MCNY.org site of the museum focused solely on the history of New York
Title
Museum of the City of New York
Description
The Museum of the City of New York embraces the past, present, and future of New York City and celebrates the city’s cultural diversity. It does so through its rich collections, a lively schedule of exhibitions, and an array of programs for adults and children. The Museum is dedicated to fostering an understanding of New York’s evolution from its origins as a settlement of a few hundred Europeans, Africans, and Native Americans to its present status of one of the world’s largest and most important cities.
The Museum of the City of New York was founded in 1923. Its first home was Gracie Mansion. The Museum opened the doors of its new building at 1220 Fifth Avenue in 1932.
From the Director
The Museum of the City of New York's name says it all. With our unique mandate – to engage visitors in exploring the past, present, and future of the five boroughs of New York City and to explore the city's astonishing cultural diversity – we have the opportunity to present a wide variety of exhibitions, public programs, and publications, all investigating what gives New York its singular character. In this year alone, we have presented exhibitions on our own neighborhood of East Harlem, on the oldest community of Jews in North America, on the community-centered values of labor radicalism in the Bronx, on the glamour of "New York style," and on the rich legacy of black theater. Our city's constantly changing built environment was explored through exhibitions of photographs of the subways and through investigations of new design and new architecture. Public programs investigated everything from school reform to solutions to traffic congestion to the future of women in the New York workforce.