Themes in American History

Located at the Fifth Avenue and 103^rd Street, the Museum of the City of New York is a great resource for learning the history of New York City. The museum was a three-story building (including the Ground Floor). There were different exhibitions on each floor, such as The American Style: Colonial Revival and the Modern Metropolis, Joel Grey/A New York Life, and Timescapes, covering time periods from Dutch New York to present New York. Among all the exhibitions, three of them will be discussed in this blog post—Moveable Feast: Fresh Produce and the NYC Green Cart Program, On the Move: Transportation Toys, and New York Interiors. These exhibitions introduce New York City history from different points of views—from food, to transportation and interior design, providing a more comprehensive awareness of New Yorker’s life.

In the exhibition of Moveable Feast: Fresh Produce and the NYC Green Cart Program, located on the first floor of the museum, visitors can learn about a feature of New York’s cityscape—the sidewalk food vendor. In New York City, mobile fruit and vegetable carts have long been providing fresh food for residents. NYC Green Cart Program was one of the strategies of the government, launched in 2008, to address the problem of public health issue, such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. This program licenses hundreds of mobile food carts in area where at least 12 percent of adults reported that they did not eat any fruits or vegetables on the previous day, such as Harlem, Southern Bronx, and Northern Staten Island. Further, this program also promotes business by providing loans to qualified vendors, and provides them with some help, such as education of cook. The photographs in this exhibition portray the communities, the food, and the people who bring the food and those who provide the food—the vendors. The photographs of the NYC Green Cart Program are a great opportunity to learn how these people struggle their life in the city.

On the Move: Transportation Toys introduce New York City history in a very entertaining way. This exhibition, located on the Ground Floor, depicts the history of New York City transportation by showing childhood plaything—toy vehicles, including carts, trains, ships, buses, cars, and taxis, opening a window into history. It was interesting to see how the railroads that connected New York to different markets look like, and how boats were important in carrying people and goods in and out the city. An MTA New York City Bus, which looks almost identical to today’s bus, was in fact an electric streetcar that thrived in the late 20^th century. Nicknamed “trolleys”, these electric streetcars were one of the ways that the city provides transportation for large numbers of people, powered by overhead electrical wires or electrified rail underneath the car. These electric buses can still be seen today in Europe countries such as British, or their colonies such as Hong Kong. However, it is surprising to know that there were also electric buses in New York City, which were then began to be replaced with motorized buses in 1934 by Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia.

Last, New York Interiors, an exhibition located on the second floor, introduced the interior design of houses in New York City by showing six alcoves chronologically, from Dutch New York to the 20^th century (from 1690 to 1906), reflecting the historical change took place in the city. The first alcove, The Dutch Alcove, reflected the period of 1625 to 1664. In this Dutch colony era, the interior design got inspiration from Dutch—beamed ceiling, whitewashed walls and double Dutch door. Then, in the second alcove, Cherry Street Alcove, when New York became British colony, residents began to look to London for inspiration. By the third quarter of the 18^th century, the paneling, and the 18^th century painted wallpaper were typical of the period. The third alcove, Benkard Alcove, reflected the early 19^th century, when immigrants played an important role in shaping the city. A lot of European-based classical style, especially those of French, was popular in this period, such as the round tapered fluted legs furniture. Whitney Alcove was the forth alcove that reflected the architectural elements originally from a home in Greenwich Village. In this period (1820-1830), New Yorkers sought inspiration from ancient Greece and Rome, forming a so-called American Classical Style, featured by columns and acanthus leaves. In the late 19^th century, however, American architects adapted varied architectural forms from Renaissance due to Renaissance Revival, which was reflected by Pierrepont Alcove, the fifth alcove. The design of the cornices, mirror and pier or console table was the leading furniture design in New York City in that period. Finally, in the sixth alcove, Flagler Alcove, reflecting the early 20^th century, architects drew numerous historical sources to create a brand new environment, marking New York as the center and leadership role of architecture and interior design.

Of course, other exhibitions are also great resources for learning New York City history. For example, the Timescapes, provides a 25-minute video that illustrates 400-year New York City history. It is very concise, but also is very educating. All these exhibitions, from the introduction of general New York City history to the detailed information of specific aspects—food, transportation, and interior design—make the museum an interesting, alternative textbook for New York City history.

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