Behind The Scenes

Category Archives: General

Your Stories of World War II

At the end of WWII & NYC, there is a phone booth labeled “Talk to Us,” where visitors have been leaving their comments, questions, and personal stories of World War II. Some remember what it was like to serve, others what it was like to hide under their desks at school during air raids, but [...]

For Red-Tailed Hawks, Skyscrapers Are Just Cliffs

As we’ve mentioned before, John James Audubon often depicted the dark side of nature through birds of prey. His watercolor of two Red-Tailed Hawks shows two of the birds fighting over a fresh kill, a common sight in bird territory. However, many people assume that a bird’s habitat is a secluded forest or cliffside. Not [...]

Student Historian Jonathan Brown Meets First Lady Michelle Obama

On Monday, November 19, the New-York Historical Society was honored with the 2012 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award for its Student Historian program. Student Historian Jonathan Brown, a senior at Frederick Douglass Academy in New York City, accepted the award from First Lady Michelle Obama on behalf of the New-York Historical Society! We spoke with Jonathan [...]

Designing Beer

Some exhibitions require a very straightforward design, where the objects tell their own story. Then there are exhibitions where the objects, stories and design need to come together to tell a story greater than the sum of their parts. Beer Here: Brewing New York’s History is one such exhibition. With everything from farm equipment to [...]

Stories in Sterling: How Silver Tells New York’s History, Part 1

Sure, silver is beautiful to look at. But there’s a lot more to learn beneath that sparkle. Stories in Sterling: Four Centuries of Silver in New York uncovers the stories behind the pieces, from the humble beginnings of a slave-made spoon to the ornate trophies of a corrupt political machine. In this two-part series, we [...]