I just happened to stumble across this museum on the way back from the Metropolitan Museum of Art and saw that they were having an exhibition entitled “A Wonder to Behold: Craftsmanship and the Creation of Babylon’s Ishtar Gate”. The exhibition is on the craftsman who created the ‘Ishtar Gate’ and the ‘Processional Way’ in the Ancient City of Babylon.
Glazed brick art from the ‘Processional Way’
The small exhibition contains many examples of clay bricks that were used to build the decorative walls and pathways, artwork from the ‘Processional Way’ were displayed as well as smaller decorative art pieces from the time period.
Some of the works in the exhibition
The exhibition also showed tablets from the time period, information on the digs on the site of Babylon and some of the recorded history of the civilization.
There are interesting tablets on display
For two small rooms of gallery space, the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World covers a lot of information on the time period. One nice thing about the museum is that you can see the whole exhibit in less than an hour and they do have a very nice gift shop.
The History of the Museum:
The Institute for the Study of the Ancient World is a center for advanced scholarly research and graduate education, which aims to encourage particularly the study of the economic, religious, political and cultural connections between ancient civilizations. It offers both doctoral and postdoctoral programs with the aim of training a new generation of scholars who will enter the global academic community and become intellectual leaders.
In effort to embrace a truly inclusive geographical scope while maintaining continuity and coherence, the Institute focuses on the shared and overlapping periods in the development of cultures and civilizations around the Mediterranean basin and across central Asia to the Pacific Ocean. The approaches of anthropology, archaeology, geography, geology, history, economics, sociology, art history, digital humanities and the history of science and technology are as integral to the enterprise as the study of texts, philosophy and the analysis of artifacts. The Institute’s Director and permanent faculty determine particular directions of research but both historical connections and patterns as well as socially illuminating comparisons will always be central to its mission.
The public presence matches its vision, engaging both the public and scholars worldwide in the work and findings of its scholarly community. Exhibitions, public lectures, publications, digital resources and other programs reflect the Institute’s ideal of study that bridges disciplines and ancient peoples.
The creation of the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World at New York University has its roots in the passion that Shelby White and Leon Levy had for the art and history of the ancient world, which led them to envision an Institute that would offer an unshuttered view of antiquity across vast stretches of time and place. It was founded in 2006 with funding from the Leon Levy Foundation.
Areas of specialty among the museum’s faculty include the Greco-Roman world, the Ancient Near East, Egypt, Central Asia and the Silk Road, East Asian art and archaeology, Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages, ancient science and digital humanities.
Disclaimer: This information was taken from the museum’s website and I give them full credit for it.
*To all you Friday the 13th fans, some sad news that I was out in Blairstown, NJ on Friday the 13th, October 2023 and found out from one of the downtown merchants that both the Blairstown Museum and the Friday the 13th Museum are both permanently closed. They were really nice museums when they were open. You can visit the Hope Historical Society in downtown Hope, NJ which is where the scene where Annie gets the ride from the trucker driver. It is open from 1:00pm-4:00pm on Sundays but has no Friday the 13th memorabilia in it. Just the history of Hope, NJ. Big sorry!
The Blairstown Museum is a facility housing the history of the town of Blairstown and the surrounding area. The interesting part of this museum is that it is not run by the town but by a local couple, Janette and Frank Iurato, who moved to the area in 2013 and took an interest in the history of the town. The museum was founded in 2015 and opened in 2016. The museum is actually two different museums.
The first one is the Blairstown Historical Museum that covers the history of the town. This museum concentrates on the history of the founding of the town and the residents in it. While I was visiting, there was an interesting exhibition on the Blair Family who had married into the Charles Scribner Publishing family and a little history behind the two families. There was another exhibition on John Insley Blair, one of the residents and a self-made businessman and entrepreneur, for whom the town and the private school are named after.
The Howell and Dutot exhibition
Another exhibition was on local resident, Robert Parsons Howell, who had moved to Havana, Cuba at the turn of the last century. The exhibition was on the development of the early railroads. There was an exhibition on the early resort history of the area by the Delaware Water Gap by Hotelier Antoine Dutot, who ran the Kittatinny Hotel resort in the late 1880’s. The last exhibition was on the history and creation of Victorian furniture. The exhibition discussed how it was created and how it developed.
The museum has changing exhibitions
The second museum is across the street is the Friday the 13th Museum at 27 Main Street and that museum is dedicated to the movie “Friday the 13th” that was shot in the town in 1979.
The Friday the 13th Museum at 27 Main Street
This part of the museum is dedicated to the first film and subsequent films. The couple is collecting artifacts from the films (which there were not much since it was shot on location). On display are items signed by stars of the first film, Adrienne King and Ari Lehman, picture stills from the film and what I thought was interesting were the bar stools from the luncheonette from the second scene of the film and the original ‘Diner’ sign from the Blairstown Diner before the restaurant’s renovation.
“Friday the 13th” from 1980
What is also nice is that the Iurato’s have a small gift shop with items made by local artists that the have the iconic logo with the ‘Jason Mask’. This part of the museum opened on September 13th of 2019 and the ribbon cutting was done by various members of the cast and crew of the film.
The ‘Friday the 13th’ exhibition
Both of the museum’s are still collecting artifacts so support their collections but the Iurato family has done a nice job preserving the history of the town and dedicating a whole new branch of the museum to the “Friday the 13th” franchise.
The cast of the original 1980 film “Friday the 13th”
It is interesting as well to just walk around the town and recognize where the opening scenes of the film were shot. The museum is in the second scene of the film when ‘Annie’ does her walk around the town.
If you are a fan of the film, it is a fun place to stop by when visiting Blairstown, NJ.
The entrance of the Friday the 13th Museum
Please visit my blog on the Friends of the Lodi Memorial Library on the 35th Anniversary of the film “Friday the 13th” that we ran at the library in 2015:
My opening discussion for the event before showing the film:
My interview with Lodi, NJ Donald Stein, who was a scout master who worked both at Camp NoBeBoCa and who assisted the Blairstown Fire Department on the film:
Don’t miss reading the blog on the event that we ran on November 13th, 2015.
The History of the Blairstown Museum:
(This information was taken from the museum’s website and I give them full credit for it)
When the Iurato family moved to Blairstown in 2013, they were surprised to find that the township did not have a museum honoring its founders. New residents did not have a central place where they could learn about the people and businesses that shaped the town’s past, how to be good stewards of Blairstown’s Historic District and the rural beauty left in their care.
Originally, the family’s intention for the property at 26 Main Street was to rent the first floor space to a business that would complement the Historic District’s businesses, add to the tourism appeal and increase the overall foot traffic of the area. They were overwhelmed by the amount of people that enthusiastically suggested they establish a museum.
Following eighteen-months of renovations, artifact collecting, historic research, networking with local historians and establishing a non-profit organization, the Blairstown Museum, located at 26 Main Street, opened to rave reviews. On October 1, 2016, nearly 600 people attended the Grand Opening Celebration. Since then, the Museum has offered hundreds of exhibitions, events, programs and tours and has received local, state and federal recognition.
Supported by “Friday the 13th” Franchise Fans, on September 13, 2019, the Museum opened a second location at 27 Main Street to house a year round Friday the 13th exhibition. The Grand Opening Ceremony was attended by Ari Lehman, Tom McLoughlin, Jason Brooks, Vincent DiSanti, Dave Brown and hundreds of fans.
The Museum’s Vision Statement:
In fulfillment of our mission, we have adopted the following Vision Statement: “The Blairstown Museum will be a vibrant social, cultural and economic centerpiece of the town and will be regarded as an entertaining and worthwhile tourist destination. The Museum will be a resource for residents, visitors, historians and educators. The Museum will preserve and catalog important objects and documents and will use those items to provide educational and cultural programs for the public.”
The Blairstown Museum
The Museum’s Mission Statement:
The Blairstown Museum’s mission is to acquire and collect; research and document; protect and preserve and exhibit and promote the unique history and heritage of the Township of Blairstown for the benefit of residents and visitors. Founded by the Iurato family and managed by a group of dedicated individuals, the Museum is house in a 19th Century building, known as the last remaining structure of “Roy’s Row”.
As the only independent public museum in the Township of Blairstown, the Blairstown Museum is an IRS Certified 501(c)(3), all volunteer, non-profit charitable organization tasked with the responsibility of caring for thousands of items which illustrate the history of the township and its inhabitants, including former resident and founder John Insley Blair. In an effort to help foster heritage tourism throughout the region, our collections are used to interpret the area’s history through permanent and changing exhibits and to educate the public about our history through programs, resource materials and events.
Blairstown Museum staff are charged with providing professional care to the collection, employing standards established by the American Alliance of Museums for the storage, care and exhibit of artifacts in its custody. Historic exhibits are on display on a rotating basis throughout the year. We are committed to expanding the digital display of our collection, in a manner that makes it available as a teaching tool for students, teachers and historians.
Disclaimer: This information on the Blairstown Museum was taken from their website and I give them full credit for the information.
The Introduction of the film from 1980 “Friday the 13th”:
Annie arrives in Blairstown:
Here are the sites from Downtown Blairstown, NJ.
These are some of the sites from the film in Downtown Blairstown, NJ in January 13th, 2023:
Downtown Blairstown, NJ:
Where Annie walked in the beginning of the film January 13th, 2023
The Blair Academy Park that Annie passed by in January 13th, 2023.
Downtown Blairstown, NJ on January 13th, 2023
Flatiron Building in the film
The Flatiron Building where Annie walked down the hill on January 13th, 2023
The Blairstown Water Building on January 13th, 2023.
Blairstown Water Building in the downtown
Walking through the Water Building where Annie walked.
The theater where Annie passed on her way to the cafe just below Blair Academy
The movie was showing on Friday the 13th January 2023
The aquarium’s outside tanks with sea lions, otters and penguins.
The penguins were very entertaining that afternoon.
The otter just ignored us. They just played amongst themselves.
I have been to the NY Aquarium many times since it reopened after Hurricane Sandy and there have been many positive improvements in both the facility and the service. The new Ocean Wonders: Shark! exhibition which has opened up giving an interesting look at the underwater world of the many different types of sharks that dominate the deep.
The Shark Exhibit
The Shark exhibition
The sharks and string rays
It is not just a display but also a commentary on the conditions of the deep and the treatment of sharks around the world. There contributions as bottom dwellers cleans our oceans and benefits other fish. It was shocking what the treatment is of these animals in Asia when strip these animals of their fins for soup. I like how professionally the aquarium shows this in their displays and videos and doesn’t preach but offer solutions to the problem.
The entrance to the new shark tanks.
That and walking through the tanks themselves in the darkened rooms with music makes for a fascinating and almost ominous trip into the ocean behind the walls with the sharks and other mammals and fish swim past you. There is also a small tunnel that you can climb under to watch the fish swim on top of you and past you.
The tropical fish exhibition
In the Conservation Hall, you will learn all about the fish that dominate and keep our reefs vibrant and what happens when pollution takes over and kills them. Again the aquarium displays this in a positive way, shows how the animals keep the reefs healthy. I point out that there are a lot of colorful fish on display and it is fun to watch the small children yell out to them.
The coral reef exhibition
The Coral Reef Exhibition
The fish in the Coral tanks
There is a wonderful seal show during the day that you should not miss especially in the warmer months when you can sit in the stands and watch them perform with their trainers. They are more Native New Yorkers than most humans having been born at the aquarium and showing their own pride in their home and abilities.
The Sea lion show at the aquarium is very popular.
The Sea lion show
The Sea lion show
The new “Spineless” exhibition shows all the jelly fish and related species.
The “Spineless” exhibition
The beautiful jelly fish at the aquarium.
The “Spineless” exhibition
The different creatures of the deep.
The Jellyfish tank
The Jellyfish are amazing to look at in the tank
There were all sorts of tanks displaying many different types of tropical fish and corals that are exotic and very much endangered. We are beginning to destroy their habitants.
The fish habitats
As part of the new building there are also several new eating establishments at the aquarium including the new Oceanside Grill that I have not visited yet (it was closed on my last visit) as well as The New York Bite food truck (which was also not opened). The most impressive restaurant is the Oceanview Bites on the second floor of the Ocean Wonders building. This beautiful new restaurant has an interesting but somewhat routine menu with prices usual to an aquarium but offer the most spectacular views of the ocean and of Coney Island. Do not miss just walking up to the restaurant in the circular pathway for the views alone.
The NY Aquarium is a treat in of itself and a great excuse to visit Coney Island. Don’t miss the rest of the island’s amusements and museums while you are there.
The NY Aquarium
History of the New York Aquarium:
(this information is provided by a combination of the NY Aquarium and Wiki and I give them full credit for the information)
The New York Aquarium is the oldest continually operating aquarium in the United States, having opened in Castle Garden in Battery Park in Manhattan in 1896. Since 1957, it has been located on the Reigelmann Boardwalk in Coney Island. The aquarium is operated by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) as part of its integrated system of four zoos and one aquarium, most notably the Bronx Zoo. It is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).
The sea lion tanks
As part of the WCS, the aquarium’s mission is to save wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, conservation action, education and inspiring people to value nature.
The facility occupies 14 acres and boasts 266 species of aquatic wildlife. Its mission is to raise public awareness about issues facing the ocean and its inhabitants with special exhibitions, public events and research. The New York Seascape program, based out of the aquarium, is WCS’s local conservation program designed to restore healthy populations of marine species and protect New York waters, which are vital to the area’s economic and cultural vitality.
The penguin tank
The Penguin exhibition on the outside
On June 6, 1957, the Aquarium opened at its new location in Coney Island. The new site of the New York Aquarium is the home of the WCS New York Seascape program, the society’s research and conservation program focusing on nearby rivers, harbor and ocean from Cape May, NJ to Montauk, Long Island.
The new “Shark” exhibition tunnel
The Shark Tank
The aquarium kept an orca briefly in 1968 and a narwhal in 1969. Both reportedly died of possible pneumonia. The aquarium’s beluga whales were transferred to the Georgia Aquarium in 2007 as part of a breeding program. In September 2011, the aquarium named its new electric eel Wattson and in March 2012, it launched a sea horse breeding program.
In October 2006, the New York Aquarium announced the finalists to a competition to develop a more inviting and visually prominent exterior for the aquarium. In March 2007, the winning design by firms WRT and Cloud 9 was selected, which featured an enclosure resembling a whale over the aquarium. However, in March 2008 that concept was scrapped due to concerns over a new exhibit based on sharks was announced. The massive 784,000 US gallon exhibition, Ocean Wonders: Sharks! was originally scheduled to break ground in November 2012 and open in 2015.
A penguin ready to take a dive.
However, the New York Aquarium was significantly damaged by Hurricane Sandy in October 2012, which severely flooded the facility and shut down power. A small group of WCS staff who remained onsite during the hurricane were able to save 90% of the animals in the collection. As a result, the exhibition opened June 30, 2018, becoming the first major exhibition at the New York Aquarium to open after Hurricane Sandy.
The Shark tank’s fish display
Disclaimer: this history of the NY Aquarium is taken from Wiki and I give them full credit for this information.
The Sculptures in the NY Aquarium in 2024:
These sculptures were at NY Aquarium by Washed Ashore
The sign for Leo the Jellyfish
The Leo the Jellyfish sculpture
The Angus the Longhorn Cowfish sculpture sign
The Angus the Longhorn Cowfish sculpture
The Nora the Salmon sculpture sign
The Nora the Salmon sculpture
The Maggie and Charlotte Adele Penguins
The Maggie and Charlotte Adele Penguins sculpture
The Chompers the Tiger Shark
The Chompers the Tiger Shark sculptures
The Penguin sculpture
The artworks were all made of items that were thrown in the ocean and plastics that are thrown in the ocean. Washed Ashore created these works to show what is thrown in ocean and how it affects the wildlife in the oceans.
Washington Irving’s home, Sunnyside is open during the warmer months of the year, closing at the end of October. The house looks like a enchanted cottage with almost a fairy like appearance right on the banks of the Hudson River with the most spectacular views of the river valley and the Tappan Zee Bridge in the distance.
Sunnyside during the Fall of 2024
The house was designed by architect George Harvey and reflects the Dutch Colonial Revival, Scottish Gothic and Tudor Revival influences with wisteria growing up and around it and a jagged crow stepped gable.
The front of Sunnyside in the Fall of 2024
When walking through the home, you will see the study where Washington Irving conducted the business of the house and did his writing. To the other side of the house, you will see the living room and small dining room where the family used to entertain.
Washington Irving’s Study
The Dining Room set for a formal lunch
The Dining Room in the Fall of 2024
The formal meal at the afternoon
The hallway between the Dining Room and the Living Room
The Living Room where the family gathered and entertained visitors
The Living Room of Sunnyside
The upstairs contains small bedrooms where Washington Irving, his brother, Ebeneezer and his five nieces lived on and off when they were living at the house. Washington’s brother’s business had failed and the family came to live with him. Two of the nieces never married and ran the home for their uncle.
The Guest bedroom at Sunnyside
The Guest Bedroom
The Children’s Bedroom that catered to the little guests
The house is nicely furnished in the most modern decor of its time but is not an elaborate house. It is a home and not a weekend mansion and this ten acre estate was a once a working farm. In the back of the house, there is an ice house and a barn show where the people who worked on the estate kept the house running.
Ebenezer’s daughter’s room
Ebenezer’s Room in Sunnyside; Ebenezer was Washington Irving’s Older Brother
Washington Irving’s bedroom
Washington Irving’s bedroom
The view of the river is one of the most spectacular in the Hudson River Valley as its at the widest part of the Hudson River. You can see the cliffs of New Jersey on the other side with views of Nyack and the Tappan Zee Bridge in the background.
The grounds of Sunnyside
The grounds of Sunnyside
During the Fall season there are all sorts of activities going on at the estate and the tours are a very interesting look at life at that time. The Kitchen staff ran the home for social calls and main family meals as well as all the things it took to run the household.
The Sunnyside Kitchen
The kitchen and pantry area
The stove in the kitchen
The delicious items that were prepared in the Country kitchen
The sink area of the kitchen
The Cooks Kitchen
The Pantry
The Linen Room
The Sewing Room for the family
The History of Sunnyside:
The estate was once the home of Wolfert Acker called Wolfert’s Roost and was part of the Manor of Philipsburg and this home was once a simple two room stone tenant farmhouse built around 1690.
The patio view from the back of the house
The property came into the hands of the Van Tassel family, who were married into the Eckert family and owned it until 1802. That year, 150 acres were deeded to the family of Benson Ferris, one time clerk of the Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow, whose wife, Maria Acker, was a descendant of Wolfert Acker’s.
The grounds of Sunnyside
In 1832, Washington Irving visited his nephew, Oscar Irving, who lived near the old stone farmhouse and was looking for a home at the time. He purchased the property on June 7, 1835 and would add to the property.
The view of the house of the Hudson River
Irving wrote a story, “Wolfert’s Roost”, about Acker and the site. In a letter to his brother Peter, he described it as “a beautiful spot, capable of being made a little paradise…I have had an architect up there and shall build upon the old mansion this summer. My idea is to make a little nookery somewhat in the Dutch style, quaint but unpretending. It will be of stone.” He asked his neighbor to help him remodel the house and landscape the grounds in Romantic style adding a brook and waterfall.
The grounds of Sunnyside
The house became a major spot of people visiting the area to meet the author. In 1842, he was appointed to be the Ambassador of Spain and left the estate in the care of his brother and four daughters. He returned in 1846 and added to the home the ‘Spanish Tower” in 1847. This added four more bedrooms to the home.
The Smokehouse
The Ice House at Sunnyside
The Ice House
The Fruit Cellar
Irving died in the house in 1859 of a heart attack at age 76.
The house was purchased from Louis Irving by John D. Rockefeller Jr. and was restored for historic preservation. It was opened to the public in 1947.
The grounds has a very nice gift shop
In 2025, I visited Sunnyside during the holidays to see what Christmas would have been like in the pre-Civil War era. These were not the elaborate times of the Victorian era but still the life of an Upper Middle Class families who celebrated the spirit of the holiday.
I visited the estate for a special Victorian event with refreshments, creating crafts and a special open tour of the home decorated for the Christmas holidays.
The property decorated during the holidays
The holiday events at the estate
The meeting room was decorated for the holidays for refreshments and good conversation
The refreshments at the Open House included cookies, candies, Hot Cider Wassil and Hot Chocolate and Tea
Sunnyside at Christmas time
The Sunnyside front door at the holidays
The beautiful view of the estate overlooking the Hudson River
When you enter the house, the first room to the left is the office of Washington Irving. There was a bed in the room for last night work and the room decorated for the holidays.
Washington Irving’s office during the holidays
The fireplace in the author’s office
Nothing says entertaining than the dining room with a holiday lunch set with family china and all the delicacies of the time.
The Dining Room set for a holiday lunch
The Dining Room table set for Christmas lunch
The Christmas desserts showcasing the Christmas pudding
The pantry set for Afternoon Tea
The Living Room decorated for the holidays with a Table tree, fashionable for the times.
The Table tree in the Living Room
The hallway and stairs decorated for the holidays
The French inspired bedroom
The Children’s room of a visiting niece
Washington Irving’s bedroom
The niece’s bedroom of those that lived with him
My last part of the tour led to the behind the scenes of how the household runs with the kitchen, washrooms and sewing room.
The Christmas dinner being prepared for the family
The delicious foods prepared for the family meals including cookies, pies and a favorite treat, doughnuts
The kitchen stove where all the family meals were cooked
The house kitchen is decorated for the holidays
The staff holiday dinner was less elaborate but still very festive
The patio off the kitchen overlooking the Hudson River
After the tour was over, I joined other guests making crafts such as Christmas crackers, creating ornaments and making pumices, the oranges studded with clovers.
The festive barn where crafts were created
Me making my pumice for the holidays
Visiting Sunnyside during the holidays is a special trip to the past to join the Irving family in their celebration. Not as elaborate as some of the Victorian mansions of the Hudson River Valley but a look at a family whose celebration was similar to our own. Their traditions are the basis of our own of food, family and fun.
Visiting a Museum: The Unique, Unusual, Obscure and Historical 