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
The Tempest: storms, schemes, and a happy end
On May 27th The Tempest opens the Public Theatre’s annual Shakespeare in the Park season at Central Park’s Delacorte Theatre. Refresh your memory of the plot details as we explore images of … 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
Bringing the American Civil War to high school students
This spring the Collections Department has been collaborating with our colleagues in the Frederick A.O. Schwarz Center to use archival material to support education programming. The City Museum developed Surpass! a … Continue reading
A cool place in 18th century New York: Excavating a cold storage shed on the Tweed Courthouse grounds
Now that spring is in the air, the City Museum’s Archaeology Project is ready to answer your warm-weather questions! Obviously, the most pressing question on readers’ minds is: How did New Yorkers … Continue reading
Napoleon Sarony: Celebrity Photographer
Before paparazzi and the celebrity media we all live with today, there were 19th century photographers, like Napoleon Sarony (1821-1896), who became internationally renowned for their celebrity portraits. Born in Québec, Sarony began his … Continue reading
Rufus King: Early New York, lawyer, diplomat and statesman
If you have found yourself wandering around the neighborhood of Jamaica, Queens, anytime in the last two centuries, you’ve possibly happened upon a farmhouse, situated between 89th Avenue, 150th street, … Continue reading
Reblog via Untapped Cities ~ Saving Place: 50 Years of NYC Landmarks, Interview with the Curators
On April 21, 2015, the Museum of the City of New York will open Saving Place: Fifty Years of New York City Landmarks, exploring how the pioneering landmarks legislation, passed in 1965, … Continue reading
A Call to Serve: Scenes from the Henry Street Visiting Nurse Service
With fresh tears in her eyes, a young girl approached Lillian Wald, a graduate of New York Hospital School of Nursing. Concerned for the girl’s well-being, Wald followed the child … Continue reading
Vandamm Studio
27 years. Over 2,000 Broadway productions. Countless negatives of every conceivable actor who graced the New York stage. Saying that the Vandamm Studio was the photograph studio for Broadway would … Continue reading
The Mash-Up
Hip-Hop Revolution, opening at the City Museum tomorrow, April 1, 2015 showcases the work of New York-based photographers Janette Beckman, Joe Conzo, and Martha Cooper, who chronicled the evolution of … Continue reading
Benjamin J. Falk, photographer and master of light
It’s 1881. You’re an actor in the latest smash-hit sensation. Wanting to gain a little publicity for yourself, the show, and a potential national tour, the producers send you off to … Continue reading
From automobile maintenance to aeronautical engineering
New York City traffic jams have long been the source of iconic scenes in movies and television, as well as real-life frustration, perceived near death experiences, and a whole lot … Continue reading
MCNY Blog: New York Stories 