Governor David A. Paterson today announced that First Lady Michelle Paige Paterson has been named Honorary Chair of the Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Quadricentennial Celebration. Next year, 2009, marks the 400th anniversaries of the voyage of English Captain Henry Hudson, who led the first European expedition to sail up the river that now bears his name, and the voyage of Frenchman Samuel de Champlain, the first to discover the namesake lake. To celebrate these simultaneous 400th anniversaries – as well as the 200th anniversary of Robert Fulton’s maiden steamboat journey up the Hudson River – New York State is planning a yearlong series of events, programs and projects that highlight the discovery of New York, celebrating the State’s Dutch, French and English roots and heritage.
“This is a momentous occasion in our State’s history,” said First Lady Michelle Paige Paterson. “I am so proud to be able to serve this important role as ambassador for the 400th anniversaries of the exploration of our historic Hudson River and Lake Champlain, celebrating our rich history and our embrace of diversity, tolerance and innovation. Perhaps most importantly, we are utilizing the occasion to focus attention on the most important legacy of all —- environmental and economic sustainability starting with the next 100 years.”
New York’s First Lady will lend her support to several projects across the State, including the “Walkway Over the Hudson” in Poughkeepsie that will transform the Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge into a spectacular park in the sky, the longest elevated walkway in the world. On Lake Champlain, the newly refurbished Crown Point Lighthouse will shine again over the stabilized ruins of two nearby forts – Crown Point and St. Frederic – that symbolize the region’s English and French heritage. And Governor’s Island, the site of one of New York’s first Dutch settlements and a strategic 19th-century coastal fortification, will soon allow visitors to have access to the entire perimeter promenade for the first time, and will create a picnic area with unparalleled views of the Statue of Liberty, New York Harbor, and the Manhattan skyline.
Other Quadricentennial events include the valley-wide event “River Day” celebrating 400 years of boats, ships and the Hudson River- the Quadricentennial Sustainability Expo at the American Museum of Natural History, the International Commemorative Stamp Expo at the Empire State Plaza – featuring the loan of the original Henry Hudson 1909 stamp from the National Museum, the New York Medal of Discovery-the first annual medal from the Governor to a distinguished New Yorker, the � Years of History” conference at Marist College, and a special visit from the Dutch Royal Family.
U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer said: “This event provides a golden opportunity to celebrate the history of New York State and three of the giants who defined it for the last four hundred years. Over this past year, I have worked tirelessly for the Quadricentennial to ensure the celebration provides a big boost for our tourism economy. I know with Michelle Paterson as the Honorary Chair of the Quadricentennial we can only expect even greater success.”
U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton said: “First Lady Michelle Paige Paterson is an excellent choice to chair the Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Quadricentennial celebrations. Under her leadership, this celebration of New York’s rich past will be a truly historic success.”
U.S. Congressman Maurice Hinchey said: “The Quadricentennial celebrations presents New Yorkers with so many exciting ways to celebrate and learn about the extraordinary historical events that occurred right here in our own backyard several centuries years ago. I am very pleased that First Lady Michelle Paige Paterson will be taking on such an important leadership role that will ensure we fulfill the cultural, educational, and economic potential that these upcoming events have for our State.”
Hugo Gajus Scheltema, Consul General of the Netherlands, said: “We are thrilled that the First Lady is Honorary Chair for the Quadricentennial Celebration. We look forward to working together for next year’s events. From our side we have set up a number of festivities in the framework of the Quadricentiennial and expect several Dutch dignitaries to visit New York State next year, including members of the royal family.”
Deputy Secretary for the Environment Judith Enck said: “We are honored to have First Lady Michele Paige Paterson integrally involved in commemorating the 400th anniversary of our magnificent Lake Champlain and Hudson River. The Hudson River and Lake Champlain are not only rich parts of our past but also are key to our future. In the upcoming Quadricentennial year we will celebrate history while stepping up our efforts to reduce water pollution and to advance policies that protect the shorelines of these vitally important water bodies. Having the First Lady in this leadership position signals how important this commemoration is for our great State.”
Joan Davidson, Chairperson of the Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Quadricentennial Commission (HFCQ), said: “The Commission is inspired by Governor Paterson’s vision of a revitalized Hudson River Corridor and the Champlain Valley as a strong economic engine for New York City and State. We are delighted and honored that New York’s First Lady, Michelle Paige Paterson, has agreed to serve as Honorary Chair of the Commission and we look forward to working with her toward next year’s great events.”
Tara Sullivan, Executive Director of the NYS HFCQ, said: “New York’s communities, historic and environmental organizations, and State agencies have worked this past year to craft the 2009 plan for celebrating our past and planning for our future. New York’s First Lady will bring the prestige and gravitas to usher in this plan on the eve of the Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Quadricentennial!”
For more information on the Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Quadricentennial Celebration, visit: www.ExploreNY400.com.
Anthony M. Tung, author of Preserving the World’s Great Cities: The Destruction and Renewal of the Historic Metropolis
The event will be held Wednesday, December 10th at 6:30 PM at Grace Church School, 84 Fourth Avenue, NYC- admission is free but reservations are required. RSVP to [email protected] or (212) 614-9107. This event is co-sponsored by the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation and Neighborhood Preservation Center.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Special exhibits will rotate every six months. This first will be about the British Punk group The Clash.
If you sign up at rockannex.com you’ll have an opportunity to win tickets to a private preview night on December 1st.
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.
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.
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.
Here is the link.