Archive: 2019

 What is the ownership of a work of art? Who has the rights to build–and/or destroy–art that is deemed disruptive? Who decides what story gets told? If you were alive in the 1930s, you knew Diego Rivera’s work. Known for his communism, his short temper, and his extremely detailed depictions of social and cultural life, he is regarded as one of the best visual artists of all time, and a shaper of the Mexican mural movement. In 1932, Nelson D. Rockefeller commissioned Diego Rivera to make a giant mural for the lobby of 30 Rockefeller Center. Although Rockefeller didn’t agree with Rivera’s politics, he was an acclaimed art collector and wanted to have work from the best artists of the day. River was undeniably on that list. Rockefeller paid Rivera $21,000 (or $361,362 in 2019!) to paint a 63-foot-long mural…

How does an idea become a legacy? What makes a landmark? More than 50,000 people cross the corner of Maiden Lane and Broadway every day. New Yorkers are in constant motion, seldom pausing to look up or down or remind ourselves that we’re living history. If you pause on this corner, you’ll see a clock. The glass is scratched and faded, but it tells the correct time and more importantly, it tells a story. It’s been telling a story in that very ground for over 120 years. It took more than 2 years to design and install this sidewalk clock in 1897. William Barthman, a jewelry designer with an opulent storefront at that corner (Barthman Jewelry has since moved to Brooklyn), wanted to place a bold, alluring contraption outside his shop to attract customers. The clock was built by Frank…

Inside Out Tours was proud to welcome 16 international delegates at our office last week who were in the United States under the auspices of the Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program to study the best practices of local tour operators in the United States. These International visitors sought to learn exam strategies and…

What makes a sports legend? What is the measure of a successful career? Why isn’t Althea Gibson a household name? Althea Gibson was born in South Carolina in 1927, where her parents worked on a cotton farm as sharecroppers. When Althea was 3, the Great Depression hit and the family moved to Harlem. Their apartment was on 143rd Street between Lenox and 7th, a designated Police Athletic Area, where traffic was blocked off so children could play organized sports throughout the day. It was on this very street that Althea mastered paddle tennis, becoming the NYC women’s champion by 12. She played in the American Tennis Association tournament at age 14. She won the New York State title and went on to compete on a national level, winning 10 consecutive titles after 1946. Her massive successes drew attention from people…

Who invented Tap dancing? How is self-expression shaped and developed? When does the geographical proximity of different cultures influence art? Williams Henry Lane was born free in Rhode Island in 1825. As a child, he moved to New York’s Five Points district–today, a section of the Financial District–where a lot of Irish and African Americans lived. The Five Points bustled with performance, drinking, gambling, and dance. It was a poor area, quickly becoming a “melting pot” as immigrant groups found their way to Lower Manhattan to live and work. Lane was initially a performer in minstrel shows, a popular form of American entertainment between 1830 and 1890. In minstrel shows, white performers (usually Irish men) appeared in blackface, imitating hideous stereotypes of African-American speech, music, and dance. Usually the skits and jokes made fun of slaves, and only white people…

What makes a lasting legacy? How are stories embedded in the fabric of New York City? What happens when we remain curious about details?  In 1902, Georges Méliès imagined the moon. In one of the earliest science fiction films, a group of astronomers (an ensemble of highly-theatrical French actors) travel from earth to the moon in a rocket released from a cannon. The capsule rocket lands right in the eye of the moon, which is shown with exaggerated human-like facial features. An exciting adventure story is told in this 12-minute, silent, black-and-white film, and the stakes are high, simply due tot he artist’s ability to imagine. The Village Voice named this 1902 masterpiece on of the 20th Century’s 100 greatest films. In the early 1900s, George Méliès was praised for his innovative storytelling, his use of cutting-edge special effects, and…

What happens when protest is propelled forward by music? How do people in power silence artists who have the courage to speak against injustice? What is the cost of resistance through art?  Billie Holiday, the legendary jazz singer, challenges the injustice of lynching with her iconic rendition of the song “Strange Fruit,” the first great Civil Rights Movement protest song, but she paid a high price. Billie Holiday had a tough childhood. At 9 years old she started working as an errand-runner in a Baltimore brothel and was sexually assaulted. At the age of 10, she was sent to The House of the Good Shepherd, a Catholic reform school for “troubled” African-American girls. When she was released from The House of the Good Shepherd at age 10, Holiday moved with her mother Sadie, the only consistent support system in her…

Why are historians still debating an event that happened in 1741? What do rumors, trials, conspiracies, and fears reveal about a shifting public consciousness amongst 18th century New Yorkers? Why is The Conspiracy of 1741 particularly resonant in 2019?  Enslaved African-Americans in New York City first rebelled for their freedom in 1712, setting fires to buildings and killing 9 whites before the rebellion was violently crushed. The whites in New York City feared a second rebellion and placed severe restrictions on the enslaved population. On March 18, 1741 an enslaved man named Quaco set fire to Fort George. The Fort was a political and military center of the northeast, and the damage was significant. Over the course of the next 3 weeks–at the end of a particularly cold winter– 10 fires were to other buildings in Manhattan leading to outbreak…

What did it take to escape from slavery? How was it possible? No matter how many accounts we gather about the creativity, courage, collaboration involved in escape, we know some pieces of the puzzle will always be missing. When we encounter these stories, we must remember that there are many more that we’ll never know. Ellen and Williams Craft were enslaved in separate households in Georgia. They got married, and shared the trauma of being separated from their families at a young age. Ellen and William did not have children while enslaved, fearing that they’d be taken away. William was allowed to keep a small fraction of the wages he earned as a cabinetmaker in a shop where his owner collected the rest of the money. He and Ellen planned to leave around Christmas, coming up with an elaborate plan….

 How do the stories of buildings and people reveal secrets of the city’s history? How did New Yorkers get involved in the Underground Railroad? How is it possible that significant secrets to the history of New York hid for so long in plain sight? When you stand at the corner of Broad and Wall Street, you’re overwhelmed with iconic buildings: Federal Hall on the north side, the New York Stock Exchange across the street, Trinity Church on the west side of Broadway. It’s a vibrant intersection, rich with history. You could spend the day considering who has stood right where you’re standing. Where were they going? What were they talking about? What crises and triumphs might they have been facing? Visitors seldom stand on that corner and consider Downing’s Oyster House, a swanky restaurant that catered to New York’s elite between…