan. Celebrate vibrant African music and culture for black history month by learning traditional African drum rhythm on the djembe, talking drum and udu.

Dance Theatre of Harlem History Exhibit at NYPL

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Shortly after the assassination of The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Arthur Mitchell was inspired to start a ballet school that would offer African American and Latino children — especially those in Harlem, the community in which he was born — the opportunity to study dance and the allied arts. In 1969, a year later, Mitchell and Karel Shook, founded the Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) which the New York Times called &#8220one of ballet’s most exciting undertakings”. Now in its fourth decade, DTH has grown into a multi-cultural dance institution and national treasure. Armed with an extraordinary legacy of training exceptional artists, DTH continues to set the standard for artistic excellence in the performing arts.

Through a rich and colorful mix of spectacular costumes, stage props, posters, programs, intimate photographs and video recordings, Dance Theatre of Harlem: 40 Years of Firsts traces the history of the company, its community outreach, renowned productions and cast of legendary dancers, fans and supporters. The free exhibition is on display in the Vincent Astor Gallery of The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, February 11 through May 9, 2009. The Library is also presenting related free public programs at the Library for the Performing Arts and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

In a time when black dancers were all but invisible in mainstream ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem, founded in 1969 by Arthur Mitchell and Karel Shook, brought ballet to the neighborhood and black dancers to the main stage. Since its inception the company has continued to cross social and geographic barriers by introducing the ballet world to a Creole Giselle, inviting audiences to a Caribbean wedding in Dougla, bringing black dancers to the international stage through programs such as Dancing Through Barriers® and bringing ballet to Harlem with education and community outreach.

Many of the stories behind the achievements of the company were artfully documented in photographs by Martha Swope, Marbeth and others. Those on display include photos of guests such as Hillary Clinton and Congressman Charles Rangel attending the company’s monthly open houses where performers of all arts and from other organizations showcase their talents to captivated audiences seated on folding chairs and sometimes on the floor.

One of the centerpieces of the show is an eight-foot-long three-dimensional puzzle that took artist Frank Bara two years to create. Completed in 1989, it was commissioned by Arthur Mitchell to celebrate the company’s 20th anniversary. Each layer of the puzzle, crafted entirely from wood, depicts a different aspect of the company’s first two decades in intricate detail, from ballet casts and music to floor plans and blueprints.

From the ceiling of the gallery hang original character costumes such as Firebird’s firebird and monster created by Geoffrey Holder and the wedding canopy from Dougla. Also on display are examples of tights and pointe shoes illustrating Mr. Mitchell’s ground-breaking insistence that they be dyed to match each dancer’s skin tones. Pictures from Footprints in Red document the stunning costumes designed by Salvatore Ferragamo, which needed to be such a specific blue that craftsmen were flown from Italy to Harlem to dye them just the right shade.

There are also many photographs that show rehearsals in churches and other borrowed spaces that were used before Dance Theatre of Harlem had a home of its own. Other pictures document the world-wide appeal of the company’s talent and show its famous fans like Nelson Mandela after a performance in South Africa and Princess Diana back stage in London.

Dance Theatre of Harlem’s dedication to dance and community has inspired support from a wide range of renowned figures from the world of dance. On view are pictures of candid moments in master classes being taught by such prominent dancers as Rosella Hightower and Carmen de Lavallade- William Dollar, who is coaching young ballerinas for Combat- Alexandra Danilova and Joseph Wyatt who are shown rehearsing Paquita- and Gregory Hines who is pictured tapping with children from the DTH school.

Throughout the gallery, cases exhibit show programs and tour materials including the Australian tour scrapbook that contains newspaper clips from the local press punctuated by negative stereotypes less commonly found in press coverage from the United States.

Also on view are a series of film clips including performances of Giselle and Streetcar Named Desire and a compilation of interviews with those close to the Dance Theatre of Harlem and press coverage the company has received over the years.

Free Public Programs Related to the Exhibition at the Library for the Performing Arts:

Thursday, February 12, 2009, 5:30 p.m.
Inspired by a Dream: The Dance Theatre of Harlem Story
Panel moderated by Anna Kisselgoff. With Robert Garland, Virginia Johnson and others.

Thursday, March 12, 2009, 3:00 p.m.
Dance Theatre of Harlem: Classically American
Panel moderated by Alastair Macaulay. With Frederic Franklin, Lorraine Graves, Suzanne Farrell, and others.

Thursday, March 12, 2009, 5:30 p.m.
The Stories I Could Tell: Arthur Mitchell at 75
The Founding Artistic Director of the Dance Theatre of Harlem in Conversation
with Robert Greskovic.

Thursday, May 7, 5:30 p.m.
African American Choreographers
Panel discussion on making work for Dance Theatre of Harlem

Free Public Programs Related to the Exhibition at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

Thursday, April 16, 2009, 7:00 p.m.
Where are the Black Swans?
A panel discussion.

Preservation League Announces Seven to Save

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The Preservation League of New York State announced today the League’s Seven to Save for 2009. As part of New York State’s Quadricentennial celebration, the Preservation League will use its endangered properties program, Seven to Save, to support and enhance the year-long commemoration of the voyages of Henry Hudson, Robert Fulton and Samuel de Champlain. In 2009, all Seven to Save designees are located in the Hudson and Champlain Valleys &#8211 in Clinton, Columbia (2), Dutchess, Essex, New York and Rensselaer Counties.

“New York State is especially rich in maritime resources and waterfront communities,” said Jay DiLorenzo, President of the Preservation League. “The region from the Canadian border to New York Harbor is celebrated for its beauty, and boasts a strong tradition of settlement by Native Americans followed by French, Dutch, English and others who made important contributions reflected in the area’s buildings and landscapes. Unfortunately, many of the valued historic resources that illustrate this heroic saga are threatened by insensitive, ineffective or insufficient public policies, general neglect, and in some cases, outright demolition.”

The 2009 Seven to Save designees are, in chronological order:

1. Magdalen Island
Red Hook, in Tivoli Bays, Dutchess County
(Late Archaic, 6,000-3,000 years ago, through post-contact period)
Threat: Looting
Studies of Magdalen Island have shown that from the Late Archaic through the post-European contact period, the island has been used as a seasonal home by both Native Americans and Euro-Americans. The site could yield additional archeological information about the Hudson Valley’s early inhabitants.

2. Jan Van Hoesen House
Claverack, Columbia County
(Early 18th century)
Threat: Deterioration
Jan Van Hoesen, who built this house, was the grandson of Jan Franz Van Hoesen, original patentee of the area in the 1660s. The farmstead, while encroached upon by the adjacent mobile home park, remains intact and undisturbed. This site exemplifies the themes of Dutch settlement along the Hudson River and its tributaries.

3. Gunboat Spitfire
Lake Champlain, Essex and Clinton Counties
(1776)
Threat: Natural, including non-native aquatic species, and vandalism
This vessel was part of the American fleet which held the British at bay for a year and contributed to the American victory at Saratoga in 1777. The Spitfire is not only the most significant underwater archeological site on the bottom of Lake Champlain, it illustrates the interconnected history of the Hudson and Champlain Valleys.

4. Plumb-Bronson House
Hudson, Columbia County
(1811, 1838, 1849)
Threat: Many years of unchecked deterioration
Samuel Plumb, owner and operator of a fleet of tow boats on the Hudson River, purchased this property and built his home here in 1811. In 1838, Dr. Oliver Bronson hired famed architect A. J. Davis to embellish the house, and brought him back in 1849 to reorient the house to the Hudson River. Now, the not-for-profit Historic Hudson needs to determine a new use and plans for site stewardship.

5. Fort Montgomery
Rouse’s Point, Clinton County
(1844-1872)
Threat: Deterioration, need for stabilization
Situated on the border between the United States and Canada, Island Point is where Lake Champlain enters the Richelieu River. It was first fortified in 1818 as the Northern Gateway linking the St. Lawrence and Hudson Rivers. Fort Montgomery was built in the mid-19th century and seen as a crucial fortification by Civil War strategists. This site symbolizes the shared history of these two nations.

6. Burden Iron Works Museum
Troy, Rensselaer County
(1881-1882)
Threat: Deterioration
This building stands as architect Robert Robertson’s best surviving iron works and an important reminder of the Hudson River’s industrial heritage. Robertson designed the building as the offices of the Burden Iron Company, the first in the world to manufacture horseshoes by machine. The site is now operated as a museum of commerce and industry, as well as the offices of the Hudson Mohawk Industrial Gateway, the not-for-profit which owns the building.

7. Historic South Street Seaport
New York City, New York County
(Tin Building, 1907 and New Market Building, 1939)
Threat: Demolition, loss of context
The South Street Seaport and Fulton Market are historically linked to Fulton and his ferry to Brooklyn, as well as the theme of commerce along the Hudson River. General Growth Properties proposes out-of-scale new development, requiring demolition of the National Register-eligible New Market Building and the relocation of the Tin Building. This site illustrates the need for careful planning along and stewardship of New York State’s waterfront, especially within waterfront historic districts.

The Preservation League will provide targeted support for these seven threatened historic resources throughout 2009, and will work with local groups to protect them.

“We are looking forward to providing strategic attention, extra effort, and new tools to secure the future of these endangered resources for generations to come,” said Erin Tobin, the Preservation League’s eastern regional director for technical and grant programs. “We are delighted to report that through the community involvement and preservation strategies we have created together with local advocates, many significant properties have been saved.”

The Preservation League of New York State, founded in 1974, is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the protection of New York’s diverse and rich heritage of historic buildings, districts and landscapes. From its headquarters in Albany, it provides the unified voice for historic preservation. By leading a statewide movement and sharing information and expertise, the Preservation League of New York State promotes historic preservation as a tool to revitalize the Empire State’s neighborhoods and communities.

In Stoddards Footsteps at Adirondack Museum

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His career spanned the settling of the Adirondacks, the heyday of the guide, the steamship, and the grand hotel. Pioneer photographer Seneca Ray Stoddard produced over 8,000 images of a changing landscape &#8212- the largest documentary record of regional life in the late nineteenth century. Adirondack photographer Mark Bowie followed in Stoddard’s footsteps more than a century later, faithfully photographing once again the exact locations of many of his classic images.

Join Bowie on Sunday, February 15, 2009 at the Adirondack Museum at Blue Mountain Lake, New York as he compares the Adirondacks of today with Stoddard’s. The comparisons are fascinating, sometimes surprising, in every case, illuminating.

Mark Bowie is a third generation Adirondack photographer. He is a frequent contributor to Adirondack Life and Adirondack Explorer magazines. His photos have been published in Natural History, as well as by the Sierra Club, Conde Nast Publications, Portal Publications, and Tehabi Books.

Bowie’s first book, Adirondack Waters: Spirit of the Mountains (2006) is a landmark regional publication. In Stoddard’s Footsteps: The Adirondacks Then & Now was recently published. He has recently completed work on a third book, The Adirondacks: In Celebration of the Seasons, to be released in the Spring 2009.

Mark Bowie leads digital and landscape photography workshops, has produced several multi-format shows about the Adirondacks and has been featured on the Public Television programs &#8220Adirondack Outdoors&#8221 and &#8220Insight.&#8221 He lives with his wife, Rushelle, in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

The program, &#8220In Stoddard’s Footsteps&#8221 will be the second in the museum’s popular Cabin Fever Sunday series. Held in the Auditorium, the presentation will begin promptly at 1:30 p.m. Cabin Fever Sunday programs are offered at no charge to museum members. The fee for non-members is $5.00. There is no charge for children of elementary school age or younger. Refreshments will be served. For additional information, please call the Education Department at (518) 352-7311, ext. 128 or visit the museum’s web site at www.adirondackmuseum.org.

Preservation in Tough Economic Times

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Daniel Mackay, Director of Public Policy for the Preservation League of New York State, testified at a hearing of the New York State Senate Finance and Assembly Ways and Means Committees regarding economic development initiatives and arguing for an expanded tax credit for the rehabilitation of historic properties in distressed areas as a way to stimulate the economy:

If New York is to be successful in preserving open space, working farmland and curbing sprawl, economic development must be directed back to existing municipal infrastructure, and that will require recognition and reuse of New York State’s extraordinary legacy of historic buildings in our commercial downtowns and residential neighborhoods across the Empire State.

Because New York State faces a severe budget challenge, now is the time to prioritize implementation of the tools and programs that target public and private reinvestment where it is most needed, in ways that most effectively leverage private and federal dollars for community renewal and economic reinvestment, and in ways that most aggressively and immediately meet economic stimulus benchmarks.

The program that meets these tests and serves these goals is an expanded New York State Rehabilitation Tax Credit. Legislation will shortly be introduced by Senator David Valesky and Assemblymember Sam Hoyt which will effectively and appropriately expand this program, direct stimulus and rehabilitation activity to distressed areas, and contain costs for New York State…

The Preservation League, and a diverse and growing partnership of business leaders, municipal officials, economic development interests, and a wide array of environmental and preservation organizations [including the Landmark Society] are joining together in a campaign entitled “Reinvest New York” to promote inclusion of this program in the enacted 2009-2010 New York State Budget…

Implementation of an expanded New York State Rehabilitation Tax Credit program represents a targeted investment in the downtowns and historic neighborhoods that form the core of municipalities across New York State, and represents exactly the type of investment that New York State should make in difficult economic and budgetary times: a targeted tool that leverages significant federal and private investment and delivers proven results and benefits to municipalities across New York State.

Apparently, according to Confessions of a Preservationist, Maryland, Missouri and Rhode Island, are three states with good tax credit programs that produce significant economic benefits. &#8220In Rhode Island every $1 million in state tax credit investment leverages $5.35 million in total economic output.&#8221 Preservationist notes,  &#8220In other words, the program more than pays for itself – it generates income for the state and creates jobs while improving our communities.&#8221

Contact Period Workshops For K-12 Teachers

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A National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) grant awarded to Dr. Thomas Chambers, history professor at Niagara University, will support a pair of week-long workshops to be held this summer for K-12 school teachers. The workshops, set to take place July 13 through July 17, 2009 and July 20 through July 24, 2009 at Old Fort Niagara in Niagara Falls, NY, will focus on American history and culture, specifically the history of European-Native American interaction. Classroom teachers and librarians in public, private, parochial, and charter schools, as well as home-schooling parents are eligible to participate.

The program was created by the NEH to encourage better understanding of American history and culture. Stipends cover most expenses for participants, see: http://neh.gov/projects/landmarks-school.html for eligibility requirements.

For more information visit www.niagara.edu/crossroads/