Gertrude Hoffman and the Dance That Offended Public Decency
The Museum’s ongoing exhibition Activist New York recently debuted a new case study that explores the battle over birth control and obscenity laws that raged in New York at the … Continue reading
Posters and Patriotism: Selling World War I in New York
The United States entered World War I on April 6, 1917; three years after the conflict had begun. Although the U.S. was involved in the war for just 18 months, … Continue reading
Muslim in New York: Highlights from the Photography Collection
Muslims have been woven into the fabric of New York since the city’s origins as New Amsterdam, and the Museum is happy to share highlights from our collection which shed … Continue reading
A Courier Trip to Denmark
“You’re going where! In January? Why?” my coworkers and friends exclaimed when I mentioned I’d be going to Denmark. Well, to act as a courier for 27 photographs we had … Continue reading
The Challenges of different types of hanging hardware
Visitors to the Museum may walk through the galleries and imagine that installation of an exhibition isn’t that much different than decorating your own home, just on a larger scale. … Continue reading
In Conversation with Gloria Steinem
“If I stayed home, I’d have to live like everybody else. If I came to New York, I could be myself.” — Gloria Steinem. Since the Museum’s exhibtion New York … Continue reading
My night at the Museum: A look back at the Gotham Groove late shift
A little over three weeks ago, I spent the night at the Museum. Armed with a box of coffee and assorted comfort foods, I clocked in through the employee entrance … Continue reading
Basement Bathhouse, Rooftop Farm, Symphonies and Scandals in Between
What do Stravinsky, the Black Sox, Bette Midler, and a swinger’s club have in common? At one point they were all inside New York City’s Ansonia Hotel. The Ansonia was … Continue reading
Civil Rights in Brooklyn: Behind the Scenes, New York at its Core
In our 21st century world of Twitter feeds, Facebook updates, Snapchat, Instagram, live blogging, and viral videos, it is sometimes hard to remember a time in which we were not … Continue reading
Listening to Gay Gotham
One of the unexpected highlights of curating Gay Gotham was a pair of recording sessions at a small studio far from the museum. To represent their work, we decided to record excerpts from their writings, and sought out readers who might feel a sense of kinship with them.
The Future City Lab: A Conversation with Project Director Kubi Ackerman
The 400 years of history covered by New York at Its Core don’t end with yesterday. The exhibition’s third and final gallery is the Future City Lab, which brings the focus to … Continue reading
From the Fulton Market to the Forty-Deuce: Leland Bobbé’s New York in the 1970s
In 1970 Leland Bobbé lived on Beekman Street near what used to be the Fulton Fish Market. He was a musician trying to make it in the city, and … Continue reading
Conserving the Rufus King Traveling Medicine Chest
The New York City of statesman and diplomat Rufus King (1755-1827) was a grim place. Disease crippled the city, with its rampant overcrowding and meager sanitation. And despite their stature, the … Continue reading
