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Columbia University

Blauvelt State Park: Rockland County’s Storied Martial History

March 21, 2023 by David Fiske Leave a Comment

New York Times, May 4, 1922Blauvelt State Park, in the Rockland County town of Blauvelt has a storied history. At first, it was a facility where members of the New York State National Guard (and the Naval Militia) could practice shooting. It was first used in October 1910, though still under construction at the time. Later on, the site would be called Camp Bluefields (Blauvelt means “blue field” in Dutch), but at this time the facility was known as the Blauvelt Rifle Range. [Read more…] about Blauvelt State Park: Rockland County’s Storied Martial History

Filed Under: History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, New York City, Recreation Tagged With: Blauvelt, Blauvelt State Park, CCC, Civilian Conservation Corps, Columbia University, Military History, New York City, New York National Guard, Palisades Interstate Park Commission, Rockland County, State Parks, World War One, World War Two

The African Burial Ground, Columbia University & Manhattan’s Grave-Robbers

March 13, 2023 by Jaap Harskamp 1 Comment

US Constitution for dissemination in New York StateOn July 26, 1788, the Convention of the State of New York, meeting in Poughkeepsie, ratified the Constitution of the United States and, in doing so, was admitted to the new union as the eleventh of the original thirteen colonies joining together as the United States of America.

For New Yorkers, it had been an eventful year. [Read more…] about The African Burial Ground, Columbia University & Manhattan’s Grave-Robbers

Filed Under: History, New York City Tagged With: African Burial Ground National Monument, Black History, Cemeteries, Columbia University, Doctor's Riot, Irish History, Legal History, liquor, Manhattan, Medical History, New Netherland, New Rochelle, New York City, Science History, Slavery, Westchester County

Active Dissent: 1970s College Protests in New York

January 31, 2023 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Active Dissent - 1970s College ProtestsOn May 8th, 1972, New Paltz students went from dorm to dorm at the state university, pulling fire alarms, their reaction quick and spontaneous. Few students had television sets, but word spread quickly about President Nixon’s broadcast announcing he had ordered the mining of North Vietnam ports.

Just hours after Nixon’s address, around midnight, the college’s assistant director of housing placed a frantic call to campus security. [Read more…] about Active Dissent: 1970s College Protests in New York

Filed Under: History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: Columbia University, Cornell University, Education, New Paltz, New York State Archives, Political History, Richard Nixon, State Police, SUNY New Paltz, Vietnam War

Edgar Allan Poe’s European Legacy

September 26, 2022 by Jaap Harskamp 2 Comments

Poe’s pocket watchA hundred years ago the Edgar Allan Poe Museum was founded in Richmond, Virginia. To celebrate the anniversary author and preeminent Poe collector Susan Jaffe Tane donated the pocket watch that Poe carried on him whilst writing his short story The Tell-Tale Heart shortly before he moved to the city of New York where he spent his last years.

In this tale the murderous narrator compares the thumping of his victim’s heart to the ticking of a clock. [Read more…] about Edgar Allan Poe’s European Legacy

Filed Under: Arts, History, New York City Tagged With: Columbia University, Cultural History, French History, Literature, New York City, Philadelphia, Poetry, Publishing, The Bronx, Writing

The Architecture of Joseph Urban: Mar-a-Lago & The New School

June 21, 2022 by Jaap Harskamp Leave a Comment

Joseph UrbanJoseph Urban may be a somewhat forgotten figure in America’s annals of culture, but during his lifetime he enjoyed an almost legendary reputation. An all-round creative talent, Urban was a prolific Gilded Age illustrator, set designer, and architect of private dwellings, theaters, and a university building in the city of New York. His Gingerbread Castle was built for a fairy tale themed amusement park in Hamburg, New Jersey.

His feeling for color and choice of materials did much to revitalize American stage design and architecture. The contrast between two of Urban’s extant buildings shows the range of his talent as an architect. It goes beyond that: the marked stylistic difference seemed to foreshadow the divisiveness of contemporary society. [Read more…] about The Architecture of Joseph Urban: Mar-a-Lago & The New School

Filed Under: History, New York City Tagged With: Architecture, art, Art History, Columbia University, Cultural History, Film History, Manhattan, New York City, Opera, Performing Arts, Rockefeller Foundation, The New School, Theatre, Trump, World War One

Harry James Carman: Farm Boy to Columbia University Dean

December 16, 2021 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Harry James Carman courtesy New York Herald Tribune December 27, 1964“Here is a good dirt farmer gone wrong” is how Harry James Carman described himself.

He started out as a farm-raised country boy in Saratoga County, NY and rose to the position of Dean of Columbia University in New York City. [Read more…] about Harry James Carman: Farm Boy to Columbia University Dean

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History, New York City Tagged With: Columbia University, Corinth, Education, New York City, Saratoga, Saratoga County, Saratoga County History Center, Saratoga County History Roundtable, Schuylerville

A Lively New History of Barnard College Published

October 19, 2020 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

a college of her ownBook purchases made through this link support New York Almanack’s mission to report new publications relevant to New York State.

The new book A College of Her Own: The History of Barnard (Columbia University Press, 2020) by Robert McCaughey offers a comprehensive and lively narrative of Barnard College from its beginnings to the present day. [Read more…] about A Lively New History of Barnard College Published

Filed Under: Books, History, New York City Tagged With: Barnard College, Books, Columbia University, Education, New York City, Political History, womens history

Grad Students Study Jay Heritage Preservation Issues

September 29, 2020 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

members of the studio at JHCColumbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation (GSAPP) is offering a studio course this fall semester titled “Radical Re-construction: Materializing Social Justice at the Country Estate of John Jay, a Founder of American Democracy.”

The studio is being led by Jorge Otero-Pailos, the school’s head of historic preservation and a member of JHC’s board of trustees, and Mark Rakatansky, an adjunct associate professor at the school and principal of Mark Rakatansky Studio. [Read more…] about Grad Students Study Jay Heritage Preservation Issues

Filed Under: History, New York City Tagged With: Architecture, Columbia University, Education, Historic Preservation, Jay Heritage Center, Landscape Architecture

New Book On 1968 Columbia Student Protests

April 15, 2018 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

a time to stirPaul Cronin’s new book, A Time to Stir: Columbia ’68, (Columbia University Press, 2018) reflects upon the 50th anniversary of the Columbia University student uprising and the legacies of the 1960s.

For seven days in April 1968, students occupied five buildings on the campus of Columbia University to protest a planned gymnasium in a nearby Harlem park, links between the university and the Vietnam War, and what they saw as the university’s unresponsive attitude toward their concerns. [Read more…] about New Book On 1968 Columbia Student Protests

Filed Under: Books, History Tagged With: Book Notices, Columbia University, New York City

Peter Feinman On Culture Wars At Columbia University

April 12, 2018 by Peter Feinman Leave a Comment

Columbia UniversityOn April 5, while doing research, I took a lunch-break and picked up a copy of the Columbia Daily Spectator, the Columbia University undergraduate newspaper. In reading the paper, I came across several articles directly related to history and the current culture wars.

Since I have a sample of only one newspaper, I can’t determine if the contents were typical of the campus news coverage, if it was just a chance day, or some combination of both. In any event, my lunch time reading turned into a fascinating glimpse into the front-lines of the culture war.   Read about it here: History at Columbia University: Report from a Battle Front in the Culture Wars 

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Columbia University

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