Affordable New York: Phipps Houses
The names of Andrew Carnegie and Henry Clay Frick are well known in New York City and beyond for Carnegie Hall and for the Frick Collection. Though the institutions built … Continue reading
From Expressway to Contemplative Oasis: The Elevated West Side Highway
When racing in a cab down West Street trying to make it in time for a meeting, how many people think back just a few decades when an elevated expressway … Continue reading
Affordable New York: Harlem River Houses
The Harlem River Houses complex, located along the Harlem River Drive between 151st and 153rd Streets, is a site full of firsts. It was the first public housing development in … Continue reading
Curator’s Notepad: Bonnie Yochelson on How the Other Half Lives
A tip from the guest curator of Jacob A. Riis: Revealing New York’s Other Half: Lean in. The greatest curatorial challenge we faced in creating the Riis exhibition was the … Continue reading
Affordable New York: Queensbridge Houses
At the beginning of 1934, Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia founded the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). It was a moment of great need in the city, as its poorer residents … Continue reading
R.D Smith, the Bowery, 1970
The Bowery, like Broadway to its west, follows an original Lenape footpath spanning the island of Manhattan from south to north. In the Colonial era the area was filled with … Continue reading
Speedway Concourse and Transverse Road, AKA the Grand Concourse
In 1874 the disparate villages of Westchester County (Morrisania, Kingsbridge, et al.) were annexed to New York City and formed what we now know as the Bronx. At the time, … Continue reading
Affordable New York: Amalgamated Housing Cooperative
In 1926, when the tenements of the Lower East Side were overflowing and there was wide recognition of the unhealthy conditions created by such dense living, New York state enacted … Continue reading
The Crown Jewel of Brooklyn – Prospect Park
What is it I associate so keenly with the summer smell and sensual keenness of Prospect Park? – Alfred Kazin[1] The construction of Central Park prompted the city of Brooklyn … Continue reading
Celestial Sphere, Color Movies, Gardens on Parade!
Help the Museum digitize its 1939-1940 New York World’s Fair Collection! The Museum’s New York World’s Fair collections continue to be a major resource for researchers all over the globe, … Continue reading
Studio 54: Behind the velvet rope
Studio 54 opened on April 26, 1977, at 254 West 54th Street. The space initially served as a home to the Gallo Opera House (pictured to the left), which opened … Continue reading
Company Songs
While cataloging ephemera under the National Endowment for Humanities grant, I couldn’t help but notice how many companies, clubs, societies, and associations had songs written and printed for special occasions. … Continue reading
Banjos, Mandolins, Cats, and Dogs
In the 1950s and 1960s, Sunday afternoons were spirited times in Washington Square Park. For several hours folk singers, accompanied by enthusiasts, performed in the public space. In a convivial … Continue reading
MCNY Blog: New York Stories 