Historic House Trust
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Historic House Trust of New York City was formed in 1989 as a public-private partnership with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation to preserve the historic houses located with New York City's parks.[1] The Trust works with the individual houses to restore and promote the houses as a means of educating residents and visitors about the social, economic and political history of New York City and cast urban history in a new light.[2] The Trust includes 22 historic sites, with 18 operating as museums and attracting 650,000 annual visitors.[3]
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[edit] Properties
The Historic House Trust includes properties in each of New York City's five boroughs,[4] and there is a house for every period in the City's history.[2] A number of the properties have live-in caretakers to help prevent against vandalism and other problems.[5]
[edit] The Bronx
- Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum
- Edgar Allan Poe Cottage
- Valentine-Varian House
- Van Cortlandt House Museum
[edit] Brooklyn
[edit] Manhattan
- Dyckman Farmhouse Museum
- Gracie Mansion
- The Little Red Lighthouse
- Merchant's House Museum
- Morris-Jumel Mansion
- Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre
[edit] Queens
- King Manor Museum
- Kingsland Homestead, also home to the remains of a weeping beech tree that was one of New York City's two "living landmarks"[6] and the 'matriarch' of such trees in the United States[7]
- Lewis H. Latimer House
- Queens County Farm Museum
[edit] Staten Island
[edit] History
In 1988, the City Parks department established a Historic House Office to preserve the 16 City-owned historic house-museums located in City parks. This office gave way to the Historic House Trust of New York City in 1989, funded by private donations,[8] as well as grants,[9] with the goal of each house becoming a professionally-accredited museum.[10] In an effort to increase awareness of the program during its first year of operation, the Trust developed a so-called passport program wherein visitors would receive stamps each time they visited one of the houses. If a visitor went to all 15 properties, they would receive an audience with the Mayor.[11] The Trust also holds events such as the Historic Houses Festival, during which all the houses are open with different events at each, in order to raise awareness.[8] New properties are added to the Trust when they come under city control if private care-taking or ownership has not succeeded,[12] although the contents of the home may remain under private ownership.[13]
[edit] References
- ^ Polishing the City's Gems. The New York Times (1989-06-23). Retrieved on 2008-03-15.
- ^ a b Amy Gale (2004-09-08). Houses Bring New York's Past to Life. The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved on 2008-03-15.
- ^ About Us. The Historic House Trust of New York City. Retrieved on 2008-03-15.
- ^ Houses. The Historic House Trust of New York City. Retrieved on 2008-03-15.
- ^ Lynn M. Ermann (1999-05-23). Making it Work; A Life of Housework. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-03-15.
- ^ Richard Weir (1999-01-17). Old Tree May be Benched. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-03-15.
- ^ Richard Weir (1999-03-14). Weeping Beech Will Live On in Memory, and in Art. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-03-15.
- ^ a b 15 Historic Houses Saved from Obscurity. The New York Times (1989-05-11). Retrieved on 2008-03-15.
- ^ Richard Weir (1998-06-28). Marine Park; A Farmhouse with a Future. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-03-15.
- ^ Timothy C. Forbes, Betsy Gotbaum (1991-11-10). Old Yacht Club. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-03-15.
- ^ Carol Vogel (1989-06-22). Currents; A Passport to History in Houses. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-03-15.
- ^ Richard Weir (1999-02-28). Fort Totten's Old Houses are Tottering. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-03-15.
- ^ Jim O'Grady (2003-06-22). Fresh Hope for a Modest House That Helped Nurture Freedom. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-03-15.
