New-York Historical Society facts for kids
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| Established | 1804 |
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| Location | New York City, US |
| Type | American history museum and library |
| Architect | York and Sawyer and Walker & Gillette |
The New-York Historical Society is a cool place in New York City where you can explore American history. It's a museum and a library, located right next to Central Park West in Manhattan. It first opened its doors in 1804, making it New York's very first museum!
This society shows off amazing exhibits and offers programs that teach about the history of New York and the whole country. Since 1908, the New-York Historical Society Museum & Library has been in its current building. This grand granite building was designed by York & Sawyer. It's even a special New York City landmark! In 2011, the building was updated to make it easier for everyone to visit. They even added a fun, interactive museum just for kids!
Louise Mirrer has been the president of the Historical Society since 2004. She helps guide the museum's mission. In 2005, the museum created a big exhibit called Slavery in New York. This was a very important show, as it was the first time the museum had explored this topic in such depth. It even included art made by artists who used items from the museum's collections.
The New-York Historical Society has tons of historical items. These include American art and other things that tell the story of New York and the United States. They put on well-researched exhibits about many different times and topics in American history. You can learn about people like George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. You can also discover topics like the Hudson River School art movement or the history of the Constitution. The Society also has programs for schools and teachers. They offer special learning opportunities for adults too, helping everyone learn more about history.
Contents
Exploring the Collections
The museum at the New-York Historical Society is the oldest in New York City. It was around almost 70 years before the Metropolitan Museum of Art was even founded! It holds over 1.6 million pieces of art.
Among these are incredible paintings from the Hudson River School. These include major works by famous artists like Thomas Cole and Frederic Edwin Church. You can also see paintings that show everyday life and important historical moments. There are many American portraits, including paintings by Rembrandt Peale and Gilbert Stuart.
A very special collection is all 435 of John James Audubon's original watercolors. These were used to create his famous book, The Birds of America. The museum also has a huge collection of over 800 sculptures. These show how American sculpture has changed from colonial times until today.
The Historical Society also has many paintings and drawings by the marine artist James Bard. You can find a large part of sculptor Elie Nadelman's amazing American folk art collection here. This includes furniture, lamps, textiles, glass, and even toys!
Some other cool items include George Washington's camp bed from Valley Forge. There's also the desk where Clement Clarke Moore wrote "A Visit to Saint Nicholas" (the famous Christmas poem!). The museum has one of the world's largest collections of Tiffany lamps and glasswork. Plus, there's a collection of over 550 American board games from the late 1800s.
The Research Library's Treasures
The research library at the Historical Society is huge! It has more than three million books, maps, newspapers, and old documents. You can find the very first written proof of the phrase ""United States of America"" here.
There's also an excellent collection of newspapers from the 1700s. The library has many important materials about slavery and the time after the Civil War. You can even see Ulysses S. Grant's terms of surrender for Robert E. Lee from the Civil War.
The library also has old American stories, poems, and travel accounts. It even has a wide range of materials about the history of the circus! The Society has a website where you can see many images from its collection. In 2015, they put over a thousand old photos by Robert L. Bracklow online.
How the Society Began
The New-York Historical Society was started on November 20, 1804. A man named John Pintard worked hard to make it happen. He was also involved in starting New York's first savings bank. He even pushed for free schools!
The first meeting included 11 important citizens of the city, like Mayor DeWitt Clinton. They decided to create a constitution, and by December 10, the Historical Society was officially formed.
In 1813, the Society printed its first list of items. It showed they had 4,265 books, many old government documents, newspapers, and maps. They had also started collecting old letters and portraits.
In its early years, the Historical Society had money problems. In 1809, they celebrated the 200th anniversary of Henry Hudson arriving in New York Harbor. This event inspired them to ask the New York State Legislature for money. They hoped to get funds from a lottery in 1814. But the lottery failed, and the Society had to mortgage some of its books. They didn't get them back until 1823.
The Historical Society and its collections moved many times in the 1800s. In 1809, they moved to the Government House. This building was meant for the President of the United States. In 1816, they moved to the New York Institution.
In 1857, the Society moved into its first building built just for its collections. This was on Second Avenue and 11th Street. Later, they got a collection of Egyptian and Assyrian art. This art was eventually moved to the Brooklyn Museum of Art.
The Current Building's Design
The construction for the Society's eighth home began on September 10, 1902. The main part of the building on Central Park West was finished on December 15, 1908. It was designed by architects York and Sawyer.
In 1938, the building was made even bigger with new sections on each end. Architects Walker & Gillette designed these additions. This expansion is one of the last examples of the Beaux-Arts architecture style in the city. The building was named a landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1966.
Inside the library on the second floor, you can see two beautiful stained glass windows. One shows The Arrival of Henry Hudson. The other is called Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. This window honors French Huguenots, who were religious refugees who came to New York. The artist, Mary Elizabeth Tillinghast, signed this window.
Challenges and Comeback
The Historical Society's collection kept growing throughout the 1900s. But in the 1970s and 1980s, they faced money problems again. This meant they had to limit who could access their collections. Many items were found to be in bad condition in a warehouse.
In 1995, the city and state gave grants to help. This allowed the public to visit again. Since the late 1990s, the New-York Historical Society has worked hard to improve its building and raise money. They have greatly increased their budget to offer more public programs.
Recent updates to the Historical Society include new galleries and exhibit spaces. They also added a modern library reading room. In 2005, the Historical Society received a large grant from the Carnegie Corporation. This was made possible by a donation from New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg.
The museum has created exhibits about national themes through New York's history. For example, in 2005, they opened Slavery and the Making of New York, 1600s–1827. This was the first exhibit in New York City to show the big role slavery played in the city's economy. During colonial times, many households had enslaved people. Much of the city's economy was connected to the South and slavery.
This exhibit was the largest in the museum's 200-year history. It also highlighted the strength of African Americans who fought against slavery. A related exhibit, New York Divided: Slavery and the Civil War, 1827–1865, explored the city's economy before the war. It also looked at events like the New York City Draft Riots.
Under President Louise Mirrer, the building had a big renovation. This $65 million project was finished in 2011. It made the landmark building even better for visitors. New windows were added to show views into the main gallery.
To make the museum more welcoming, they placed life-size bronze sculptures outside. You can see Abraham Lincoln on Central Park West and Frederick Douglass on West 77th Street. These are important national figures with ties to New York.
After reopening, the Historical Society offered a multimedia show about major American history themes. It used stories and figures from New York's past. It also has a new section for an interactive children's history museum, which is a great place for young visitors to learn!
Why the Hyphen in New-York?
The Historical Society uses an old way of spelling "New York" with a hyphen. Adding the hyphen was common in the 1800s when the museum was founded. They still use it today to give the institution a special and unique identity.
New-York Historical Society Book Prizes
The New-York Historical Society gives out three book prizes every year.
Images for kids
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Re-enactment of loyalist colonial troops guarding the Society building from George Washington's Rebels
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Corn Planter, a Seneca war chief, by F. Bratoli, 1796.
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A recruiting poster for the First Battalion, New York Mounted Rifles.
See also
- The Course of Empire
- History of New York (state)
- History of New York City
- List of museums and cultural institutions in New York City
- List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan from 59th to 110th Streets
- New York State Historical Association
