We’ve been touring different sites in Albany with #BuildingStories, layers of history behind bricks or boarded up, or personal and family histories. We’re pairing that with an interactive feature, and for that, we need your help.
Many of our virtual tours have been focused on the Dutch—a reflection on the powerful voices that shaped preservation (and with it, our shared history) in the 19th and 20th centuries. But what’s missing? What are Albany’s #BuildingStories?
Head over to our mapping project to record your favorite buildings, the personal and public stories they tell, and how they make Albany our city.
https://viewer.mapme.com/building-stories-2020
#preservationmatters #preservingthepersonal #albany #albanyny #capitaregionny #capny #getcaptivated #keepalbanyboring #nyhistory #albanydoesntsuck #518 #518lovewhereyoulive #discoveralbany
We're here with Heidi Hill, Historic Site Manager of Schuyler Mansion State Historic Site, to learn about their restoration efforts for #BuildingStories.
#BuildingStories at 48 Hudson
We’re at 48 Hudson with a #BuildingStories #virtual tour with Cara Macri, Albany’s oldest building. Cara will talk about how the building looked around the turn of the century, the 19th century that is, and give a bit of context about the neighborhood. She will also touch upon Historic Albany’s current stabilization work being done onsite.
She'll show the first floor where the construction is and have some print outs of photos and renderings.
We’re here at Crailo for the second virtual tour of Albany’s #BuildingStories
#BuildingStories Virtual Tour of Historic Cherry Hill
Launching the first of our weekly series of #BuildingStories as part of the 2020 Virtual Albany History Fair, we're taking you through some of our own spaces, highlighting some of our 19th-century stories.
One of our followers astutely recognized the way the Lafayette gloves we posted Wednesday are a lot like the “merch” you can find at concerts, plays, and even political rallies. If Catherine Van Rensselaer Bonney is to be believed, the gloves were worn at a ballast the Capitol in Albany in 1824, where everyone dressed in #lafayette apparel to celebrate the visit, making it even more like merchandise you might wear to a concert in later years, or, more accurately, like campaign shirts people wear to events. Given that these were kid-leather, or something like this silk umbrella with its incised decoration carved tusk handle are certainly higher-end kitsch. But even with that, according to an advertisement a student-scholar found, prices were negotiable. Then again, what do you do with fingerless leather gloves or a silk umbrella with Lafayette’s face on it after the ball?
#housemuseum #fromthecollection #19c #19thcentury #ephemera #materialculture #merch #hamiltonmusical #hamiltonfilm #discoveralbany
For the last 21 years, we’ve hosted the Albany History Fair at Historic Cherry Hill the first Sunday in May, and welcomed so many of you to come together and share our stories, and open our season. Missing you all and this celebration today, but preservation is built on planning and perseverance. More so in a pandemic, which is why today we aren’t together, but we are persevering.
The 2020 Albany History Fair is tentatively scheduled—in a multimedia and remote format—for July 18-19 in partnership with @thehistoricalbanyfoundation
#albany #albanyny #albanycounty #capitalregionny #capregion #discoveralbany #albanyhistory #thisplacematters #preservationmatters #preservation #historicpreservation #presrvationmonth #historymatters #historichouse #housemuseum #thisoldhouse #community #preservartionisperseverance #perseveranceinpandemic
An @us_imls listening session this past August had us thinking about “journey maps,” visuals that document and narrate project experiences. The Pilgrim’s Progress game we posted a few weeks ago is giving us a template to work from with a little tracing paper and a lot of history. Let’s see how this “restoration project” maps out...stay tuned!
Did you see the Times Union article about Mayor Kathy Sheehan's new home in Arbor Hill? Her preservation project had a little of everything--delays, surprises, new challenges, and cost overruns. Sounds familiar.
Preservation is a passion project and requires commitment, but its an effort with real community benefits. It restores a sense of place, and builds pride. Think of the alternative, with abandoned and decrepit buildings. We thank Mayor Sheehan for joining us for #GivingTuesday to help our preservation efforts. Will you join us too?
Donate here: https://www.facebook.com/donate/420889495529165/
And if you want to read more about the Mayor's preservation efforts, see the Times Union article: https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Albany-mayor-makes-Arbor-Hill-neighborhood-home-14867187.php
A quick stroll through one bay of storage last night really shows the range of collections. Anything you wish you knew more about?
HCH Paint Animation
Paint it yellow. Help Historic Cherry Hill repaint our exterior and restore the "yellow" in the "yellow house on the hill." This Giving Tuesday, we're aiming to raise $5,000 toward painting the historic house, and letting this Albany landmark shine.
Hudson River Trading Game Reviews
After students participate on-site in the Hudson River Trading Game, we have them recap their experiences. What do they have to say?
"Sailor has fever, Needs Doctor! Go to Port of New Windsor. Doctor uses leeches to bleed patient. Leave horse here to pay Doctor. Roll again.”
So goes the trip from the Port of Albany to the New York Market in the Hudson River Trading Game. Maybe there’s river ice that stops the sloop, or strong winds off Anthony’s Nose that set delays. Or maybe there’s a steady wind making up for lost time.
We’re going to be running the Hudson River Trading Game at Crailo State Historic Site on Saturday, September 14 from 11-3pm as part of their Harvest Faire and Hudson River Valley Ramble. So if you’ve been wondering exactly how it works, or if you need to see it to believe it, or you’re looking for history fun for kids of all ages, come join in!
Back to School, Back to Historic Cherry Hill
The color yellow isn't all we have in common. Historic Cherry Hill's mission is to educate. Each year we host area schools for our award-winning and engaging programs like the Hudson River Trading Game. In the spirit of the back-to-school season, help us keep our programs affordable and accessible to all students in the Capital District with a donation to our Education programs...because history isn't just in the books!
Donate today: https://www.historiccherryhill.org/donate/
Looking into the faces of the past can be haunting. Maybe it’s because on the surface, at first glance, they look so different from us... But then in a moment, the eyes staring back at us convey our common humanity…our shared experiences of love, ambition, hope, and failure that resonate across the chasm of time and culture. Rensselaer Van Rensselaer of Cherry Hill was born in 1802, the only surviving son of the prominent—but financially struggling—war hero and congressman, Solomon Van Rensselaer. As the only son, he bore the burden of the Van Rensselaer legacy, of his unmarried sisters’ financial well-being, and of passing on the family name—which he was given twice, as if to make sure it stuck. Rensselaer tried to make the most of the advantages that his birthright bestowed, following in his father’s footsteps in both politics and military exploits. But his pursuit of success and glory often led to disappointment and failure. After accompanying Ambassador (and later president) William H. Harrison to Colombia as his secretary, Rensselaer led a popular uprising against British control of Canada, The Patriot War. The would-be revolution did follow the legendary American path—but was quickly quashed. Instead of being heralded as a hero, Rensselaer served a jail term for violating neutrality laws. Although he married, Rensselaer did not even succeed in producing a Van Rensselaer heir for the Cherry Hill family line: his son—named Solomon for his grandfather—died in infancy. Rensselaer died of asphyxia in 1850, and his death was rumored to be suicide. But, in life, how did Rensselaer Van Rensselaer cope? Time and again he turned to poetry—for joy, for diversion, and to express his innermost feelings. Don’t we do that today? To hear some of Rensselaer Van Rensselaer’s poems read aloud, join us on Monday, August 12th, at 7PM for “The Past in Poetry” at the Olde English Pub & Pantry. https://www.facebook.com/events/2335827430078364/ #AlbanyPoets #ThePastInPoetry #
...aaaand the Schuyler Sisters exhibition at the Albany Institute of History & Art is open! It was great fun to visit the fantastic Historic Cherry Hill collections on loan to the exhibit and to see them in the context of their 18th-century Albany circle!
Today's the day! There's still time to join us tonight, June 24, for a garden party hosted by Trustee Emeritus Mike Beiter and David Getman at their home. Thanks to the generosity of Mike and David and many others, all proceeds go directly toward Historic Cherry Hill's preservation and programs.Start the week at this friendraiser for Historic Cherry Hill with drinks, snacks, desserts, flowers and art!
Details at https://www.historiccherryhill.org/programs/
Tickets online or in person. See you at 6PM
Join a Youth Services Librarian from Albany Public Library for stories, songs and fun! Sarah Stanwicks will be leading a story circle featuring picture books by Albany authors and illustrators and favorite Albany stories at the Albany History Fair on Sunday, May 5th.
You and the kids can also view some of the children's books that Catherine Rankin of Cherry Hill read to her children in the 1890s. There will be many other children's activities throughout the fair--come with the whole family!
Your generosity warms our heart, and helps keep the home fires burning.
If you haven't seen the peonies yet this year, this weekend may be your last chance to see them at their peak! Stop by for a visit!
The gardens are more beautiful every day! Many thanks to the amazing volunteers who cultivate this urban oasis...Thank you Mary Anne Chiarello, Linda Miller, Amy Naple, Emma Willard students, and KeyBank volunteers!
A demonstration for our Curatorial Curiosity friends--thanks, Nicolette Cook!
Last week the Manuscript Specialist forgot to post the latest edition of Curatorial Curiosities. The staff at HCH wants you to know that we take Curatorial Curiosities very seriously. Steps were taken to punish the wrongdoer as you can see in this video. The Manuscript Specialist is again in charge of the game this Friday and hopefully she has learned that failure is not an option here at Historic Cherry Hill.
Facebook fans should know how important Curatorial Curiosities is to the staff - as witnessed by this video of the Manuscript Specialist's punishment for forgetting the game last Friday. She will be in charge of the game this Friday and now she knows that failure (to remember) is not an option at HCH.
Curatorial Curiosities...in action
Curatorial Curiosities...in action
"Turning history upside down." Historic Cherry Hill tells a story of America through the lives and experiences of one Albany household. Built in 1787 for Philip and Maria Van Rensselaer, Cherry Hill was lived in until 1963 by extended family, enslaved people, descendants, and servants—who left artifacts, documents, and stories behind.
