The Space is the Place; the Museum’s Collection on Theaters
With Archtober – New York City’s annual Architecture and Design Month – almost upon us, it has got my theater archivist’s mind turning to the city’s history of theater buildings. So this week I offer … Continue reading
Shakespeare in the Summer; the Winter’s Tale
For some folks summertime in New York City means free concerts or picnics in the park or just an excuse to get out of town, but for me, summer in … Continue reading
Tea, a New York drink
Okay, coffee is more popular, be it a regular deli cup (hot, light, and sweet) or a compostable cup of slow-drip, cold-brewed, artisanal bean. With your alluring caffeinated goodness and … Continue reading
A Dinner on Horseback
We have written about quite a few dinners and parties of the Gilded Age on this blog but I don’t think many top C.K.G. Billings’s Horseback Dinner held at Sherry’s Hotel and … 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
Librettist Harry B. Smith and the thousands of words
In the time it took to pull together images and write this blog, lyricist Harry Bache Smith could probably have written a popular hit song, contributed a number and a … Continue reading
Cymbeline; what’s a love story without some scandal?
It was January 25, 1897, the opening night of William Shakespeare’s romance Cymbeline, based on the legend of an early Celtic British king, at Wallack’s Theatre. The lavish production starred … 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
Up on the roof, entertainment en plein air
Spring in New York City is glorious. Allergy issues aside, the season of rebirth is especially welcome after this winter’s polar vortex shenanigans. And though I celebrate the sunny days … Continue reading
Romeo and Juliet, a love story in pictures
It has been called the greatest love story of all time. Even those who disagree can acknowledge that in the over 400 years since it was first performed, Romeo and … Continue reading
Street clocks – how New Yorkers kept time on the go.
Street clocks once dominated the sidewalks of New York City. First introduced in the 1860s, the clocks quickly became popular with businesses looking for novel ways to advertise and with … Continue reading
What skating rink is that? Who lived in that house? Solving mysteries in the collection.
From time to time, the Collections Department receives inquiries from the public about the information associated with images we’ve cataloged online. The data in the catalog records is pulled from … Continue reading
100 years of the Actors’ Equity Association
Look at the cast list in any theater program across the country and you will see a small * beside a performer’s name leading to a footnote indicating the performer … Continue reading
