Photographs in the Museum's collection shine a light on New York City's diversity. In our I Spy classes school students dive into the collection to learn about photography from the masters, and then head out into the city to develop their own creative eye.
Having just opened New York at Its Core provides us with an opportunity to look back at the evolution of exhibitions here at the Museum over the past 93 years.
One of the challenges in creating history exhibitions is bringing the voices of its featured personalities to life. Gay Gotham curators Stephen Vider and Donald Albrecht found a unique way to do that by working with actors to perform readings of the works of Richard Bruce Nugent and Mercedes de Acosta, featured on audio stations in the exhibition.
Jamaica, Queens was home to Rufus King, one of our first senators. Inside his former farmhouse–still standing today–was a medicine chest, and inside the chest….well, you’ll have to read on to find out.
High on a shelf of the legendary Russ & Daughters Appetizing store was an object that perfectly encapsulated the story of New York at Its Core, and a tool that helped launch a 100-year old business.
On a hot August afternoon last summer, I left the office early and caught the 5 train north. My objective was to locate the site of the Ursuline Convent in what had once been the rural village of Melrose, and was now the heart of the South Bronx.