On November 11, 2011, the New-York Historical Society “reinvented” history when it unveiled a $70 million dollar transformation complete with state-of-the-art installations to connect visitors to history in more ways than ever before imagined. The 207-year-old museum joined the renaissance of cultural institutions that have recently completed full-on renovations. Treasures of New York goes behind-the-scenes for an inside look at the days leading up to the grand reopening to reveal the dramatic renovation of its landmark building on Central Park West. Viewers are invited for a tour of the museum’s latest additions including the original ceiling of Keith Haring’s Pop Shop in SoHo and to watch the New-York Historical’s staff collect “history in the making” ephemera from the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations.
Hosted and narrated by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jon Meacham, the film details the history and mission of one of the nation’s foremost research libraries and the transformation of New York’s first museum.
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- Architectural rendering of the new Central Park West entrance to the New-York Historical Society.
Credit: Platt Byard Dovell White Architects
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- Architectural rendering of the New York Rising exhibit in the new Smith Gallery at the New-York Historical Society.
Credit: Platt Byard Dovell White Architects
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- Robert H. & Clarice Smith New York gallery of American History
Courtesy of Ruder Finn
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- DiMenna Children's History Museum
Courtesy of Ruder Finn
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- A young visitor reading about history in the new Barbara K. Lipman Children’s History Library.
Courtesy of Ruder Finn
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- Young visitors at the DiMenna Children's History Museum
Courtesy of Ruder Finn
The New-York Historical contains an astounding collection of historical artifacts and art pertaining to American history, collected since its founding in 1804. Their art holdings comprise more than 1.6 million works including all 435 of John James Audubon’s extant preparatory watercolors for Birds of America. Their library contains three million books and a wide range of documents and photographs. The film interviews leaders from the New-York Historical Society, including Louise Mirrer, President and CEO, Jean W. Ashton, Executive Vice President and Director of the Library Division, and Linda S. Ferber, Vice President and Senior Art Historian, and Roger Hertog, Chairman. The program also follows conservators as they repair, digitize, and prepare the New-York Historical Society’s works for the reopening.
Highlights include the Keith Haring ceiling, the Lansing Notebooks, a collection of notes taken by John Lansing Jr. during the Constitutional Convention of 1787, and a specially-restored masterpiece, Louis Lang’s Return of the 69th Regiment, which will serve as the centerpiece of the new exhibit Making American Taste: Narrative Art for a New Democracy.
The New-York Historical Society also debuted the DiMenna Children’s History Museum and the Barbara K. Lipman Children’s History Library, which “make history matter” and fun for the young generation. The new facilities are devoted to teaching New York history through interactive and engaging stories and artifacts of children to show kids that they are part of history.
Major support for Treasures of New York: The New-York Historical Society is provided by Bernard and Irene Schwartz, Cheryl and Philip Milstein Family, and the Metropolitan Media Fund.
