Tag: NYC Museum

The Studio Art Museum in Harlem 144 West 125th Street New York, NY 10027

The Studio Art Museum in Harlem

144 West 125th Street

New York, NY 10027

(212) 864-4500

https://studiomuseum.org/

http://www.studiomuseum.org

Hours: Thursday-Sunday: 12:00pm-5:00pm/Closed: Monday-Wednesday-Closed

Fee: Donation

TripAdvisor Review:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d116230-Reviews-The_Studio_Museum_in_Harlem-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

The Museum:

The Studio Museum in Harlem is the nexus for artists of African descent locally, nationally and internationally and for work that has been inspired and influenced by black culture. It is a site fro the dynamic exchange of ideas about art and society.

The Studio Museum of Harlem

History:

The Studio Museum in Harlem was founded in 1968 by a diverse group of artists, community activists and philanthropists, who envisioned a new kind of museum that not only displays artwork but also supports artists and arts education. The Museum was originally located in a rented loft at 2033 Fifth Avenue, just north of 125th Street. Renowned architect J. Max Bond Jr. led a renovation that adapted the building into a two level exhibition space with offices and space for rental tenants.

The Galleries at The Studio Museum in Harlem

In 1985, the Museum began excavation of an adjacent vacant lot at 142 West 125th Street, leased from the City of New York. Over the following two decades, the Museum, in partnership with the City, completed additional renovations to the building and lot and added additional gallery and lobby space, a theater and a flexible outdoor space. The Museum has been accredited by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) since 1987, when it became the first black or Latino institution to gain this recognition.

The Studio Museum in Harlem is internationally known for its catalytic role in promoting the works of artists of African descent. The Artist-in-Residence program was one of the Museum’s founding initiatives, and gives the Museum the “Studio” in its name. The program has supported more than one hundred emerging artists of African or Latino descent, many of whom who have gone on to establish highly regarded careers. Alumni include Chakia Booker, David Hammons, Kerry James Marshall, Julie Mehretu, Wangechi Mutu, Mickalene Thomas and Kehinde Wiley.

The Rico Gatson exhibition in 2018

The Studio Museum serves as a bridge between artists of African descent and a broad and diverse public. A wide variety of programs bring art alive for audiences of all ages-from toddlers to seniors-through talks, tours, art-making activities, performances and on and off-site educational programs. Museum exhibitions expand the personal, public and academic understanding of modern and contemporary art by artists of African descent. The Studio Museum is a leader in scholarship about artists of African descent, publishes Studio magazine twice yearly and regularity creates award-winning books, exhibition catalogs and brochures.

The Museum’s permanent collection includes nearly two thousand paintings, sculptures, watercolors, drawings, pastels, prints, photographs, mixed-media works and installations dating from the nineteenth century to the present. The Museum’s Acquisition Committee facilitates the growth of the collection through donations and purchases. Artists in the collection include Romare Bearden, Robert Colescott, Jacob Lawrence, Norman Lewis, Chris Ofili, Betye Saar, Lorna Simpson, Kara Walker and Hale Woodruff as well as many former artists in residence. The Museum also is the custodian of an extensive archive of the work of photographer James VanDerZee, the quintessential chronicler of the Harlem community from 1906 to 1983. The Museum does not have a permanent exhibition of work from its collection but frequency shows selections in temporary exhibitions.

The current exhibitions are wonderful and include:

Regarding the Figure

Rico Gatson Icons 2007-2017

Jamel Shaazz Crossing 125th

All them are compact exhibitions and you will need about two hours to see everything at the museum (See TripAdvisior review).

Public transit access:

Subway: 2 & 3 to 125th Street

Bus: M7, M60, SBS, M100, M102, BX15 buses

Website: studiomuseum.org (http://studiomuseum.org)

Folks, please don’t miss this gem of a museum in your travels to NYC in a very quickly gentrifying Harlem (See ‘MywalkinManhattan’ site for more details).

General Grant National Memorial 122nd Street and Riverside Drive New York, NY 10027

The General Grant National Memorial

122nd Street and Riverside Drive

New York, NY 10027

(212) 666-1640

https://www.nps.gov/gegr/index.htm

http://www.nps.gov/gegr

Hours: Wednesday-Sunday: 9:00am-5:00pm/Closed Monday-Tuesday/Check for tour times on site.

Fee: Donation

TripAdvisor Review:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d105812-Reviews-General_Grant_National_Memorial-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

A Grateful Nation:

The Grant Memorial was designed by architect John Duncan. Rising to an imposing 150 feet from the bluff overlooking the Hudson River, it took 12 years to build and remains the largest mausoleum in North America. Its great size was meant to express the profound admiration Americans felt for the Civil War commander and was propelled to the forefront of America’s pantheon of heroes and declared the equal of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

Spearheaded by the Grant Monument Association, some 90,000 people from around the United States and the world donated over $600,000 to construct the memorial, the largest public fundraising effort up to that time. Initial fundraising was led by Richard T. Greener, first black graduate of Harvard and a Grant supporter who credited the general with his advancement. Many African Americans contributed to the building fund.

The memorial is open from 9:00am-5:00pm daily. For information or to arrange for group visits call (212) 666-1640.

Among the most Revered of Men:

This large classically proportioned mausoleum honors the Civil War general who saved the nation from dissolution and the president who worked to usher in a new era of peace and equality for all Americans. Ulysses S. Grant, a plain-spoken unassuming man who studiously avoided pomp and ceremony had volunteered his services for the Union effort when the Civil War erupted in 1861. In doing what he considered simply his duty, he emerged after four years of fighting as one of the great military leaders in history. Aggressiveness, speed, tenacity and the ability to adjust his plans in the face of unexpected impediments all helped to bring him victory.

General Ulysses S. Grant

As great as he was in war, Grant showed magnanimity and compassion in peace. He granted humane and generous terms when General Robert E. Lee surrendered to him on April 9, 1865 at Appomattox Court House. As president he pardoned many former Confederate leaders at the same time insisting on protecting the full political equality of former slaves. He was also concerned that American Indian tribes be treated with dignity and respect. His fundamental desire for peace was reflected in his efforts to solve international disputes by arbitration rather than by threat of war. At the time of his death in 1885. Grant was universally respected by northerners and southerners alike.

Because of Grant’s status as a national hero, most Americans assumed he would be buried in Washington DC but his family preferred New York City. Grant himself had no strong preference; his only desire was for his wife, Julia to be buried next to him. The funeral on August 8, 1885 was one of the most spectacular events New York had ever seen. Buildings all over the city were draped in black. An estimated one million people crowded sidewalks, filled windows, stood on rooftops and climbed trees and telephone poles for a view of the procession, which stretched seven miles and took five hours to pass.

The resting place for General Grant and his wife

Grant’s remains were placed in a temporary vault until an appropriate memorial could be funded and built. On April 27, 1897, the 75th anniversary of Grant’s birth, thousands of people, including diplomats from 26 countries, attended the dedication ceremony for the completed memorial. The dedication parade, led by President William McKinley, was almost as large as Grant’s funeral parade. Julia Grant reviewed the ceremony sitting next to President McKinley. She was laid by her husband’s side after her death in 1902.

The Tomb of General Grant and his wife

The tomb is located in Riverside Park near Columbia University and across the street from Sakura Park, where Japanese Cherry trees are in bloom every Spring. Near the tomb is the memorial to the ‘Amicable Child’ and that should not be missed as well.

Disclaimer: This information was taken directly from the National Park Service pamphlet. This is a very interesting National Memorial and should not be missed. It is opened at certain times of the week, so please look for the posted hours. (The memorial is open from 9:00am to 5:00pm daily. For more information or to arrange for groups visits, please call (212) 666-1640).

MOCA: The Museum of Chinese in America 215 Centre Street New York, NY 10013

MOCA: The Museum of Chinese in America

215 Centre Street

New York City, NY 10013

Telephone: (855) 955-4720

Fax: (212) 619-4720

Email: infor@mocany.org

Home

https://www.mocanyc.org/visit/

Hours: Tuesday-Wednesday-11:00am-6:00pm/Thursday-11:00am-9:00pm/Saturday & Sunday-11:00am-6:00pm

Fee: General Admission $10.00/Students/Seniors/Children/Military-$7.00/Free to members and people with disabilities

TripAdvisor Review:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d136145-Reviews-Museum_of_Chinese_in_America-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

The Museum of Chinese in America engages audiences in an ongoing dialogue, in which people of all backgrounds are able to see American history and society through a critical lens, to reflect on their own experiences and to make meaningful connections between the past and the present, the global and the local, themselves and others.

MOCA began in 1980 as the New York Chinatown History Project, a community-based organization founded by scholar John Kuo Wei Tchen and community activist Charles Lai to promote knowledge and understanding of the history and contributions of Chinese Americans. Today, the MOCA is a national cultural anchor and a global destination. It is located on the border of Chinatown and SoHo in New York City in its Maya Lin-designed home that was highlighted by Architectural Digest as one of Lin’s most memorable designs.

The entrance to the museum

Permanent Exhibition:

Our core exhibition, ‘With a Single Step: Stories in the Making of America’, traces more than 160 years of milestones in Chinese American History from the earliest Chinese Immigration to the struggle for citizenship to the development of our contemporary identity.

The core exhibit revolves around the Museum’s historic sky-lit courtyard, which renowned artist and designer Maya Lin has left deliberately raw and untouched as a reminder of the past and to evoke a classic Chinese courtyard house.

The permanent collection shows immigration from the earliest days during the early 1800’s with immigrants working in the mines and on the railroads doing the back-breaking work all while dealing with the problems with racism in the country at that time.

The timeline shows the development of the early Chinatowns in major cities and the growth of industries like restaurants and laundries where they could make a living. This is where the term ‘eight-pound package’ came from with a pile of clean laundry. Even in these industries, the exhibit shows the systematic racism in these fields as well.

It was not until WWII when you saw Chinese Americans fighting for their country did you see a change of attitude, but it never seemed to last long. This ongoing theme is seen throughout the exhibition up until today.

Special Exhibitions:

Our rotating galleries showcase a revolving series of MOCA-curated and visiting exhibitions featuring contemporary art, design and historical subjects.

The first time I visited the museum, I saw an exhibition of the modern twist to the ‘Chinese Restaurant’ where the foods we eat are really Chinese American cuisine that was created when immigrants came here and had to adapt to their new homeland. Items like Chop Suey and Chow Mein were inventions of new immigrants with the items they had in their pantries.

The exhibit showed how chefs of the third generation of Americans of Chinese Descent are changing these dishes by adding modern spins to the food. The exhibit featured the chefs, their restaurants and the dishes that they were creating. They were changing the cuisine again.

The current exhibition “Responses: Asian American Voices Resisting the Tides of Racism”, deals with the Xenophobia that came with COVID and the affects that the disease and its thought that it came from Wuhan, China has trickled down to a new hate for Americans of Asian descent. This has led to a series of assaults all over the country. The exhibition shows this type of racism throughout the history of this country and the response from the community itself.

“Responses: Asian American voices Resisting the Tides of Racism” exhibition

MOCA Shop:

The MOCA Shop features select items, including books, ceramics, designs by local artists and children’s gifts.

Education:

Using inquire-driven approaches, MOCA provides museum and in-school programs on Chinese American history and culture for K-12 and college students at all levels, as well as professional development workshops for teachers. These programs complement classroom learning and foster expansive opportunities for primary source-based learning and development of 21st Century skills such as critical thinking, visual media literacy and civic engagement. They present diverse layers of the Chinese American experience, using individual stories to highlight what it has meant to be Chinese in America at different moments in time, while also exanimating America’s journey as a nation of immigrants.

Family Programs:

MOCA’s family programs bring together parents, grandparents, children and grandchildren alike to participate in fun, hands on activities celebrating Chinese American heritage and history. From our annual holiday Family Festivals to our bi-monthly MOCACREATE workshops, enjoy storytelling, drop-in arts and crafts, teaching artist demonstrations, performances and more!

Public Programs:

Through its thought-provoking and multi-disciplinary programming, MOCA’s signature public programs series offers diverse perspectives on the living history of Chinese Americans and gives visitors opportunities to actively engage in shaping and influence the Chinese American cultural landscape.

Tours:

MOCA offer dynamic educator-led tours of our exhibitions and guided walking tours of New York Chinatown for all ages, designed to encourage meaningful ties between visitors’ lives and the history, culture and diverse experiences of people of Chinese descent in the United States.

Preserve your family Legacy:

As visitors enter the Museum, they are greeted with the Journey Wall, a custom art installation created fro the main lobby of MOCA’s space by Maya Lin.

The wall is composed of bronze tiles through which Chinese Americans can honor and remember their family roots. Each tile is inscribed with an individual’s or family’s name and place of origin with their home in America. The complete wall will highlight the expansiveness of the Chinese American diaspora.

To become a permanent part of the Museum epic narrative, your family can place a tile on the Journey Wall.

For more information or to make a reservation for a tile, please contact the Development department at (855) 955-MOCA or email development@mocanyc.org. All gifts are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law.

Collections:

MOCA’s ever-expanding archives and permanent collections are comprised of more than 65,00 artifacts, letters, written records, oral histories, textiles, photographs and videos. The collections highlight the varied threads of the Chinese American diaspora, exploring how they intersect and diverge, illuminating the ways in which they are intimately interwoven within the broader multicultural fabric of the United States.

Galleries at the museum

Research services are available by appointment on weekdays at MOCA’s Collections & Research Center, located at MOCA’s original site at 70 Mulberry Street, which is housed in a historic public school building dating back to the 19th century. MOCA continues to make the museum’s resources available to researchers around the world through its Collections Online. Currently, researchers are able to search more than 10,000 item records and archival finding aids online via PastPerfect and Archives. Space.

Galleries at the museum

MOCA’s Commitment:

*Presenting relevant historical and contemporary exhibitions.

*Collecting and preserving Chinese American history.

*Transforming how our audience learn, engage and use technology to explore history, identity, culture and community.

*Creating curricula and educational programs for students and teachers and offering resources for researchers.

*Cultivating community-based projects and collecting oral histories.

*Hosting films, festivals, performances, readings, workshops and conferences on topics relevant to MOCA’s mission.

Book your group visit today! (855) 955-6622.

Visit MOCA:

Our beautiful 16,000 square foot space at 215 Centre Street is designed by artist and designer Maya Lin. It is a national home for the precious narratives of diverse Chinese American communities and strives to be a model among interactive museums. MOCA brings to life the journeys, memories and contributions of the enduring Chinese American legacy.

Support MOCA:

MOCA relies on the generosity of private individuals, corporations and foundations to fulfill its mission to preserve and present Chinese American history and culture. Funding from donations and memberships provides critical support for our collections, exhibitions, educational initiatives, public programs and operations. To learn more about supporting MOCA or to make a specific gift, please visit https://secure.mocanyc.org/donation/or contact the Development department at development@mocanyc.org.

Membership Benefits:

MOCA members see it first! Enjoy exclusive benefits, including free gallery admission, invitations to exhibition openings, opportunities to meet curators, artists and performers and discounts at the MOCA Shop, as well as at select community partners. To join or renew your membership, please visit mocanyc.org/membership or call (855) 955-6622.

Interns & Volunteers:

MOCA is always seeking dedicated individuals to assist us in our work. Please visit our website for more information.

Transportation:

N,Q,R,J,Z and 6 trains to Canal Street, M9, M15, M103 buses. The nearest parking lot is located at Centre and Hester Streets. Citi Bike station on Howard and Hester Streets.

MOCA Free First Thursdays: Free gallery admission first Thursday of each month except on major holidays. Made possible through the generosity of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and J.T. Tai & Co. Foundation.

Access & Accessibility:

MOCA is committed to making its collection, buildings, programs and services accessible to visitors of all abilities. For more information, please visit mocanyc.org/visit/accessibility.

http://www.mocanyc.org

*Disclaimer: This information is taken directly from the MOCA pamphlet. Things are subject to change by the organization so please call-in advance for any special services.

Dyckman Farmhouse Museum 4881 Broadway at 204th Street New York, New York 10034

The Dyckman Farmhouse

4881 Broadway at 204th Street

New York, NY 10034

(212) 304-9422

dyckmanfarmhouse.org

for front page

Hours:

Winter Schedule: November-April Friday and Saturday 11:00am-4:00pm

Monday-Wednesday: Groups by Appointment Only; Groups of 10 or more by appointment

Thursday-Saturday: 11:00am-4:00pm

Sunday: 11:00am-3:00pm

Fee: Donation Based

My TripAdvisor Review:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d108018-Reviews-Dyckman_Farmhouse_Museum-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=19905

The Dyckman Farmhouse during the Christmas holidays

I visited the Dyckman Farmhouse on day during my walk around the Inwood section of Manhattan and came upon this old farmhouse in the middle of the commercial district by Columbia University’s football field. You have to take the A or the 1 Subway uptown to get there but it is one of the last vestiges of the farming community that once was Manhattan in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s.

It has been there since the family donated it to the city in 1916. It should not be missed when visiting Manhattan. I wrote more about my trip there in “MywalkinManhattan.com” blog site.

The Dyckman House in the Spring

The Dyckman House, now the Dyckman Farmhouse Museum in the oldest remaining farmhouse on Manhattan Island, a remainder of New York City’s rural past. The Dutch Colonial-style farmhouse was built by William Dyckman in 1785. It was originally part of over 250 acres of farmland owned by the family. It was once the center of a thriving farm with fields and orchards of cherry, pear and apple trees. It is now located in a small park at the corner of Broadway and 204th Street in the Inwood section neighborhood of the city.

The front of the Dyckman Farmhouse

Don’t miss the self-guided tours of the house. You can tour all three floors of the house to see the bedrooms on the second and third floors and the first-floor parlor and receiving areas. The basement area has the ‘winter kitchen’ where all the cooking of the house was done, and it was the room that kept the rest of the house warm during the winter months.

The Winter Kitchen hearth for cooking meals

The Winter Kitchen

The Winter kitchen at the Dyckman Farm

The house was slightly decorated for the Christmas holidays with garland and ivy and holly to make it look more festive. The Dyckman House was built at a time after the Revolution where the excesses of the Victorian era had not taken hold and the Christmas holidays were more subdued and concentrated on going to church and a light luncheon that afternoon. The decorations of the home reflect this.

The museum is decorated for Dutch Christmas with the bounty of the holiday season

Don’t miss the gardens in both the spring and summer to see everything in full bloom. Even in the winter it is interesting to watch the paths and see what needs to be accomplished for spring planning.

It is an interesting look into how the Dutch farmers lived and worked.

History and Description

William Dyckman was the grandson of Jan Dyckman, who came to the area from Westphalia in 1661. Jan Dyckman, a shoemaker and another Dutch settler, Jan Nagel purchased much of the land between present 155th Street and the northern tip of the island. Members of the Dyckman and Nagel families lived on the land for three generations until the Revolutionary War broke out.

The house and front gardens during the summer months

During the Revolutionary War, the British occupation of Manhattan in 1776-83, the Dyckman’s, like many other patriots, fled the city and did not return until the British had been defeated. When the war ended and the Dyckman’s found their home and orchards had been destroyed, they built a new house on the Kingsbridge Road, now Broadway. They chose this location on a major thoroughfare in order to supplement their income by providing accommodations for travelers on their way to and from Manhattan.

William Dyckman, who inherited the family estate built the current house to replace the family house located on the Harlem River near the present West 210th Street, which he had build in 1748 and which was destroyed in the American Revolutionary War.

There was also 30 people living within three other houses scattered across the roughly 250 acre farm. The residents included laborers and other Dyckman family members. The main outbuildings for the farm were built close to the farmhouse including a cider mill, corn cribs, barns and stable (Dyckman Farmhouse Museum Alliance).

William died in 1787 and the property with its “commodious dwelling house,” and 250 acre farm was offered for sale. William’s son, Jacobus, took over the farmhouse and land and rebuilt the farm after the war. This took about five years. Jacobus altered and added to the house over the years. When Jacobus died in 1832, he left the bulk of the estate to his bachelor sons, Isaac and Michael and many members of the extended family moved in as well.

Following the death of Isaac in 1868, his nephew, James Frederick Smith, changed his name to Isaac Michael Dyckman and inherited much of the Dyckman property. When the subway lines reached the area in 1906, there was discussion about the impact on historic homes such as this.

In 1915, Mary Alice Dyckman Dean and Fannie Frederika Dyckman Welch, daughters of Isaac Michael Dyckman purchased the house with the plan of turning it into a museum. They fully restored it, furnished it and landscaped the grounds. They presented it to the City of New York in 1916 so that it could be used as a public park and museum (History of Dyckman Farm).

The house is designed with:

The Relic Room: Objects that are displayed were discovered from digs in the area.

The Relic Room at the Dyckman Farmhouse

The Second Floor Bedroom: Some of the rooms are decorated with furnishings dating from the 18th and 19th centuries and reflect colonial life around 1800.

The Second floor bedroom

The second floor bedroom during the second renovation of the home from a dormer to bedrooms

The second floor of the farmhouse had been a dormer when the home was at its height of the growing season and then later on in the house’s history was converted into regular bedrooms. The first floor bedroom was for the owner of the house for easier access to the farm and the outdoors during the growing season.

The First Floor Bedroom for the Master of the House:

The Bedrooms:

The downstairs bedroom

The Parlor Room:

The Parlor is where the family socialized and entertained their guests. The best pieces of furniture and family possessions would be shown off to visitors.

The Parlor:

The Dyckman Parlor:

Full view of the Parlor in the Dyckman Farmhouse

The Winter and Summer Kitchens: The farmhouse had two kitchen, the Winter and Summer kitchens, the Winter one would have kept the home warm in the cold months and would have been used as a non-cooking work space in the summer.

The Winter Kitchen:

The Summer kitchen is closed to the public has a small bedroom attached to it.

The back of the Dyckman Farmhouse with the grounds left and the old smokehouse in the distance

The Garden Area: On the half acre of family land left they have constructed a reproduction a smokehouse and outbuildings along with gardens planted with thousands of new plants that include things like bleeding hearts and foxglove.

The Hessian Military Hut recreation on the house’s property

The Hessian House recreation on the back part of the property

The gardens and smokehouse

(The Dyckman Farmhouse Museum Alliance)

The current two-story house is constructed of fieldstone, brick and white clapboard and features a gambrel roof and spring eaves. The porches typical of the Dutch Colonial style but were added in 1825. The house interior has parlors and an indoor (winter) kitchen, with floors of varying-width chestnut wood. The house outdoor smokehouse kitchen, in a small building to the south, may predate the house itself.

The Dyckman Farmhouse during the Christmas holiday season 2022

The house stayed in the family for several generations until it was sold in 1868, after which it served as a rental property for several decades. By the beginning of the 20th century, the house was in disrepair and in danger of being demolished. Two sisters of the original family and daughters of the last Dyckman child to grow up in the house, Mary Alice Dyckman Dean and Fannie Fredericka Dyckman Welch, began restoration of the farmhouse in 1915-16 under the supervision of architect Alexander M. Welch, the husband of Fannie.

They then transferred the ownership of the house to the City of New York in 1916, which opened it as a museum of Dutch and Colonial life, featuring original Dyckman family furnishings.

The Dyckman Farmhouse in Inwood during the Summer months

The farmhouse, which is not only the oldest remaining in Manhattan, but the only one in the Dutch Colonial style and the only 18th century farmhouse in the borough as well. It has New York City Landmark and a National Historic Landmark status since 1967. A major restoration of the house took place in 2003, after which it reopened to the public in the fall of 2005.

Inwood at Broadway near the Dyckman Farmhouse

*Disclaimer: This information comes from the Historic House Trust and Wikipedia and the NYC Parks System. The site is free to visit and takes less than an hour to visit. During the summer months, it is nice to visit the gardens and property. It is a interesting property to visit and when you are through with your tour, there are many nice Spanish restaurants in the area on Broadway and along 207th Avenue corridor. It is a nice place to walk around and explore.

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