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Smithsonian

First Vote: A Letter from MANY’s Erika Sanger

February 26, 2023 by Erika Sanger Leave a Comment

Eleanor Roosevelt voting in 1936I don’t remember who was on the ballot the first time I voted, but I remember the challenge of finding my polling place – a community meeting room in the basement of an apartment building – on a rainy night in New York City.

The room was lit with flickering fluorescent bulbs and the floor was covered with gray linoleum tile. It took the poll volunteer who sat on a metal folding chair behind a metal folding table a long time to find me in a very large register. [Read more…] about First Vote: A Letter from MANY’s Erika Sanger

Filed Under: History, New Exhibits Tagged With: Advocacy, America's 250th Anniversary, Museum Association of New York, Museums, Political History, Smithsonian, Voting Rights

Restless Roamer: James Smithson’s Final Journey

January 29, 2023 by Jaap Harskamp 1 Comment

House flag of John Griswold’s Black X Line.A descendant of Dutch settlers, Jacob Aaron Westervelt began his career in 1814 as an apprentice in Christian Bergh’s shipyard at the point of land on the East River known as Corlears Hook. He left his employer in 1835 to start his own operation along the river. Over a period of three decades, the yard produced 234 vessels.

One of Jacob’s first commissions in 1836 was to build the packet boat Mediator for John Griswold’s Black X Line. Founded in 1823, its ships ran between New York and London displaying a house flag with a black X on a red background. [Read more…] about Restless Roamer: James Smithson’s Final Journey

Filed Under: History, New York City Tagged With: Cultural History, Dutch History, East River, Freemasonary, French History, French Revolution, Manhattan, Maritime History, New York City, Science History, Smithsonian

Space History With Smithsonian’s Head Space Historian

August 14, 2020 by Bob Cudmore Leave a Comment

The Historians LogoThis week on The Historians Podcast, Margaret Weitekamp is the guest. Weitekamp chairs the space history department at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. and is the author of Right Stuff, Wrong Sex: America’s First Women in Space Program. [Read more…] about Space History With Smithsonian’s Head Space Historian

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: Podcasts, Smithsonian

Smithsonian Offers ‘Talking About Race’ Portal

July 9, 2020 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

 George Floyd Protest HistoryIn a short essay published earlier this week in Smithsonian Magazine, Smithsonian Institute Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch wrote that the recent killing in Minnesota of George Floyd has forced the country to “confront the reality that, despite gains made in the past 50 years, we are still a nation riven by inequality and racial division.” [Read more…] about Smithsonian Offers ‘Talking About Race’ Portal

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: African American History, Black History, Crime and Justice, Cultural History, Smithsonian

BFW Road Trip: Washington, D.C., NMAAHC

July 31, 2019 by Liz Covart Leave a Comment

ben_franklins_worldNot all historians publish their findings about history in books and articles. Some historians convey knowledge about history to the public in public spaces and in public ways.

In this episode of Ben Franklin’s World, Lonnie Bunch, the Founding Director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History & Culture takes us on a behind-the-scenes tour of how historians do history for the public. [Read more…] about BFW Road Trip: Washington, D.C., NMAAHC

Filed Under: History, New Exhibits Tagged With: African American History, Black History, Early American History, Museums, NMAAHC, Podcasts, Public History, Smithsonian, Washington D.C.

NYS Museum: New Deal Artists Exhibit Opens

October 23, 2012 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

A new exhibition — 1934: A New Deal for Artists — has opened at the New York State Museum showcasing paintings created against the backdrop of the Great  Depression with the support of the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP), the first federal government  program to support the arts nationally.

During the Great Depression, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt promised a “new deal for the American people,” initiating government programs to foster economic recovery. Roosevelt’s pledge to help “the forgotten man” also embraced America’s artists. [Read more…] about NYS Museum: New Deal Artists Exhibit Opens

Filed Under: New Exhibits Tagged With: Art History, FDR, Great Depression, New York State Museum, Political History, Smithsonian

Local Museums Offer Free Admission Saturday

September 23, 2010 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Saturday, September 25, 2010, museums around New York State will participate in the sixth annual Museum Day, presented by Smithsonian magazine.

A celebration of culture, learning, and the dissemination of knowledge, Smithsonian’s Museum Day reflects the spirit of the magazine, and emulates the free-admission policy of the Smithsonian Institution’s Washington, DC-based institutions. Doors will be open free of charge to Smithsonian readers and www.Smithsonian.com visitors at museums and cultural institutions nationwide.

Museum Day 2010 is poised to be the largest to date, outdoing last year’s record-breaking event. Over 300,000 museum-goers and 1,300 venues in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico participated in Museum Day 2009. Last year, two million visitors logged on to www.smithsonian.com/museumday to learn more about the program.

Attendees must present the Museum Day Admission Card to gain free entry to participating institutions. Visit www.Smithsonian.com/museumdayto download your Museum Day Admission Card. Each card provides museum access for two people, and one admission card is permitted per household. Listings and links to participating museums’ and sponsors’ web sites can also be found at the site. The complete list of participating museums in new York State is located here.

Filed Under: New Exhibits Tagged With: Museums-Archives-Historic Sites, Public History, Smithsonian

Free Admission to Nearly 100 NY Museums Saturday

September 25, 2009 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

This Saturday, September 26, 2008, nearly 100 museums in New York State will participate in Smithsonian magazine’s fifth annual Museum Day. Museum Day is an opportunity for museums and cultural institutions nationwide to open their doors free of charge. A celebration of culture, learning and the dissemination of knowledge, Smithsonian’s Museum Day reflects the spirit of the magazine, and emulates the free-admission policy of the Smithsonian Institution’s Washington, D.C. – based museums.

Last year, more then 200,000 people attended Museum Day. All fifty states plus Puerto Rico were represented by 900 participating museums. This year, the magazine expects to attract over 1000 museums. Established New York institutions like the New York State Museum, the Adirondack Museum, the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, Museum of the City of New York, The Museum at Bethel Woods, The Iroquois Indian Museum, and more, will all take part this year. A complete list of New York museums that are participating is located here.

Museum visitors must present Smithsonian magazine’s Museum Day Admission Card to
gain free entry to participating institutions. The Museum Day Admission
Card is available for free download at Smithsonian.com.

Filed Under: New Exhibits Tagged With: Museums-Archives-Historic Sites, Public History, Smithsonian

A New Decorative Objects Online Resource

February 25, 2009 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The Smithsonian has announced online access to the E. F. Caldwell & Co. Collection which “contains more than 50,000 images consisting of approximately 37,000 black & white photographs and 13,000 original design drawings of lighting fixtures and other fine metal objects that they produced from the late 19th to the mid-20th centuries.”

According to the site: Edward F. Caldwell & Co., of New York City, was the premier designer and manufacturer of electric light fixtures and decorative metalwork from the late 19th to the mid-20th centuries. Founded in 1895 by Edward F. Caldwell (1851-1914) and Victor F. von Lossberg (1853-1942), the firm’s legacy of highly crafted creations includes custom made metal gates, lanterns, chandeliers, ceiling and wall fixtures, floor and table lamps, and other decorative objects that can be found today in many metropolitan area churches, public buildings, offices, clubs, and residences. A majority of these buildings were built in the early 20thcentury, a time of tremendous growth in construction and when many cities were being electrified for the first time.

The New York Public Library has additional materials [pdf].

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Material Culture, New York Public Library, Online Resources, Photography, Public History, Smithsonian

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