New York’s Historic Inns, Restaurants, and Taverns (Globe Pequot Press, 2016) explores the history of over forty institutions throughout New York City and the Hudson Valley that are still in existence today. Travel to the tavern where George Washington hosted a farewell dinner for his officers at the close of the American Revolution. Eat steak at one of the city’s oldest steakhouses. Rest your head in one of the original houses built by Dutch colonists in the Hudson Valley. Part historical record and part travelogue, the book tells tales about the region’s most historical and storied establishments. [Read more…] about New York’s Historic Inns, Restaurants, and Taverns
Gender Transformation in Ancient Egypt Exhibit
The ancient Egyptians believed that to make rebirth possible for a deceased woman, she briefly had to turn into a man. In A Woman’s Afterlife: Gender Transformation in Ancient Egypt, the Brooklyn Museum presents new research to tell the story of gender transformation in the ancient world.
Opening on December 15, the exhibition showcases 25 works from the Museum’s celebrated Egyptian collection to explore the differences between male and female access to the afterlife. The exhibition is part of A Year of Yes: Reimagining Feminism at the Brooklyn Museum, a yearlong project celebrating a decade of feminist thinking at the Brooklyn Museum. [Read more…] about Gender Transformation in Ancient Egypt Exhibit
Christmas at Knox’s Headquarters December 10th
Tour the 1754 house of John and Catherine Ellison from 5 to 8 pm on Saturday December 10th, decorated for Christmas and staffed by Revolutionary War era costumed interpreters.
For two Christmases, John and Catherine Ellison shared their home with the officers and soldiers of the Continental Army. Over the winter of 1780-81, General Henry Knox, his wife Lucy and their children Henry and Lucy were there, while two years later it was General Horatio Gates and his military family of aides de camp who shared in the season’s festivities. [Read more…] about Christmas at Knox’s Headquarters December 10th
Ironweed 30th Anniversary Screening, Celebration
The film IRONWEED, adapted for the screen by William Kennedy from his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, will be shown on Friday, December 9, 2016 at 7 pm in Page Hall, 135 Western Avenue, on the University at Albany downtown campus. The screening is a 30th anniversary celebration of its filming in Albany. Prior to the screening at 6:30 pm Kennedy will offer film commentary and reminiscences of the film’s production. The celebration will also include raffle giveaways and a reception following the screening. [Read more…] about Ironweed 30th Anniversary Screening, Celebration
NYS Archives Student Research Awards Contest
The New York State Archives has invited students statewide to enter the 27th Annual Student Research Awards Contest. The contest is open to all New York State students in grades 4 – 12 who use historical records in their research projects.
The deadline for entries is July 1, 2017. Three awards will be presented in the fall of 2017. [Read more…] about NYS Archives Student Research Awards Contest
Johnson Hall Holiday Open House December 2nd
In conjunction with the City of Johnstown’s Colonial Stroll holiday activities, Johnson Hall State Historic Site will hold a Holiday Open House on Friday, December 2 from 6 to 8:30 pm. [Read more…] about Johnson Hall Holiday Open House December 2nd
How the Schoharie Creek Shaped History (Tuesday)
Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site will host Schoharie County Historian Ted Shuart during the last of this year’s Tuesday Talk series. Shuart will present on the historic role that the Schoharie Creek has played in NYS History with a presentation called: “How a river shaped History; the unique role of the Schoharie Creek in the settlement of upstate New York” on November 29th. [Read more…] about How the Schoharie Creek Shaped History (Tuesday)
‘City On Fire’ Novelist Garth Risk Hallberg Reading Tuesday
Garth Risk Hallberg will discuss and read from his international bestseller City on Fire (2015) at 8 pm on Tuesday, November 29 in University of Albany’s Page Hall, 135 Western Avenue in Albany.
His debut novel was named one of the best books of 2015 by The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, The Wall Street Journal, NPR, and Vogue.
City on Fire is set in New York City and spans a seven month period between New Year’s Eve 1976 through the city’s blackouts in July of 1977. The story revolves around a varied web of characters — two estranged heirs to one of the city’s great fortunes; two suburban teenagers involved in Manhattan’s punk scene; a magazine reporter; and a detective — whose lives interconnect around a shooting in Central Park. [Read more…] about ‘City On Fire’ Novelist Garth Risk Hallberg Reading Tuesday
Lansingburgh History Kicks Off Waterford Lecture Series
Michael Barrett will be opening the Waterford Historical Museum and Cultural Center Winter Lecture Series on Tuesday, December 13, 2016, 6:30 pm at the Van Schaick Island Country Club, 201 Continental Ave, Cohoes.
His lecture, entitled “Historic Lansingburgh,” details the history of the Lansingburgh area. [Read more…] about Lansingburgh History Kicks Off Waterford Lecture Series
New Book: Northern Men with Southern Loyalties
In the decade before the Civil War, Northern Democrats, although they represented antislavery and free-state constituencies, made possible the passage of such pro-slavery legislation as the Compromise of 1850 and Fugitive Slave Law of the same year, the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, and the Lecompton Constitution of 1858.
In Northern Men with Southern Loyalties: The Democratic Party and the Sectional Crisis (Cornell University Press, 2016) author Michael Todd Landis contends that a full understanding of the Civil War and its causes is impossible without a careful examination of Northern Democrats and their proslavery sentiments and activities. [Read more…] about New Book: Northern Men with Southern Loyalties