Join us for an afternoon of special programming exploring 19th century New York! Hear from speakers* on topics including the Marquis de Lafayette's return to America early in the century, immigration to New York, and the Gilded Age as we join cultureNOW's IT HAPPENED HERE program to celebrate the 400th Anniversary of the founding of New York.
This program will feature a lecture by Mike Duncan, one of the foremost history podcasters in the world and the author of Hero of Two Worlds: The Marquis de Lafayette in the Age of Revolution.
In 1824-25, the Marquis de Lafayette toured the United States of America, visiting every state in the union. During that time, he saw what America had become since the War of Independence—reveling in America's accomplishments since the Revolution, but also confronting the work still left to be done.
The program will continue with a talk on 19th century immigration to New York City by Robert Snyder, Manhattan Borough Historian and professor emeritus, Rutgers University.
As late as 1835, New York was a city of 200,000 people, only 10 percent of whom were immigrants. By 1860, it was a city of 800,000, that was 47 percent foreign-born. This talk will cover how Irish and German immigrants remade the city, with transforming impacts on both politics and popular culture.
Moving into the Gilded Age, the program with also feature talks by Mosette Broderick and John Tauranac.
Mosette Broderick specializes in 19th and early 20th century American and English architecture, and has been a professor of architectural history and urban issues at New York University since 1989.
Professor Broderick wrote the history portion of the book, The Villard Houses: Life Story of a Landmark, and is also the author of Triumvirate: McKim Mead & White—Art, Architecture, Scandal and class in America’s Gilded Ages, as well as Fifth Avenue: History of America’s Street of Dreams. She has begun a study of the American beach style of the 1880’s popularly known as The Shingle Style. She is also working on the collection of works of art from a Florentine dealer of the late 19th century.
In addition to the above research Professor Broderick is the Director of the London MA Programme in Historical and Sustainable Architecture, as well as the Director of the Urban Design and Architecture Studies program.
John Tauranac writes on New York City’s social- and architectural history, he taught the subject part time for almost forty years at NYU’s School of Continuing & Professional Studies, and he designs maps.
In addition to Scoundrels, his books include Manhattan’s Little Secrets: Uncovering Mysteries in Brick and Mortar, Glass and Stone (Globe Pequot); the three editions of New York From the Air, with the great aerial photographer, Yann Arthus-Bertrand (Abrams); The Empire State Building: The Making of a Landmark (Scribner, St. Martin’s, Cornell), which was given a full-page review by Nathan Glazer in the Sunday New York Times Book Review; Elegant New York (Abbeveille), and; Essential New York (Holt, Rinehart, Winston). He lives with his wife, Jane Bevans, on Manhattan’s Upper West Side and in West Cornwall, CT.
This event will take place in-person and via Zoom.
