Tag: DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com

Westwood Heritage Society Museum/Westwood Train Station Broadway and Westwood Avenue Westwood, NJ 07675

Westwood Heritage Society Museum

Westwood Train Station

Broadway & Westwood Avenue

Westwood, NJ 07675

(201) 666-9682

http://www.westwoodheritage.org

https://www.facebook.com/hfwhalen/

Hours: The Second Saturday of every month; 10:00am-2:00 pm

Admission: Free

TripAdvisor Review:

I had visited the Westwood Heritage Society Museum during its one day opening in the month and no one was there to greet me. It seems that they closed at noon. I was able to walk around the train station’s main room and look around at all the old pictures of town, its history and the interesting facts of how the town grew

Westwood NJ Rail Station where the museum is located

The Westwood NJ Train Station is the home for the Westwood Heritage Society Museum

Many prestigious families of Bergen County, NJ have helped shape the town including members of the Demerest, Blauvelt, Wortendyke and Haring families. These early members of Bergen County Society have left their mark on the politics and construction of the current town. These names are part of the founding families of the town.

The sign in Veterans Park

There are displays of family life in town, life on the railroads, the history of how the railroad came to town, the growth of the town, residents of the town and a display on railroad conductor, Mr. Blauvelt himself.

There are many sets of pictures in the display cases and there is an on-going slide show of pictures on the main wall of the terminal showing the past and present of the town.

They let us tour the bomb shelter that is beneath the train station. This is interesting.

I recently toured the museum with my students on the second Saturday in November of 2022 and met with the members of the Westwood Heritage Society. They put all their displays out when the museum was open from 10:00am-12:00pm. There were some interesting things to see. There was the history of the businesses, schools, the fire and police department and town government. They had some interesting artifacts from Veterans of the Wars as well.

Displays of memorabilia at the museum

If you like the history of railroads into the new suburbs or are from Westwood and are interested in its history, this museum is worth coming to for the afternoon. Take time to walk along the tables and view all the artifacts. There are some interesting things to see.

The glassworks of Westwood

Some of the items from the veterans of foreign wars.

Artifacts from the railroad

The main building of the train station is always open during business hours, so you will have plenty of time to look at all the displays. If you get there on the second Saturday of the month, you might get to talk with a member of the Heritage Society. It only takes about an hour to see all the displays.

The history of the town is in all these notebooks

History:

The Westwood Museum, which is housed in the Westwood Train Station building, was established and held its ‘Grand Opening’ on Memorial Day of 2002.

The Museum serves as an exhibit gallery for the numerous artifacts of Westwood’s past and records of its history that have been acquired or compiled by the Society.

Historic Westwood, NJ

The Historic Displays that line the walls on the history of the town:

Historic homes and businesses of prominent members of the Westwood community

Historic Homes of Westwood

Historic businesses in Westwood

Prominent residents of Westwood, NJ

Historic Downtown Westwood NJ

The commercial we created for the Downtown Westwood, NJ for Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc.

The Project for “It’s Wonderful in Westwood, NJ-Be a Tourist in your Own Town”:

https://mywalkinmanhattan.com/tag/exploring-downtown-westwood-nj

The Hewitt Gallery of Art Department of Art & Art History/ Marymount College Manhattan 221 East 71st Street New York, NY 10021

The Hewitt Galley of Art

Department of Art & Art History

Marymount College Manhattan

221 East 71st Street

New York, NY 10021

(212) 517-0400

http://www.mmm.edu/departments/art/the-hewitt-gallery-of-art.php

Admission: Free

Hours: Open when the building is open

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g60763-d32972661-r994090482-The_Hewitt_Gallery_of_Art-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

The entrance to Marymount College’s Carson Hall where the gallery is located.

I came across The Hewitt Gallery of Art when I was exploring the Upper East Side for my project, ‘MywalkinManhattan.com’ and found myself walking into the Department of Art & Art History on the Marymount Manhattan College campus.

The Hewitt Gallery on the Marymount Campus

The Hewitt Art Gallery:

The Hewitt Gallery of Art

In conjunction with the exhibitions, gallery receptions give students the opportunity to engage with professional artists, critics, collectors and curators. Many of the exhibiting artists are also guest presenters in our Art and Art History classes.

This small but unique gallery was showing the Senior Class’s Thesis Show where several members of the Senior Class were showing their final projects in the three hallways of the gallery. The students did a good job mounting their works and each was different in their own way, some pictures, some video, some painting. You got to walk through the first floor to admire the work and the best part was that the gallery was free.

The main gallery on the first floor

The student artwork in the back gallery

The Hewitt Gallery of Art, comprised of the Esplanade and the adjacent Black and White Galleries in Nugent Hall and Carson Hall, offers the Marymount Manhattan community exposure to professional artists and to the larger art world.

The Gallery is known in the New York art community as an alternative exhibition space showcasing contemporary art of emerging and mid-career artists. Innovative and challenging works of art reflecting a wide range of concerns and styles are presented in changing thematic exhibitions. Recent professional exhibitions have been ‘Altered States’, ‘Art & Politics: See it Now!’, ‘The Selfie & Others’, ‘Self-similarity in Math’, Nature and Art’ and ‘The Mind’s Eye: Sight & Insight’. The current exhibition that I visited in 2025 was “Echoing Identities” Light & Form”.

The Black and White Galleries

The Echoing Identities: Light & Sound exhibition

When I visited the Gallery in 2025, the Graduate students were exhibiting their Senior project and the show was entitled ‘Echoing Identities: Light & Form’. Each student explored their work with their own original pieces.

The entrance of the Gallery to the ‘Echoing Identities

The exhibition had many different mediums from cloth and textiles to sculpture and print. There was also a mixture of video and printed media.

The Mexican inspired works

The sign for Gray Laxton’s work

The works by artist Gray Laxton

The sign for artist Alyssa Rodriguez

The piece by artist Alyssa Rodriguez

The sign for Alice Linkh’s work and my favorite in the show ‘Alice and Compony’ based on a story that she created and a book her grandmother created for her based on the story she told her after a dream she had. I loved both the book and the art that was related to it.

The original artwork for ‘Alice and Company’:

The book Alice Linkh’s grandmother created

The book and artwork for ‘Alice and Company

I thought it was a cute story of a little girl who worked with animals to repair the moon when it was damaged. I thought it was a clever children’s dream that made an interesting story.

The room off to the side of the Gallery, the Black and White Gallery offers more contemporary works of the students.

The Black and White Gallery

The works of some of the graduating students

The sign for ‘Finding the Sun’ by artist Ethan Foley

The work ‘Finding the Sun’

One of the clothing art sculpture

The students did a great job on their final projects. Each student gave their perspective in a very original way.

History of the Museum:

The Hewitt Gallery of Art is a laboratory for and an extension of the pedagogy of the Art Department programs.

The Hewitt Gallery provides opportunities for art majors to gain first-hand experience in exhibiting their Senior Thesis projects, as well as having solo exhibitions in their spring semester. Juniors also exhibit in an annual group exhibition and students are able to curate and organize shows in conjunction with their mentors and the Gallery Director.

Americas Society Museum 680 Park Avenue New York, NY 10021

Americas Society Museum

680 Park Avenue

New York, NY 10021

(212)628-3200

https://www.as-coa.org/visual-arts/arts_americas_circle

https://www.as-coa.org/arts-culture-americas-society

Open: Wednesday-Saturday: 12:00pm-6:00pm/Closed Sunday-Tuesday
Varies with exhibitions

Admission: Free

http://www.as-coa.org/visual arts

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d548518-Reviews-Americas_Society-New_York_City_New_York.html

The Americas Society Museum at 680 Park Avenue

I came across the Americas Society Museum when walking on Park Avenue on the Upper East Side for my walking project, “MywalkinManhattan.com”. I noticed the sign for the exhibition, “The Metropolis in Latin America 1830-1930”. The exhibition was on the transformation of cities in Latin America from their traditional path starting with Spanish colonization to a more European layout that was developed between the Revolutionary and Civil Wars with the ‘Gilded Age’ thrown in as the third generation of settlers became long time citizens and became more wealthy.

They wanted to live like they were still in Europe. It showed how the cities developed over time with planning and then with extended, unintended growth that lead to the outlaying slums. Very interesting exhibition (now closed).

A exhibition at the Americas Society Museum

In the summer of 2024, the museum had an interesting exhibition on artist Alejandra Seeber. Her colorful interactive works had some of the patrons playing golf inside of the galleries. I thought her work was vibrant and exciting. She draws you in with the bright invigorating colors and on the floor pieces of carpet whose colors lead your golf balls from hole to hole as you travel the exhibition.

The museum press release on the Alejandra Seeber exhibition:

The description of the show:

(from the museum’s website):

Americas Society presents the first solo exhibition and career survey of the Argentine artist Alejandra Seeber in New York, starting June 5. Seeber (b. 1969, Buenos Aires, Argentina) is a painter who centers representations of various spaces to explore the tension between representation and abstraction in painting. Seeber utilizes bold color and gesture to examine liminal spaces within built and domestic environments. Later work veers further into abstraction, implementing visual devices like Rorschach drawings or knit grids to structure the composition.

My favorite painting in the show by Alejandra Seeber “La Bourgeoisie”

The sign of the painting

The exhibition pairs these paintings with Seeber’s contemporary explorations of the built landscape with an installation. This survey of her work is organized around a playable golf course installed inside the gallery space in which visitors will be invited to play golf as they walk through the show. The golf obstacles become active sculptures in the exhibition, creating porous boundaries between artwork and audience. This playful environment manifests the explorations of edges, doorways, windows, and borders in the artist’s painting. As they play, visitors will be able to trace Seeber’s artistic trajectory and see how her interventions in the form and practice of painting continue to this day.

The vibrance of the art with its colorful details

The interactive art in the gallery

The art golf course

History:

The Americas Society is an organization dedicated to education, debate and dialogue on the Americas and is located at 680 Park Avenue on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The Americas Society was established by David Rockefeller in 1965. The Americas Society promotes the understanding of the economic, political and social issues confronting Latin America, the Caribbean and Canada; its mission is “to increase public awareness and appreciation of the diverse cultural heritage of the Americas and the importance of the inter-American relationship.

The buildings historical past as the Percy Rivington Pyne House

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percy_Rivington_Pyne_I

The Americas Society Building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The building was previously the Percy Rivington Pyne House before serving as the Soviet Mission to the United Nations until its current usage. along with the neighboring buildings of the Queen Sofia Spanish Institute and the Italian Consulate General, the house constitutes one of the few remaining unified architectural ensembles on Park Avenue. The Center for Inter-American Relations was later to be absorbed into Americas Society 1985.

Activities:

The Americas Society organizes interviews, speeches, podcasts, exhibitions, readings and musical performances at its headquarters and reports on Congressional updates and local events. Many events are held at the Salon Simon Bolivar, an expansive room in the building’s Neo-Federal style with wide windows, a 15 foot ceiling and wood-paneled and silk fabric walls.

An Exhibition at the museum:

The Americas Society produces the MetLife Music of the Americas (concert series) to showcase the diversity of styles and genres of music in the Americas. The concert series is held at the Society’s headquarters.

The Americas Society, together with Council of the Americas, produces the publication ‘Americas Quarterly’, a policy journal for the Western Hemisphere. The Americas Society also publishes ‘Review Magazine’, which was first founded in 1968. ‘Review Magazine’ is an English language journal for literature from Latin America, the Caribbean and Canada. ‘Review Magazine’ also helped support the first English translation of “One Hundred Years of Solitude” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez as well as other translations.

The Americas Society has also organized working groups on the topics of women’s empowerment and leadership. Cuba, energy policy, immigration, trade facilitation and Venezuela.

Council of the Americas (COA)

Is the premier international business organization whose members share a common commitment to economic and social development, open markets, the rule of law and democracy throughout the Western Hemisphere. The Council’s membership consists of leading international companies representing a broad spectrum of sectors, including banking and finance, consulting services, consumer products, energy and mining, manufacturing, media, technology and transportation.

(This information was taken directly from Wiki and Americas Society publications)

Aviation Hall of Fame 400 Fred Wehran Drive Teterboro, NJ 07608

Aviation Hall of Fame

400 Fred Wehran Drive

Teterboro, NJ 07608

(201) 288-6344

http://www.njahof.org

Home

Open: Monday Closed/Tuesday-Sunday: 10:00am-4:00pm/Three Sessions Daily: 10:30 AM-Noon, 12:30 PM-2:00 PM, and 2:00 PM-3:30 PM

Admission: Adults $20.00/Seniors and Children 3-12 $15.00/Children Under 2 Free

TripAdvisor Review:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g46865-d3474448-Reviews-Aviation_Hall_of_Fame_of_New_Jersey-Teterboro_New_Jersey.html?m=19905

The Aviation Hall of Fame Museum at 400 Fred Wehran Drive

The Wright Brothers display

The Welcome display when you walk into the museum.

The Aviation Hall of Fame Museum of NJ is a very unique museum if you are interesting in everything aviation from the history of flight starting with the Wright Brothers, the World War drama and battles and the influence of the NASA and members from New Jersey who have made a difference in the department.

NASA Display featuring Montclair, NJ resident Buzz Aldrich

There is a lot of interactive displays during “Open Cockpit Days” at the museum and equipment that you can walk into and explore from planes and rescue trucks. There is even a First Class section of a TWA flight. I was impressed that the airline even had a standard of dress for the flight.

The front of the TWA Flight plane

The TWA Display of items from the ‘Golden Era’ of flying

The History of the Museum:

(from the museum website)

Founded in 1972, the Aviation Hall of Fame & Museum of New Jersey is dedicated to the preservation of the Garden State’s distinguished, two century aviation and space heritage. The men and women whose outstanding aeronautical achievements have brought world-wide recognition to the state are enshrined in the Hall of Fame.

The Aviation Hall of Fame in the main part of the first floor

The inductees in the Hall of Fame

The Kelly Brothers from West Orange, NJ

Some of the most famous inductees

The recently expanded museum offers visitors an opportunity to view historic air and space equipment and artifacts, photographs, fine art and an extensive model collection. The library has more than 4000 volumes and hundreds of aviation video tapes. The New Jersey Aviation Hall of Fame & Museum offers education programs for individuals or groups. Participants learn history and science.

The “Flying Aces” display

Our Aeronautical History Hunt is available to groups that visit the museum. By seeking the answers to historical New Jersey aviation questions, students develop problem solving, logic and communication skills. Our ‘Dare to Fly’ program, developed for children ages 7 to 15 focuses on ballooning and powered flight. Participants design, build and fly their gliders. Organize a small group and call for dates.

(Information from New Jersey’s Aviation Museums)

Museum Guide: A companion virtual tour for your electronic device is available free at http://www.njahof.org/

Welcome to the First State Aviation Hall of Fame in the Nation!

Founded in 1972, the Aviation Hall of Fame and Museum of New Jersey (AHOF-NJ) is dedicated to the preservation of the Garden State’s distinguished aviation and space heritage. The men and women whose outstanding aeronautical achievements have brought world-wide acclaim to the state are enshrined in the AHOFNJ.

The set-up of the Museum:

Raymond R. Wells Theater

The first stop on your self-guided tour is in our 60 seat theater where you will experience the saga of NJ aerospace history in our information and concise nine-minute film “Flight”.

The Naval Display in the Flight Theater

Buzz Aldrin Exhibit:

Jersey boy makes good on the first mission to the moon. The story of his life and his time with the space program

The NASA Display with Buzz Aldrin

The full display

NASA Display

Hall of Fame:

Enter the heart of our museum and meet the men and women who embody NJ’s rich heritage of flight.

The NJ Aviation Hall of Fame

Dehmel Room:

See the world’s first electronic flight simulator built by legendary Curtiss-Wright, at one time the Garden State’s biggest aerospace company. The room also contains information about barnstormers, Tuskegee Airmen, flying aces, Flying Tigers, Enola Gay, etc.

NASA Hall of Fame

New Jersey Women in Aviation display

The Curtis Wright equipment

The Great Room:

History comes alive with air and space equipment, artifacts, photographs, fine art, multimedia displays, hands-on exhibits and interactive simulators.

Exhibits are:

*The worlds first hover craft

*Women in Aviation

The Amelia Earhart display

The New Jersey Women in Aviation display

*Aircraft and rocket engines built in NJ

*International Space Station Exhibit

*Dassault Fundamentals of Flight Exhibit

*Scorpion helicopter

*Actual fragments from the ill-fated German Zeppelin, The Hindenburg

The Hindenburg disaster

The artifacts from the Hindenburg disaster

*Hot-air balloon basket

*Working jet engine

*”Touchable parachute

*Curtis-Wright display

*Rutan “Quickie” home-built experimental aircraft

*Overhead Gallery

Outdoor Displays:

The outdoor plane display

Our outdoor displays incorporate a Martin 202A airliner from the 1950’s. Bell Cobra attack helicopter that flew actual combat missions during the Vietnam War. Bell 47-one of the first practical helicopters. Coast Guard Sikorsky helicopter. Lockheed LASA-60 bush plane. Grumman OV-1A Mohawk. Walters Airport Rescue & Firefighting Vehicle. Convair 880 Jetliner Cockpit (during open cockpit weekends.)

The helicopter display

The Jeeps and planes

The TWA display

Second Floor: From the balcony, enjoy the view of The Great Room. Sit in the cockpit of our “Little Cut Up” make-believe airplane and make things move on the wings and tail.

View from the second floor

The Teterboro Airport display

The area also includes: Newark Airport Diorama, B-52 ejection seat, Richard E. Byrd Exhibit, barnstormers, model airplane collection, Peoples Express exhibit, the NJ designed “Para-Plane”, a working airport beacon and Clarence Chamberlin Exhibit.

The Jump Seat display on the second floor of the museum

Silvio Cavalier Research Library: This library contains over 3,500 volumes and videos on aviation and space history.

Gift Shop: Don’t forget to visit the gift shop, brimming with aviation related gifts, books and mementos for yourself, family and friends.

Tours-Parties: We offer group tours, birthday parties and our educational Dare-To-Fly program for young groups. Call for details.

Special Events: Four times a year we have Open Cockpit Day where you and your family can sit in the pilot seat of airplane and helicopter cockpits. In December, Santa will fly over the museum in a helicopter, then visit with the children.

The vehicle display on the first floor

The Aviation Hall of Fame and Museum of New Jersey (AHOF) reserves the right to use for promotional purposed any photograph/video taken at AHOF or any AHOF event. By visiting AHOF or participating in any AHOF event, you are permitting AHOF to use these images.

This is such a great museum for families and especially for children.

(Information from the AHOF Museum Guide)

Disclaimer: This information was taken directly from the AHOF pamphlets and I give them full credit for the information. Please call the museum for any further information.

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