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 start with one of the great ones, Harriet the Spy.    

The vibrant history of New York City’s diverse dance culture is explored through a unique course for youth.

Before Madonna and Britney, there was Gertrude Hoffman, a dancer who pushed the boundaries of public decency and paved the way for future female performers.

Our project to process and describe the Museum’s LOOK magazine collection continues with the digitization of photographs by John Vachon, who documented American life — from the rural poor to the New York City streets.

Look assigned Vachon to the story “Brooklyn Nobody Knows” on September 21, 1948; it was published in the January 18, 1949 issue. By focusing on cultural institutions and figures, nightlife, historic landmarks, and civil engineering projects, Vachon’s photographs presented Brooklyn as on par with its more popularly represented neighbor, Manhattan.

Learn about the Museum's project to catalog, process, and digitize our LOOK magazine photo archive collection.