A View of Melrose
In November, 2016, the Museum of the City of New York will launch New York at Its Core, the first museum exhibition that comprehensively interprets and presents the story of … Continue reading
Young Chuck Connors, Mayor of Chinatown
“Mayor of Chinatown” Chuck Connors enthralled New Yorkers around the turn of the century with tall tales and colorful language describing the ethnic neighborhood he inhabited. Connors claimed to have … Continue reading
Up on the Roof: The Revered, Reviled City Pigeon
Unquestionably the city’s most iconic species of wildlife, and inspiring perhaps as many fans as foes, the pigeon (Columba livia, also called a rock dove) has become a quintessential New York character. … Continue reading
Telling the Stories of Activism in New York City Today
Museums are often tasked with examining the past, but how do they represent the present? As part of the update to the Museum’s ongoing Activist New York exhibition—including a new original … Continue reading
Broken Tulips at the Pier: The Archaeology of Whitehall Slip
The Archaeology Project Team at the Museum of the City of New York recently finished digitizing the artifacts from Whitehall Slip in partnership with the Landmarks Preservation Commission. These objects are housed … Continue reading
Ladies and Gentlemen, we now present Sissle and Blake!
Last week, the Museum hosted a conversation with director Rachel Taichman and playwright Paula Vogel on their new theatrical collaboration investigating the performance history of the Yiddish play Got fun nekome … Continue reading
Smoking, Drinking, and Governing: Archaeology of the Lovelace Tavern
In early 1980, a team of archaeologists led by Nan Rothschild and Diana Wall uncovered several meters of burned floor-boards just a few feet below-surface on Pearl Street between Broad Street and Coenties … Continue reading
Augustus Hepp’s Central Park in Blue
In 1853 the New York State Legislature set aside an expanse of land on the island of Manhattan that would eventually become Central Park. Five years later a design competition … Continue reading
Gems Beneath South Ferry: Artifacts from the Terminal Collection
In 2005, a team of New York City archaeologists turned up new evidence of Manhattan’s dynamic past during excavations for the South Ferry Terminal Project. As the city renovated its South … Continue reading
How a Colonial Relic Became a Civil War Memento: Tracing Object History in the Silver Collection
Over the course of digitizing the Museum’s silver collection, we’ve come across many objects with storied histories, but not many can weave a historical path through our collection with the … Continue reading
An American Pioneer in Photojournalism: Jessie Tarbox Beals
March is Women’s History Month, a time when we celebrate women’s contributions to our history, culture, and society. This month provides the perfect opportunity to highlight some of these female … Continue reading
From the Bowery to Broadway: Women of the Yiddish Stage
Last week, the Museum opened “New York’s Yiddish Theater: From the Bowery to Broadway,” a fabulous new exhibition that explores the history and influence of Yiddish theater in New York … Continue reading
The short, sad story of actress Clara Bloodgood
On the evening of December 5, 1907, respected actress and society woman Clara Bloodgood fatally shot herself in a Baltimore hotel room. She was in town to star as the … Continue reading
MCNY Blog: New York Stories 