New York Historical Society

The New-York Historical Society is an American history museum and library located in New York City at the corner of 77th Street and Central Park West in Manhattan, founded in 1804 as New York's first museum. The New-York Historical Society presents exhibitions, public programs, and research that explore the rich history of New York and the nation. The New-York Historical Society Museum & Library has been at its present location since 1908. The granite building was designed by York & Sawyer in a classic Roman Eclectic style. Renovation of its landmark building was completed in November 2011 which makes the building more open to the public, provides space for an interactive children's museum, and accomplishes other changes to enhance access to its collections.

Louise Mirrer has been the president of the Historical Society since 2004. She was previously Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs of the City University of New York. Beginning in 2005, the museum presented a groundbreaking two-year exhibit on Slavery in New York, its largest theme exhibition in 200 years on a topic which it had never addressed before. It included an art exhibit by artists invited to use museum collections in their works.

The Society generally focuses on the developing city center on Manhattan Island, and the Long Island Historical Society was founded in 1863. It was later renamed as the Brooklyn Historical Society, located in the borough across the East River. This borough was consolidated into the "City of Greater New York" in 1898. The BHS also has materials pertaining to the greater city and its region.

The New-York Historical Society holds an extensive collection of historical artifacts, works of American art, and other materials documenting the history of the United States and New York. It presents deeply researched exhibitions on a variety of topics and periods in American history, such as George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Slavery in New York, The Hudson River School, Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, Tiffany designer Clara Driscol, and the history of the Constitution. The Historical Society also offers an extensive range of curriculum-based school programs and teacher resources, provides academic fellowships and organizes public programs for adults to foster lifelong learning and a deep appreciation of history.

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