Landmarks

Iconic New York City Restaurants

lrobinson — Wed, 22 Jan 2020 21:39:34 +0000

Iconic New York City Restaurants lrobinson Wed, 01/22/2020 - 16:39

New York City is a notoriously difficult environment for restaurants to survive in. And yet, some restaurants have despite all odds withstood the test of time. Here we take a look at some iconic eateries that remain.

The Russian Tea Room opened at 150 West 57^th Street next to Carnegie Hall in Manhattan in 1927. The founders were former members of the Russian Imperial Ballet, and the restaurant quickly became a meeting place for actors, writers, agents, and producers.

Samuel H. (Samuel Herman) Gottscho. Russian Tea Room, 150 West 57th Street. Exterior. 1935. Museum of the City of New York. 88.1.1.3808

The original interior was an Art deco masterpiece. The restaurant changed hands over the years and closed in 1996 for renovations. It reopened in 1999 and closed again in 2002. It opened once again for business in 2006.

Samuel H. (Samuel Herman) Gottscho. Russian Tea Room, 150 West 57th Street. Bar. 1935. Museum of the City of New York. 88.1.2.2884

Samuel H. (Samuel Herman) Gottscho. Russian Tea Room, 150 West 57th Street. Boyer room. 1935. Museum of the City of New York. 88.1.2.2886

Russian Tea Room Vodka Drinks. 1960-1980. Museum of the City of New York. 97.146.314A-B

Tavern on the Green was designed by Calvert Vaux as a sheepfold to house the sheep that grazed Sheep Meadow in Central Park. It was built in 1870. In 1934, New York City Parks Commissioner Robert Moses ejected the sheep from Central Park and installed a restaurant in the former sheepfold. Tavern on the Green opened for business on October 20, 1934. Since then, different owners have modified the structure. With its sweeping views of Central Park and elegant courtyard, it remains a favorite dining option for New Yorkers and tourists alike.

Tavern on the Green. 1937. Museum of the City of New York. 2003.50.8

Thaddeus Wilkerson. Sheep Fields, Central Park, New York. ca. 1910. Museum of the City of New York. F2011.33.897

John Vachon for Look magazine. New York in the Summertime. 1949. Museum of the City of New York. X2011.4.11125.105

In 1888, the Iceland brothers opened an eponymous deli on Ludlow Street in the Lower East Side. In 1903, Willy Katz joined the business and the name was changed to Iceland & Katz. Katz and his cousin, Benny, bought out the Iceland Brothers in 1910 and changed the name to Katz’s Delicatessen. Subway construction required Katz’s Delicatessen to move across the street, to its present location.

By the mid-1980s, the descendants of the original owners realized that there was no immediate family to whom they could leave the business. Long-time friend Martin Dell and his son, Alan, officially bought into the business in 1988, on the 100^th anniversary of the restaurant.

Edmund Vincent Gillon. [Ludlow Street façade of Katz’s Delicatessen, 2015 East Houston Street.] ca. 1975. Museum of the City of New York. 2013.3.2.366

Harvey Wang. Katz’s Deli. 1993. Museum of the City of New York. 2019.11.252

Speaking of Katz’s Delicatessen, the Museum is holding a tasting and conversation event with Katz’s Deli and Teranga, the new West African restaurant at The Africa Center. Unexpected Pairings: Katz’s Delicatessen & Teranga will take place at the Museum on Thursday evening, January 30 from 6:30 – 8:30. The event will feature Jake Dell, owner of Katz’s Delicatessen, and Pierre Thiam, co-founder and executive chef of Teranga, in conversation about the different meanings of comfort food and how they reflect the city’s diverse immigrant histories. New York Times food writer Julia Moskin will moderate. Food samples will be available. Click here for more information.

Related Stories

Restaurants of Yore

Summary

New York City is a notoriously difficult environment for restaurants to survive in. And yet, some restaurants have despite all odds withstood the test of time.

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Marathon Miranda

mhambro — Tue, 29 Oct 2019 16:34:54 +0000

Marathon Miranda mhambro Tue, 10/29/2019 - 12:34

Written by Elizabeth Winthrop in 1979, Marathon Miranda is the story of Miranda, a 12-year-old who lives in on West 88th Street and Riverside Drive. She and her older brother Alex live with their parents in an apartment overlooking the Hudson River with a view north to the George Washington Bridge. According to Miranda, this place is “the city right at your back door but you don’t have to look at it” (p. 35). Her whole family watches and logs the ships that sail up and down the Hudson River.

Raphael Tuck & Sons. ca. 1910. Sky-Scrapers, From the River. Museum of the City of New York. F2011.33.1157

Miranda’s community is built around her apartment building and the surrounding neighborhood. Counter to the prevailing stereotype of the time, not only does Miranda know her neighbors, one of them, Margaret, is a surrogate grandmother to her. Margaret takes Miranda on trips to cultural institutions all over the city, like the Bronx Zoo, which is currently one of several members of the city’s Cultural Institutions Group, and is featured in the Museum’s current exhibition Cultivating Culture: 34 Institutions that Changed New York, until February 9.

Edmund Vincent Gillon. ca. 1975. [Camel Rides at the Bronx Zoo]. Museum of the City of New York. 2013.3.1.509

While walking her dog, Miranda meets another girl her age, Phoebe, who lives in the apartment building across the street. Phoebe walks a neighbor’s dog, and much of the book takes place with the girls in the park. They babysit there and spend time at the fountain above the boat basin. Phoebe eventually convinces Miranda, who has asthma and hates exercise, to take up jogging. The book picks up on the jogging craze in the 1970s, characterized by “special bright blue sneakers and forty-dollar running outfits” (p. 34).

New York Times Company. ca. 1975. [Aerial view of Henry Hudson Parkway, north from near 70th Street]. Museum of the City of New York. X2010.11.3072

Although some of the most dramatic portions of the book take place outside of New York, while the girls are spending the summer in Vermont and Connecticut, the parts that do take place in the city are very evocative of the time—from rummage sales to the excessively talkative “crazy ladies” on the bus.

Embry DuBose. Ca. 1985. Neighborhood Block Party. Museum of the City of New York. 97.98.1

Photographer unknown. 1978. Interior of bus. Museum of the City of New York. X2010.11.10473

And of course, in the end, Miranda and Phoebe successfully compete in a mini-marathon of 6.2 miles. While the book does not name their race, it almost certainly refers to the L’Eggs Mini Marathon. This was a women-only race around Central Park that took place in the 1970s and 1980s. At that time there were few races where women were welcomed and fewer still which were only for women. The New York City Marathon was closed to women completely until 1972.

Participant medal rectangular cast metal with loop at center top attached to blue grosgrain ribbon; legend on obverse 'who says women can't run the world/central park nyc'; legend on reverse '1986/fifteen/annual/ mini marathon'/logos of the new york road runners club, l'eggs, parks department. Museum of the City of New York, Gift of Dr. Harriette Kaley. 97.177.2

On that note, remember to cheer on all the runners in the New York Marathon on November 3rd! As Miranda says, “Every type here today…Shufflers, sweaters, waddlers, high-steppers, fast walkers, and the good old huffers and puffers.” (p. 39)

Photographer unknown. Ca. 1982. Runners in the New York City Marathon in Central Park. Museum of the City of New York. X2010.11.1363

Related Exhibition - October 18, 2019 - February 9, 2020

Cultivating Culture

Learn the stories of the museums, zoos, gardens, and theaters that have worked in partnership with the City to make New York the cultural capital of the world.

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Harriet the Spy

Summary

Many classic children’s (and adult) books prominently feature New York City. In the coming months, we will be looking at a few of these titles. As we immerse ourselves in the lives of these characters and their fictional urban life, we’ll explore items from our collections, taking a virtual walk through the actual city streets. Today, we focus on Marathon Miranda.

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Runners in the New York City Marathon in Central Park

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The LOOK Magazine Collection Processing Project Wraps Up

Elise Winks — Tue, 10 Sep 2019 21:09:50 +0000

The LOOK Magazine Collection Processing Project Wraps Up Elise Winks Tue, 09/10/2019 - 17:09

After a year-long project made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Museum has finished processing and cataloging the LOOK magazine photo archives! More than 2,400 assignments (over 250,000 images) have been cataloged, numbered, and a portion of each digitized. The collection is now searchable and its contents easily accessible for both the public and Museum staff alike. An accompanying finding aid includes biographical information on the photographers who created these photos, information on the magazine itself, and highlights from 1937-1961, the years featured in our collection. The Museum’s portal now has a record for each of the collection’s assignments, featuring a description of the images, metadata about the size and number of images, and a sampling of reference images attached.

Contained in the collection are a vast assortment of images showing New York City in the mid-20th century. In an issue from 1940—an early one, as the magazine began publication in 1937— LOOK wrote that their goal was, essentially, to be universally appealing. They state that their “first intention is to be interesting. LOOK would rather be damned than dull.” This is clear when one looks at the wide variety of subjects the magazine’s photographers captured.

Over 100 photographers contributed to a collection that contains images that depict the striking, newsworthy, mundane, serious, lighthearted, big, and small places, people, and events of the city and the nation. Common themes found throughout include celebrities and productions of the stage, radio, music, television, and film; sports figures and events; nightlife; fashion and beauty; city businesses, landmarks, and neighborhoods; and politics and government. The following highlights demonstrate the breadth of this collection:

Gladys Goodding was a sports organist at both Ebbets Field for the Brooklyn Dodgers and at Madison Square Garden for the Knicks and the Rangers. Here she is playing for a boxing match at Madison Square Garden:

Arthur Rothstein (1915-1985) for Look magazine. Gladys Goodding. 1947. Museum of the City of New York. X2011.4.10272.39

A man dressed as a knight, complete with full armor, wanders around the city and makes his way through a subway turnstile:

Sprague Talbott, Bob Hansen and John Corcoran for Look magazine. Knight in Armor. 1946. Museum of the City of New York. X2011.4.10325.46

Medical illustrator Dr. Frank Netter, who would later create the Atlas of Human Anatomy, in his home with a model skeleton:

John Vachon (1914-1975) for Look magazine. “Dr. Frank Netter.” 1949. Museum of the City of New York. X2011.4.11827.12

The Tree of Hope in Harlem, an elm that stood opposite the Lafayette Theater, was a beacon of good luck. Among the many who rubbed it in hopes of good fortune was Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, whose signature is on a plaque in front of the tree. Today, a sculpture sits where the tree once was. Here a young boy sits by the stump of the tree in 1950.

Karl Bissinger for Look magazine. Tree of Hope. 1950. Museum of the City of New York. X2011.4.12043.19

In 1952 John Vachon took great photographs behind the scenes at the Metropolitan Opera, showing all of the many moving parts that create the finished product:

John Vachon (1914-1975) for Look magazine. Metropolitan Opera. 1952. Museum of the City of New York. X2011.4.11751.191

John Vachon (1914-1975) for Look magazine. Metropolitan Opera. 1952. Museum of the City of New York. X2011.4.11751.63

Frank Bauman captured the celebration that occurred on Broadway when Nazi Germany surrendered in World War II

Frank Bauman for Look magazine. Streets—Broadway on VE Day.1945. Museum of the City of New York. X2011.4.12381.031

A party to celebrate Brooklyn Public Library’s last outdoor storytime of the summer of 1950:

Philip Harrington for Look magazine. Brooklyn Public Library—Children’s Reading Party. 1950. Museum of the City of New York. X2011.4.11766.41

Men and women do their laundry in a Greenwich Village launderette:

Jim Chapelle for Look magazine. Laundry in Greenwich Village (Launderette). 1947. Museum of the City of New York. X2011.4.10377.39E

One of the Harlem Globetrotters palms a basketball:

Frank Bauman for Look magazine. Basketball—Harlem Globetrotters. 1951. Museum of the City of New York. X2011.4.12385.4

Konrad the dachshund sits on some of his winnings from the Gaines Dog Food “Lucky Dog” contest. Konrad, from Nashville, won a trip to New York City as well as a lifetime supply of dog food, a gold monogrammed collar, a television set, and a night out on the town.

Jim Hansen (1921-1999) for Look magazine. Gaines Dog Food Contest—Champion Dog. 1949. Museum of the City of New York. X2011.4.12068.131

Marlon Brando photographed by George Heyer in 1947:

George Heyer for Look magazine. Marlon Brando. 1947. Museum of the City of New York. X2011.4.11308.5

As you can see, the coverage is vast. Altogether the LOOK photographs make up a collection that truly helps capture an all-encompassing look at several decades of the city’s history. And now they’re online. Search away!

John Vachon for Look Magazine: The Brooklyn Nobody Knows

Processing and Cataloging the LOOK Magazine Collection

Summary

Highlights of the LOOK Collection as the NEH processing project concludes

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Questionable ideas in transportation

echapin — Tue, 21 May 2019 15:42:49 +0000

Questionable ideas in transportation echapin Tue, 05/21/2019 - 11:42

Most New Yorkers are familiar with the 42nd Street Shuttle that runs between Times Square and Grand Central, beneath 42nd Street. However, most don’t know that in 1951 a “Carveyor” system was proposed to replace the shuttle and alleviate crowding and cross-town congestion. The Manuscripts and Ephemera department includes a collection of papers from the 42nd Street Midtown Association, several folders of which pertain to the proposed “Carveyor” shuttle.

42nd Street-Mid-Manhattan Association. Ready in 1956! ca. 1954. Museum of the City of New York.

The Grand Central/Times Square Shuttle began operating in 1918 on a portion of track that was originally part of New York City’s first subway line. Although the line runs just over 2,400 feet, it is heavily used and located in one of the city’s busiest areas. In 1951, the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company and Stephens-Adamson Manufacturing Company put their engineering and manufacturing brains together and came up with a “low-cost, more efficient 42nd Street Shuttle service for long-suffering New Yorkers” using a conveyor belt system. The brochure for the conveyor system describes shuttle conditions as “the picture of men, women and children – pushing, shoving, being jammed, packed, poked and pounded into cars like cattle – is dangerous, unpleasant, unhealthy and UNWARRANTED!”

42nd Street-Mid-Manhattan Association. A New Idea, A New Era in Subway Transportation. ca. 1951. Museum of the City of New York.

The new plan, based somewhat questionably upon the conveyor belt system “which for years has proved so efficient in the mass transportation of bulk materials,” entailed:

“the use of moving loading and unloading platforms and small, closely spaced passenger cars riding on an endless track of rubber conveyor belts. Passengers at either end of the shuttle walk directly onto the loading platform, a six-foot wide moving belt. Alongside the loading platform, and moving at the same speed is a continuous stream of small passenger cars. Twenty-five cars, each seating 10 passengers, pass the loading platform every minute.” (42nd Street-Mid-Manhattan Association, ca. 1951)

The moving platforms would operate at half-average walking pace, approximately 1 ½ miles per hour, and the car doors would open and close automatically. Cars would speed up when they passed the end of the loading platform, and slow down again when they pulled back into the station for unloading.

42nd Street-Mid-Manhattan Association. Detail of Ready in 1956! ca. 1954. Museum of the City of New York.

In 1953, the 42nd Street-Mid-Manhattan Association sponsored a premier showing of a working model of the conveyor system at the Hotel Ambassador. In the 42nd Street Midtown Association collection are several letters from representatives of city agencies and local business lauding the event, including one from West Side Association of Commerce President James W. Danahy, calling it a “slam-bang job well done.”

42nd Street-Mid-Manhattan Association. Invitation to the Premier Showing of a working model of the World’s First Passenger Conveyor Subway. 1953. Museum of the City of New York.

H.A. Bruno & Associates. [Working model.] 1953. Museum of the City of New York.

H.A. Bruno & Associates. [Close-up of working model.] 1953. Museum of the City of New York.

Col. Sidney Bingham, chairman of the New York City Board of Transportation, supported the “Carveyor” system. In 1954 the city awarded a $3.8 million contract to replace the Grand Central/Times Square shuttle with the conveyor belt system, but it was cancelled less than a year later due to high cost.

The “Carveyor” system purported to be a commuter’s dream come true, “imagine a New York subway rider during the rush hours being able to step unmolested, uncrowded into a waiting car and then whisked quietly and swiftly to his destination – no delay, no shoving, no bodily contact – step off at the other end unpushed, unruffled, unhurried.” This is indeed a subway commuter’s dream, but I can’t imagine that the “Carveyor” subway would have solved these issues and been problem-free itself.

Summary

A look at the Passenger Belt Conveyor, or “Carveyor”, subway system proposed in 1951 to replace the 42nd Street Shuttle between Grand Central and Times Square

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Another Side to Coney Island: Hattie Mckeever and Her Waxworks

Elise Winks — Mon, 06 May 2019 20:01:59 +0000

Another Side to Coney Island: Hattie Mckeever and Her Waxworks Elise Winks Mon, 05/06/2019 - 16:01

The museum’s LOOK Magazine collection is full of fascinating photographs of midcentury New York and the people who lived and spent time in it. Some were well-known at the time and remain household names; others were living quieter lives, although often no less interesting. One of these lesser-known stories is that of Hattie McKeever. At the time LOOK sent photographer Robert Offergeld to photograph her in June 1950, McKeever was in her 70s, living in Brooklyn, and owned a waxworks shop at 600 Surf Avenue on Coney Island.

Robert Offergeld for Look magazine. Coney Island Waxworks. 1950. Museum of the City of New York. Gift of Cowles Magazines, Inc, 1959. X2011.4.12083.3

McKeever’s shop was located behind and provided wax figures for the World in Wax Musee, which was open 1926 to the mid-1980s. Information about Hattie is not easy to come by, but this particular photographic assignment included a short clipping from a 1949 New York Post article profiling her. From this we learn that McKeever began her career at the Eden Musee, a Manhattan amusement center that featured waxworks, concerts, and other entertainment including marionettes, magic lantern shows, and movies. McKeever began her career selling catalogs, moved to designing costumes for the waxworks, and then began making the wax figures herself. The Eden closed in 1915 and the waxworks it housed moved to Coney Island—in a setting a little more sensational than their previous home. McKeever moved with it, and then ended up at the World of Wax—one source states that she had a disagreement with Samuel W. Gumpertz, who owned the Eden Musee Wax Museum, and so moved to work for his rival.

Robert Offergeld for Look magazine. Coney Island Waxworks. 1950. Museum of the City of New York. Gift of Cowles Magazines, Inc, 1959. X2011.4.12083.30I

Once McKeever made the move to Coney Island, her work largely focused on the macabre. She created waxworks reenacting murders, executions, accidents, and crimes. One such grim reenactment was the death of Langley Collyer, who lived in a Harlem brownstone with his brother, Homer. Both men were paranoid shut-ins who hoarded possessions for years. They built booby traps throughout their home to prevent burglary, and in 1947 Langley was killed when he was trapped in one of his own designs. As a result, his brother, for whom Langley acted as caretaker, starved to death. The scene of Langley’s death was recreated by McKeever, and Offergeld photographed it.

Robert Offergeld for Look magazine. Coney Island Waxworks. 1950. Museum of the City of New York. Gift of Cowles Magazines, Inc, 1959. X2011.4.12083.31G

Robert Offergeld for Look magazine. Coney Island Waxworks. 1950. Museum of the City of New York. Gift of Cowles Magazines, Inc, 1959. X2011.4.12083.28D

McKeever also made notable figures including Julius Caesar, King Solomon—even Lucy Hayes, wife of US President Rutherford Hayes, who was sent to the Smithsonian Institute. In her interview with the Post, McKeever said, “I’ve traveled around the world a dozen times and lived hundreds of years without leaving this room.”

Along with photographs of McKeever and her creations, this assignment includes photographs of the boardwalk at Coney Island, foggy and with only a few pedestrians strolling by.

Robert Offergeld for Look magazine. Coney Island Waxworks. 1950. Museum of the City of New York. Gift of Cowles Magazines, Inc, 1959. X2011.4.12083.21

Robert Offergeld for Look magazine. Coney Island Waxworks. 1950. Museum of the City of New York. Gift of Cowles Magazines, Inc, 1959. X2011.4.12083.22

It’s an interesting take on a famous New York attraction often associated with various forms of amusement: games, rides, beach, and food. Instead we see an abandoned Wonder Wheel, empty shops, and an unsmiling, elderly woman surrounded by wax heads and body parts.

Robert Offergeld for Look magazine. Coney Island Waxworks. 1950. Museum of the City of New York. Gift of Cowles Magazines, Inc, 1959. X2011.4.12083.1

Robert Offergeld for Look magazine. Coney Island Waxworks. 1950. Museum of the City of New York. Gift of Cowles Magazines, Inc, 1959. X2011.4.12083.5

71 years old at the time these photographs were taken, McKeever intended to keep at her unusual work, telling the Post, “It’s a great life and I love it.” She lived until 1958. The LOOK collection is full of stories like this: a little offbeat, depicting famous places from a different angle, and telling the stories of real New Yorkers who may have otherwise have been forgotten.

Eyes on America: Processing and Cataloging the LOOK Collection has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor.

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X2011.4.12083.3. Robert Offergeld. “Coney Island Waxworks.” 1950.

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The World of Tomorrow

echapin — Thu, 25 Apr 2019 18:20:06 +0000

The World of Tomorrow echapin Thu, 04/25/2019 - 14:20

Sub-title

1939-40 New York World’s Fair

April 30 is the 80^th anniversary of the grand opening of the 1939-1940 New York World’s Fair, which drew millions of visitors to Flushing Meadows, Queens to experience “The World of Tomorrow.” The Fair was divided into zones, each devoted to an aspect of modern life: Amusement, Communications and Business Systems, Community Interests, Food, Government, Medical and Public Health, Production and Distribution, Science and Education, and Transportation. States and countries exhibited their food and culture in designated areas; 33 U.S. states and Puerto Rico were represented, and all major countries participated except China and Germany. During the Fair’s second season in 1940, an American Common replaced the Soviet Union’s pavilion.

Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, NYC Parks Commissioner Robert Moses, Fair Corporation President Grover Whalen, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt were involved in planning the Fair, which was meant to lift Americans’ spirits after the economic woes of the Depression. The Fair took nearly three years to construct, and over 200,000 people attended the grand opening – held symbolically on the 150^th anniversary of George Washington’s inauguration. Let us take a look at some “before and after” images of the Fair’s attractions.

The Perisphere housed the Fair’s “Democracity” exhibit, designed by Henry Dreyfuss, which depicted a utopian “city of the future.” Visitors viewed the diorama from above while riding a moving sidewalk.

The Aviation Building was meant to give visitors a realistic picture of a busy airport and explored the themes of travel, defense, and private recreation. The building was designed by William Lescaze and J. Gordon Carr and featured nearly-life-size commercial planes suspended from the ceiling.

No fair is complete without food! Borden’s Dairyland, Continental Baking (makers of Wonder Bread), Kraft Foods, and Beech Nut showcased their products and processes in the food zone. Visitors could dine at 40 sit-down restaurants, many featuring international cuisines, or grab a burger, hot dog, or ice cream (all 10 cents or less!) from one of the 260 concession stands.

By the end of the Fair in October 1940, approximately 45 million visitors had toured its sites. Visitors and New Yorkers alike can still visit the grounds of the fair, now Flushing Meadows Corona Park, and marvel at the 1964 New York World’s Fair Unisphere.

Images: Samuel H. (Samuel Herman) Gottscho (1875-1971). Trylon and Perisphere, World’s Fair. 1939. Museum of the City of New York. 56.323.10 | Hugh Ferris (1889-1962). Perisphere. 1937. Museum of the City of New York. 2011.15.129 | Richard Wurts. [Perisphere from Trylon]. 1938. Museum of the City of New York. 39.567.2.11A | Theodore Kautzky (1896-1953). Rendering of the Perisphere Interior (Theme Exhibit). 1937-1939. Museum of the City of New York. 2011.15.105 | Wurts Bros. (New York, N.Y.). New York World’s fair, perisphere interior. 1939. Museum of the City of New York. X2010.7.1.7646 | George W. McLaughlin. Proposed Aviation Building. 1937-1939. Museum of the City of New York. 2011.15.26 | George W. McLaughlin. Proposed Aviation Building. 1937-1939. Museum of the City of New York. 2011.15.27 | Wurts Bros. (New York, N.Y.). [New York World’s Fair. Aviation Building. Construction view.] ca. 1938. Museum of the City of New York. X2010.7.2.24090 | Aviation Building. ca. 1939. Museum of the City of New York. 88.63.111 | Suggestion for Concession Stands flanking Federal Building. ca. 1938. Museum of the City of New York. 41.44.115 | Wurts Bros. (New York, N.Y.) [Concession stand at the New York World’s Fair.] ca. 1939. Museum of the City of New York. X2010.7.1.14764 | Wurts Bros. (New York, N.Y.) [Wonder Bakery in the Food Zone at the New York World’s Fair.] ca. 1939. Museum of the City of New York. X2010.7.1.14920

Related Exhibition - Ongoing

New York at Its Core

What made New York New York? Follow the story of the city’s rise from a striving Dutch village to today’s “Capital of the World,” and consider its future in our changing world.

Related Stories

Fort George Amusement Park

Summary

Take a look back at the future! The 1939-40 New York World’s Fair was meant to lift Americans’ spirits after the economic woes of the Depression with an optimistic view of the modern world.

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Our East Harlem Home

Anonymous — Fri, 29 Mar 2019 21:11:16 +0000

Our East Harlem Home Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 03/29/2019 - 17:11

East Harlem has been home to the Museum of the City of New York since 1932 at the top of what is now Museum Mile. We are proud to be a part of this vibrant community, which houses the first district in this area to be formally recognized on the State Register of Historic Places and for recommendation to the National Park Service for listing on the National Register.

By early summer, it is anticipated that the district will also be listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Read on to learn more about what makes this neighborhood so special.

Central Park

Who needs a backyard when you have 843 acres of beautiful park space! Directly across Fifth Avenue from the Museum is the northern end of Central Park, which provides a stunning view from our front terrace. The Museum is just steps from the magnificent Conservatory Garden, the park’s six-acre formal garden filled with colorful flowers, hedges, a fountain, and a wisteria pergola that provides a tranquil setting to escape the busy city streets.

El Museo del Barrio

Our next door neighbor across 104th Street, El Museo del Barrio, presents and preserves the art and culture of Puerto Ricans and all Latin Americans in the United States. Through its extensive collections, varied exhibitions and publications, bilingual public programs, educational activities, festivals and special events, El Museo educates its diverse public in the richness of Caribbean and Latin American arts and cultural history.

Each summer, the Museum partners with El Museo for our annual block party Uptown Bounce. Stay tuned for more details on our website.

Show your Museum of the City of New York admission sticker for free entry to El Museo del Barrio!

The New York Academy of Medicine

Founded just before the start of the Civil War, The New York Academy of Medicine has been a vital source for effective and, often, radical thought and action regarding the healthcare and public health problems that affect people in New York City and beyond.

The Academy’s current building at 103rd Street and Fifth Avenue was built in 1927, just five years before the Museum of the City of New York’s current home, and they are a frequent partner of ours. Our most recent collaboration surrounds programming and content for the Museum’s exhibition Germ City: Microbes and the Metropolis.

Street Art

East Harlem is renowned for the colorful murals that bring life to the architecture in the neighborhood. These murals celebrate Latin culture and range from political statements to conceptual works.

The Museum shares the block between Madison and Fifth Avenues with PS/IS 171 Patrick Henry School one of the highest performing urban schools in the country. The back wall of the school, overlooking the basketball courts, is adorned with a mural of the Statue of Liberty in Mexican artist Sego Y Ovbal's signature organic style.

Duke Ellington Statue

Just north of the Museum at the northeast corner of Central Park is this striking sculpture by artist Robert Graham of jazz legend Duke Ellington. Ellington is one of four African-American figures honored along Central Park North, which is an area often called “The Gateway to Harlem.” Check out images of Duke Ellington on the Museum’s Collections Portal.

We hope to see you at the Museum and around our wonderful neighborhood soon!

Images: L: Photo courtesy Central Park Conservancy; R: John Albok (1894-1982). Conservatory Garden, Central Park, E. 105th St., 1960s. Museum of the City of New York. 82.68.59 | Photo courtesy El Museo del Barrio | Wurts Bros. (New York, N.Y.). 103rd Street and 5th Avenue. New York Academy of Medicine, 5/21/1927. Museum of the City of New York. X2010.7.1.6266 | Photo of Freedom and Emancipation of the Natural World courtesy Sego Y Ovbal | Photo by Jim Henderson via Wikimedia Commons

Related Stories

History of 1220 Fifth Avenue

Summary

East Harlem has been home to the Museum of the City of New York since 1932. Find out what makes this neighborhood so special.

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Freedom and emancipation of the natural world

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History of 1220 Fifth Avenue

Anonymous — Wed, 27 Feb 2019 21:32:26 +0000

History of 1220 Fifth Avenue Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 02/27/2019 - 16:32

“
No city has a history more thrilling, more impressive.
”

Financial Chronicle, May 19, 1928

1220 Fifth Avenue has been home to the Museum of the City of New York since 1932. But it was first founded in 1923 by Henry Collins Brown, a Scottish-born writer with a vision for a populist approach to the city. Our first home was at Gracie Mansion, the future residence of the mayor of New York City, which at that time was a historic home owned by the Parks Department.

Gracie Mansion, first home of the Museum of the City of New York, ca. 1923. Museum of the City of New York. X2010.11.14217.

Interior of the Museum of the City of New York when it was housed in Gracie Mansion. Museum of the City of New York. X2010.11.14218.

The Museum quickly outgrew Gracie Mansion and in 1927 the board agreed to move forward with a new building based on architect Joseph H. Freedlander’s design.

Wurts Bros. (New York, N.Y.). Rendering, accepted design, Museum of the City of New York, ca. 1928. MCNY. X2010.7.2.2827.

The city donated a lot on Fifth Avenue between 103^rd and 104^th Streets, provided that the trustees of the Museum could raise $2 million by June 1, 1927, for a building and endowment fund. They couldn’t create a GoFundMe page back then, so they took their crowdfunding campaign to the streets! Ads were placed in newspapers and on the subway to solicit donations from the public.

“
The MCNY boasted that it would be built ‘entirely by voluntary subscriptions’; it would be the city’s most ‘democratic’ museum.
”

Max Page, The Creative Destruction of Manhattan, 1999

Financial Chronicle, May 1928

Donations started as low as $1 and came from a diverse group of contributors—from well-known New Yorkers to even a scout troop! The fundraising goal was met, and just in time as this was right before the 1929 stock market crash and the subsequent Great Depression. The original plans for the building were scaled back, but construction began and continued throughout this turbulent era in New York City’s history.

December 15, 1928

May 30, 1929

November 1, 1929

The beautiful new Georgian Colonial-Revival building was dedicated on January 11, 1932, which provided the space to house, conserve, and showcase the extraordinary collection the Museum had amassed over the years. And in 1967 the Museum was designated a New York City landmark.

Wurts Bros. (New York, N.Y.). View from Central Park looking east, 1932. MCNY. X2010.7.2.5174.

But like any true New Yorker, we eventually were on the hunt for new real estate. In 2000, during the Giuliani administration, the Board of Directors voted to move the Museum to the newly renovated Tweed Courthouse in downtown Manhattan. However, in 2002 the new Bloomberg administration decided that the courthouse would instead serve as the headquarters for the Department of Education.

R. J. Matson. New York Observer. Collapse of the MCNY--Tweed Courthouse Deal. Museum of the City of New York. 2002.102.1.

The Museum embraced this setback and recommitted to its East Harlem location with a 10-year building renovation and modernization project, which was completed in 2015. The historic grandeur of our Fifth Avenue building was revived into the beautiful space is it today.

Rotunda and staircase during renovation.

Rotunda and staircase after renovation.

Gallery 2 during renovation.

World City, 1898-2012 gallery after renovation.

Experience the spectacular transformation for yourself and visit us at the top of Museum Mile across from Central Park. We hope to see you soon!

Photo by Filip Wolak

Summary

The Museum has called 1220 Fifth Avenue home since 1932, but our first home was at Gracie Mansion where the mayor of NYC resides today. Learn about the fascinating history of our beautiful building at the top of Museum Mile.

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Hitting the Beach in the 19th Century

echapin — Tue, 22 May 2018 20:55:18 +0000

Hitting the Beach in the 19th Century echapin Tue, 05/22/2018 - 16:55

Now that the weather has (finally) taken a turn towards summer, many New Yorkers are likely thinking about escaping the city for the beach in the months ahead. Fleeing the city for the seaside is something New Yorkers have been doing for the past two hundred years, since early resorts were built on the nearby Long Island Sound and Atlantic coastlines.

Jacob A. Riis. [At the beach.] ca. 1895. Museum of the City of New York. 90.13.3.143

Jacob A. Riis. [Playing by the water.] ca. 1895. Museum of the City of New York. 90.13.3.144

The first seaside resorts in the New York City area were built in the late 1820s, and development accelerated after the Civil War. These resorts primarily attracted wealthy New Yorkers, who reached their destinations in Rockaway, Brighton Beach, and Manhattan Beach via the Long Island Rail Road.

Manhattan Beach, located on a peninsula at the eastern end of Coney Island in Brooklyn, was developed on 500 acres of salt marsh in 1877 by Austin Corbin of the Manhattan Beach Improvement Company. The Manhattan Beach Hotel was also built in 1877 by Corbin’s firm, and designed in the Queen Anne style by J. Pickering Putnam. The hotel featured 150 rooms over four floors, and entertained guests with activities such as fireworks displays and performances by John Philip Sousa. Click here to view an extensive food and beverage menu for the hotel from July 1899. More entertainment could be found at the Sheepshead Bay Racetrack and Brighton Beach Racetrack in nearby Brighton Beach. Brighton Beach is situated between Manhattan Beach and Coney Island, and featured its own regal hotel, the Brighton Beach Hotel.

Ignatz Stern Communications. Manhattan Beach Hotel, Manhattan Beach, N.Y. ca. 1915. Museum of the City of New York. X2011.34.1913

Alexandra Exhibition Co. Pyrotechnic Displays. 1877-1890. Museum of the City of New York. 43.425.28

Byron Company. Bathing, Manhattan Beach. 1895. Museum of the City of New York. 93.1.1.1346

Brighton Beach. 1878. Museum of the City of New York. 34.425

Coney Island was also a popular 19^th century seaside destination, as it is today. After the Civil War, five railroads were built to connect Coney Island with the rest of Brooklyn, making it more accessible than its fellow Brooklyn beach communities. Visitors were attracted not only by the beach, but by the three area thoroughbred racetracks, heavyweight boxing matches, gambling, and dance halls. Between 1897 and 1904, three amusement parks opened on Surf Avenue: Steeplechase Park, Luna Park, and Dreamland. All three original parks have since closed, but in 2010 a new Luna Park opened across the street from the original site.

Byron Company. Eating Lunch – Coney Island. 1896. Museum of the City of New York. 93.1.1.3364

Irving Underhill (d. 1960), American Art Publishing Co., H. Finkelstein & Son. Luna Park, Coney Island, N.Y. ca. 1910. Museum of the City of New York. X2011.34.2056

American Bank Note Company. Brighton Races. 1901. Museum of the City of New York. X2014.12.532

Those who opted to sun on the sand and venture into the water could use the assistance of ropes strung above the water into the surf — it was probably hard to keep one’s balance in those heavy wool bathing costumes!

Byron Company. Coney Island. 1896. Museum of the City of New York. 93.1.1.1324

Related Exhibition - Ongoing

New York at Its Core

What made New York New York? Follow the story of the city’s rise from a striving Dutch village to today’s “Capital of the World,” and consider its future in our changing world.

Related Stories

Fort George Amusement Park

Summary

Fleeing the steamy city streets for the beach is not a new phenomenon. Take an escape to the summertime retreats of years past and see how New Yorkers used to beat the heat…despite the heavy layers of clothing!

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Jacob A. Riis. [Playing by the water.] 90.13.3.144

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One Ton of Ice & Clowns on Skis

echapin — Tue, 06 Feb 2018 21:50:52 +0000

One Ton of Ice & Clowns on Skis echapin Tue, 02/06/2018 - 16:50

Sub-title

The Winter Sports Show

X2010_7_2_6964: Wurts Bros., [Skiers at North American Winter Sports Show]. 1936. Museum of the City of New York, X2010.7.2.6964

To celebrate the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, we searched our collections for past winter sports extravaganzas held in New York City.

In December 1936, the Winter Sports Show and International Ski Meet was held at Madison Square Garden. The show lasted for five days and nights, and attracted nearly 80,000 spectators – the last three nights sold out and people were turned away at the doors! Spectators witnessed, “a host of new and nerve-pulsating events that probably have never been displayed before in the metropolitan area” (Brooklyn Daily Eagle, December 6, 1936), including ski jumping, slalom and cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, “fancy” ice skating, and dog sledding.

Wurts Bros., [Mushing at the North American Winter Sports Show]. 1936. Museum of the City of New York, X2010.7.2.6962

Wurts Bros., [Ice skater at North American Winter Sports Show]. 1936. Museum of the City of New York, X2010.7.2.6961

Wurts Bros., [Crowd at North American Winter Sports Show]. 1936. Museum of the City of New York, X2010.7.2.6985

Wurts Bros., [Snowshoers at North American Winter Sports Show]. 1936. Museum of the City of New York, X2010.7.2.6972

International performers took to the arena for a show that was part sport and part spectacle. Hannes Schneider, a well-known Austrian ski instructor, showed his skills on the slopes, and Brooklyn’s own Evelyn Chandler lit up the ice rink. Kenneth Suhl, known as the clown on skis, provided comic relief, and the Garden’s band members dressed as the Northwest Mounted Police. Below are some stars featured in the 1938 Winter Sports Show:

Ogden Printing Co., Inc. Excerpt from “Third Annual Winter Sports Show and International Ski Meet”, 1938. MCNY. F2015.18.583.

To make all of this possible, the Garden’s facilities team turned the thermostat down to 26 degrees, and used snow machines to cover the arena in nearly one ton of real snow and ice. They also built a 285-foot-long ski jump and two small ice rinks. To complicate matters, the average temperature in Manhattan over the course of the event was 45 degrees – ten degrees above average! The snow machines certainly got their workout.

Ogden Printing Co., Inc. Excerpt from “Third Annual Winter Sports Show and International Ski Meet”, 1938. MCNY. F2015.18.583.

Madison Square Garden was no stranger to winter sporting events. The Winter Sports Show ran for three consecutive winters until 1938, and several ice-skating shows and carnivals were held at the arena, including the 1934 Skating Carnival, the 1938 appearance by Sonja Henie and her Hollywood Ice Revue, and carnivals hosted by the Skating Club of New York.

The Skating Club of New York. Fourth Annual Carnival, 1937. Museum of the City of New York. F2015.18.580

International Skating Carnival. Skating Carnival, 1934. Museum of the City of New York. F2018.18.579

Madison Square Garden Corporation. Sonja Henie with her Hollywood Revue, 1938. Museum of the City of New York. F2015.18.581

For more winter fun, visit the Museum’s New York on Ice: Skating in the City exhibition, open through April 15, 2018.

Related Exhibition - December 20, 2017 - April 15, 2018

New York on Ice

Skating in the City

Summary

In the 1930s, Madison Square Garden was transformed into a winter wonderland for the Winter Sports Show. Real snow and ice blanketed the area where spectators witnessed “a host of new and nerve-pulsating events” like ski jumping, slalom and cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, “fancy” ice skating, and dog sledding.

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Mushing at the North American Winter Sports Show

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Iconic New York City Restaurants

Marathon Miranda

Related Exhibition - October 18, 2019 - February 9, 2020

Cultivating Culture

The LOOK Magazine Collection Processing Project Wraps Up

Questionable ideas in transportation

Another Side to Coney Island: Hattie Mckeever and Her Waxworks

The World of Tomorrow

Related Exhibition - Ongoing

New York at Its Core

Our East Harlem Home

Central Park

El Museo del Barrio

The New York Academy of Medicine

Street Art

Duke Ellington Statue

History of 1220 Fifth Avenue

“No city has a history more thrilling, more impressive. ”

Financial Chronicle, May 19, 1928

“The MCNY boasted that it would be built ‘entirely by voluntary subscriptions’; it would be the city’s most ‘democratic’ museum. ”

Max Page, The Creative Destruction of Manhattan, 1999

Hitting the Beach in the 19th Century

Related Exhibition - Ongoing

New York at Its Core

One Ton of Ice & Clowns on Skis

Related Exhibition - December 20, 2017 - April 15, 2018

New York on Ice

“
No city has a history more thrilling, more impressive.
”

“
The MCNY boasted that it would be built ‘entirely by voluntary subscriptions’; it would be the city’s most ‘democratic’ museum.
”