New York City Police Museum
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| New York City Police Museum | |
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| Established | 1999 |
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| Location | 100 Old Slip, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA |
| Website | www.nycpolicemuseum.org |
The New York City Police Museum (NYCPM) celebrates the history and contributions of the 158-year history of the New York City Police Department. The museum is located in Lower Manhattan in New York City, near Wall Street and the South Street Seaport. While one of the museum's primary focuses is a memorial to September 11th,[1] the museum contains a wide range of information on the history of NYPD. The museum, which grew from a gallery housed at the Police academy opened at 26 Broadway at Bowling Green in January 2000 and re-opened in a new location at Old Slip in January 2002.
It also allows visitors to simulate a police firefight and judges whether or not the shooting was correct,[2] allowing civilians to have some understanding of situations that police face and provide them with a better understanding of the work of police officers than that provided by the media. Its exhibits are not without controversy, and city historians have accused the museum of omitting coverage of more controversial aspects of NYPD history.
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[edit] History
On February 16, 1998, plans for a police museum were unveiled when then-Police Commissioner Howard Safir and the Alliance for Downtown New York made $5million available for the museum in return for a new police substation in Lower Manhattan.[3] Funding for the museum was criticized and classified by some as the buying of police protection for a given area at the expense of another that could not afford to broker a similar deal. As a result, Mayor Giuliani cancelled the funding for the museum two days later.[4] In March of the same year, the New York City Police Museum non-profit corporation was created, and in April 1999, the museum opened, although the official unveiling was not held until January 19, 2000.[3]
[edit] Broadway Location
As of its January 2000 opening, the museum was privately run with support from the City, including more than ten years of free rent[4] and staffing by police officers.[5] Private donors provided more than $2million for the construction of the museum, while the City contributed $1 million.[4] The museum has been criticized by some who believe it glosses over some of the low moments of the department in its quest to show the good work of the Department.[4]
The new museum replaced a small gallery that had been housed in the Police Academy on East 20th Street. Among the exhibits brought to the new museum are: a display of the evolution of police uniforms since their inception in 1853, a gun used by Al Capone's gang in the 1928 murder of Frankie Yale, the first machine gun used in a gangland murder in New York,[6] and a gift from Italy to the City of New York following the assasination of Lt. Joseph Petrosino in Sicily in 1909, the only member of NYPD to be killed in the line of duty on foreign soil.[4] Other exhibits include a green and white radio car, antique firearms and a wooden desk from the 46th Precinct in The Bronx.[6]
[edit] Old Slip Location
In January 2002, the museum re-opened in a new location on Old Slip, closer to South Street Seaport. The new building, a landmarked building built in 1909, has "Police Department" carved into its facade. From 1884 to 1973 it was the home of the First Precinct, which one historian called the most important police precinct in the world.[7] That precinct closed due to a corruption scandal in 1977[8] and museum officials saw a move to this location as an opportunity to connect with the Department's history. Construction and renovation of the new space cost more than $4 million and exhibition space grew by nearly 45%[9]
Its new exhibits included a 1973 Plymouth Fury, a model of a jail cell, a timeline of transportation,[10] lock-picking tools belonging to Willie Sutton, an extensive exhibit on September 11th, that occupies the museum's third floor, a Hall of Heroes that includes the name and badge of every NYPD killed in the line of duty, starting with David Martin on August 6, 1861.[7] Although the new museum was significantly larger, it is still not comprehensive, its omissions of controversial incidents receiving the same criticism it did at its previous location.[8] The exhibit that the museum assembled for the first anniversary of the September 11 attacks allowed visitors to gain an immediate impression of the physical damage caused by the attacks and the debris that fell around Ground Zero.[11]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Verenea Dobnik (2001-12-28). New York Police Museum will Memorialize Sept. 11. San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved on 2008-06-11.
- ^ Verena Dobnik (2001-12-27). Police Museum Opens Blocks from World Trade Center site. Associated Press. Retrieved on 2008-06-11.
- ^ a b Brief History of the New York City Police Museum. New York Daily News (2001-04-22). Retrieved on 2008-06-11.
- ^ a b c d e Kevin Flynn (2000-01-23). New York's 'Finest': A Burnished History; Police Museum's Unabashed Mission Is to Back Up a Nickname. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-06-11.
- ^ Jayson Blair (2000-01-20). City Police Museum Opens Downtown. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-06-11.
- ^ a b John Marzulli (2000-01-20). Finest Show in Town. New York Daily News. Retrieved on 2008-06-11.
- ^ a b Robert F. Worth (2001-12-26). On Display, Once Again, Artifacts of Police Past. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-06-11.
- ^ a b Police Museum Opens Blocks from World Trade Center. Fox News (2001-12-26). Retrieved on 2008-06-11.
- ^ David W. Dunlap (2001-07-31). Old Station House Returns to Police Duty; Headquarters of First Precinct Until 1973 Will House the Police Museum. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-06-11.
- ^ Seth Kugel (2007-02-04). Loitering in the Halls of Justice. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-06-11.
- ^ Clem Richardson (2002-09-09). 9/11 Display Stands Out. New York Daily News. Retrieved on 2008-06-11.
[edit] External links
- New York City Police Museum is at coordinates Coordinates:
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