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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260412T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260412T130000
DTSTAMP:20260416T063225
CREATED:20260331T175204Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260331T175531Z
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SUMMARY:“At the Tredwells’ Table” Culinary Tour
DESCRIPTION:The Merchant’s House Museum is a restored 1832 late-Federal and Greek Revival landmark on the federal\, state\, and city level. It was the first building designated in the borough of Manhattan following the passing of the Landmarks Preservation law in 1965\, and is one of only 120 interior landmarks—of those\, the Merchant’s House is one of only six residences. The Museum’s collection is comprised of over 3\,000 items belonging to the Tredwells\, the wealthy merchant-class family who lived in the home from 1835 to 1933. \nVSNY attendees will be led by a trained docent on a private 75–90 minute tour focusing on the culinary customs of mid-19th-century New York\, including favorite foods\, cooking methods\, dining etiquette\, entertaining\, parties\, even grocery shopping. \nSunday\, April 12\n11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. (Tour begins promptly at 11:00 a.m.; please be sure to arrive a few minutes early so you can be checked-in with the group. Self-guided tours are not an option for this specific subject matter.)\nMerchant’s House Museum\n29 East Fourth Street\, New York\, NY\, 10003 (Note: Due to restoration\, please enter the museum via Manuel Plaza\, 35 East Fourth Street.) \nPurchase tickets. \nRegistration due by April 10! Space is limited. \nPhotos courtesy of the Merchant’s House Museum; below: by Denis Vaslov
URL:https://vicsocny.org/calendar/at-the-tredwells-table-culinary-tour/
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260321T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260321T120000
DTSTAMP:20260416T063225
CREATED:20251230T063125Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251230T063125Z
UID:10000158-1774087200-1774094400@vicsocny.org
SUMMARY:Museum Tour and Irish Heritage at Lockwood-Mathews Mansion
DESCRIPTION:Lockwood-Mathews mansion is a National Historic Landmark and one of the earliest and most significant Second Empire Style country houses in the United States. Located in Norwalk\, Connecticut\, Lockwood-Mathews recently re-opened after being closed for a two-year renovation project. VSNY attendees have been offered a rare opportunity to visit the museum before public hours\, allowing for a more intimate experience. Trained docents will lead a 90-minute tour of the mansion\, including the upcoming Irish heritage exhibit\, which will be unveiled the week of St. Patrick’s Day. \nSaturday\, March 21\, 2026\n10:00 a.m. (Tour begins promptly; please be sure to arrive at least 10 minutes early so you can be checked-in with the group.)\nLockwood-Mathews Mansion\n295 West Ave\, Norwalk\, CT 06850 \nPurchase tickets. \nAttendees are responsible for their own transportation to and from the mansion. Ticket cost only covers entrance to Lockwood-Mathews. \nDirections: \n\nDepart Grand Central Station\, Metro-North New Haven line.\nArrive at South Norwalk. Off-peak train ride time is roughly 70 minutes.\nSouth Norwalk station to Lockwood-Mathews mansion is roughly a 1.5 mile drive. Uber and Lyft ride services are available in the area.
URL:https://vicsocny.org/calendar/museum-tour-and-irish-heritage-at-lockwood-mathews-mansion/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260219T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260219T200000
DTSTAMP:20260416T063225
CREATED:20260217T015333Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260217T015333Z
UID:10000163-1771525800-1771531200@vicsocny.org
SUMMARY:Carving History
DESCRIPTION:Join the Museum of the City of New York\, The Heckscher Museum of Art\, and the Victorian Society New York for an exploration of 19th-century sculpture and public space through the work and life of Emma Stebbins and her partner\, actor Charlotte Cushman\, centering Angel of the Waters at Bethesda Fountain as both a monumental artwork and a feminist intervention. The discussion considers Stebbins’s sculptural practice within the material\, social\, and political realities of her time while examining how her partnership with Cushman enabled alternative models of artistic and personal life. By treating Bethesda Fountain as a living site rather than a static monument\, the conversation invites reflection on figuration\, visibility\, and the ongoing challenge of making sculpture that remains emotionally and politically resonant in public space. \nThursday\, February 19\n6:30–8:00 p.m.\nThe Museum of the City of New York\n1220 Fifth Ave at 103rd St.\, New York \nPurchase tickets. \nHeather Arnet\, Executive Director & CEO\, joined The Heckscher Museum in 2022. She has a B.A. in Literary & Cultural Studies from Carnegie Mellon University and a Master of Liberal Arts in Museum Studies from Harvard University Extension School. In tandem with organizational strategic planning\, Heather has spearheaded significant expansion of bilingual Spanish-English language education programs and interpretive materials\, American Sign Language availability\, materials for the blind and partially-sighted\, and is advancing community-centric initiatives serving Huntington’s diverse populations. \nKarli Wurzelbacher\, PhD\, is Chief Curator at The Heckscher Museum of Art in Huntington\, New York\, where she has curated more than a dozen exhibitions on American art. In addition to curating Emma Stebbins: Carving Out History and editing the accompanying publication\, she has published on artists including George Grosz\, Courtney M. Leonard\, Louise Nevelson\, Joseph Stella\, and Jack Whitten. Prior to joining the Heckscher Museum\, she worked at the Baltimore Museum of Art and the Columbus Museum of Art\, Ohio. \nThis program is supported\, in part\, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
URL:https://vicsocny.org/calendar/carving-history/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260209T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260209T200000
DTSTAMP:20260416T063225
CREATED:20260107T235220Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260110T040245Z
UID:10000160-1770661800-1770667200@vicsocny.org
SUMMARY:America’s Greatest Unknown Author: Rediscovering George Templeton Strong
DESCRIPTION:Scholar Geoff Wisner will lecture on the Civil War diaries of George Templeton Strong\, which offer unique insights and first-person encounters with Abraham Lincoln\, Ulysses S. Grant\, Edwin M. Stanton\, and others—told with Strong’s wicked humor. \nBeginning in 1835\, at age 15\, George Templeton Strong started writing in his diary\, which totaled about four million words at his death in 1875. When portions were eventually published\, the work was recognized as a literary masterpiece and treasure trove for historians. Geoff Wisner\, editor of Library of America’s new George Templeton Strong: Civil War Diaries\, reveals how Strong chronicled his Civil War experience with insight and wicked humor. Strong’s diaries provide unique insights on Lincoln\, Grant\, Stanton\, and others\, on the devastating draft riots of 1863\, and on Strong’s efforts to support the Union as a founder of the US Sanitary Commission and New York’s Union League Club. \nWisner’s Strong diary edition will be available for sale and signing at the event. \nMonday\, February 9\n6:30–8:00 p.m.\nCenter at West Park\n263 W. 86th St.\, New York \nPurchase tickets. \nGeoff Wisner is an author\, editor\, and book reviewer based in New York City. His ancestors include a Swiss soldier who arrived at Governors Island in 1710; Henry Wisner\, a member of the Second Continental Congress who manufactured gunpowder for George Washington’s army; and George W. Wisner\, a reporter and editor for the New York Sun from 1833 to 1835. \n \nGeorge Templeton Strong from his diary\, 1860s \n \nGeorge Templeton Strong from his diary\, 1863 \n \nPhoto: Courtesy Geoff Wisner
URL:https://vicsocny.org/calendar/americas-greatest-unknown-author-rediscovering-george-templeton-strong/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260123T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260123T200000
DTSTAMP:20260416T063225
CREATED:20251230T062804Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251230T062804Z
UID:10000159-1769193000-1769198400@vicsocny.org
SUMMARY:Washington Irving\, the Dutch Saint Nicholas\, and the American Santa Claus
DESCRIPTION:In Knickerbocker’s History of New York\, first published on Saint Nicholas Day 1809\, Washington Irving introduced the Dutch Saint Nicholas as patron saint and folk hero\, changed his appearance\, and manipulated his character traits. This presentation will follow the Nicholas celebration from its early European origin through its arrival in New Netherland and continued observance in the United States. Irving’s adoption of the Dutch “Sinterklaas” is responsible for the survival of what was originally a transplanted regional celebration among New Yorkers of Dutch descent into the nationally cherished American Santa Claus. \nCopies of Funk’s book The Dutch World of Washington Irving will be available for sale and signing during the event. \nCo-sponsored by the Holland Society. \nFriday\, January 23\n6:30–8:00 p.m.\nSt. Paul & St. Andrew United Methodist Church\n263 West 86th Street\, New York \nPurchase tickets. \nElisabeth Paling Funk\, PhD\, recently published the book The Dutch World of Washington Irving. The books tells an alternative origin story of American literary culture. Funk explores what the young Irving would have read\, heard\, and observed during his early life and career in New York City\, once part of the former colony of New Netherland\, where he was surrounded by Dutch-speaking neighbors and relatives and Dutch literature. Born in Woerden\, the Netherlands\, Elisabeth received her PhD from Fordham University\, taught English at the university level\, and is now a translator\, editor\, and independent scholar. She lives in the Hudson Valley.
URL:https://vicsocny.org/calendar/washington-irving-the-dutch-saint-nicholas-and-the-american-santa-claus/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251210T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251210T200000
DTSTAMP:20260416T063225
CREATED:20251008T214027Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251130T171309Z
UID:10000156-1765391400-1765396800@vicsocny.org
SUMMARY:Early 1800s Music and Dance Extravaganza!
DESCRIPTION:Scholars and performers will celebrate a new book about Black and Irish competitive dancers in early-19th-century New York City. \nStony Brook University professor April Masten\, author of the new book Diamond and Juba: The Raucous World of 19th-Century Challenge Dancing (U. of Illinois Press)\, and other experts will discuss the lives of two antebellum dancers and perform works related to their careers: Irish American John Diamond (c. 1823–1857) and African American William Henry Lane (1825–c. 1852)\, known as Juba. Diamond and Juba became internationally famous as competitors in the art and sport of challenge dancing\, which was born from Black-Irish social interaction in antebellum New York’s dockside markets\, taverns\, and theaters. Promoted as a masculine art with ties to boxing\, it featured prolific gambling\, hefty purses\, and championship belts\, yet also included women competitors\, cross-dressing\, and blackface. Its practitioners’ astonishing jigs drew huge audiences across northeastern port cities\, along Mississippi Valley circus routes\, and into England’s provincial music halls. Masten’s study of Diamond and Juba’s rivalry and parallel careers offers a rare glimpse into Black and immigrant strivings in an expanding nation keen for talent yet divided by prejudice. \nThe evening’s scholars and performers\, in addition to April Masten\, will include cultural historian John Reddick; dancer\, actor\, and scholar DeWitt Fleming Jr. performing Black-Irish tap dance; legendary fiddle player Gabe Terracciano; instrumentalist and singer Hubby Jenkins playing old-time banjo; and vocalist\, musician\, and writer Christina Britton Conroy. \nMasten’s book will be available for sale and signing at the event\, which will be followed by a reception with refreshments. \nWednesday\, December 10\n6:30–8:00 pm\nMiddle Church\n50 E. 7th Street\, New York\, NY 10003 \nPurchase tickets. \nCover design by Jason R. Gabbert \n \n“Bravo Dick!_welt the flure!!_foot about!!!” From “The Hedge School\,” Designed & Etched by W. H. Brooke\, A.R.H.A.\, Dublin\, Published by Wm. Curry Jun.r & Co. Marsh\, 1830. \n \nExcerpt from Georgia Champions playbill\, Portland\, Maine\, June 18 [1845]. Box 7\, Folder-Juba\, Mins.\, Box 7 (H-K)\, Playbills-Companies\, Minstrels\, Harvard Theater Collection\, Houghton Library\, Harvard University. \n \nWilliam Sydney Mount\, Dance of the Haymakers\, 1845. Long Island Museum of American Art\, History & Carriages. \n \nDetail from Royal Vauxhall Gardens Poster\, 1848. Harvard Theatre Collection.
URL:https://vicsocny.org/calendar/early-1800s-music-and-dance-extravaganza/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251113T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251113T200000
DTSTAMP:20260416T063225
CREATED:20250922T023726Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250922T023726Z
UID:10000154-1763058600-1763064000@vicsocny.org
SUMMARY:How Boss Tweed Killed New York’s First Subway!
DESCRIPTION:In 1870\, Alfred Beach secretly built a subway under Broadway\, only to have Boss Tweed find out—and kill it. \n\n\nMatthew Algeo\, author of the new book New York’s Secret Subway: The Underground Genius of Alfred Beach and the Origins of Mass Transit (Island Press)\, will tell the incredible true story of New York’s first subway\, a giant pneumatic tube that ran 300 feet under Broadway. Built in secret because Tammany Hall would never allow it to be built otherwise\, the Beach Pneumatic Railway took the city by storm in 1870\, and remains one of America’s great feats of engineering. \nAlgeo’s book will be available for sale and signing at the event. \n\n\nThursday\, November 13\n6:30–8:00 p.m.\nSt. Paul & St. Andrew United Methodist Church\n263 West 86th Street New York\, NY 10024 \nPurchase tickets. \nMatthew Algeo is an award-winning journalist and author. He is also the host of Kansas Public Radio’s Morning Edition. Algeo has reported from four continents for NPR News and written for major publications including the Atlantic\, New York Times\, and the Washington Post. He is the author of eight books\, including Harry Truman’s Excellent Adventure: The True Story of a Great American Road Trip\, which Christopher Buckley called “utterly likable\,” and the Washington Post named one of the best books of the year. In addition to reporting and writing\, Algeo has held jobs as a convenience store clerk\, a gas station attendant\, a Halloween costume salesman\, and a proofreader. He also worked in a traveling circus as a hot dog vendor. He holds a degree in folklore from the University of Pennsylvania. \n \nA stereoscopic photograph of the Beach Pneumatic Railway\, Rockwood & Co.\, New York\, c. 1870; Credit: Photography New-York Historical Society\, Stereograph File\, PR 065\, Box 29\, PR 065-0292-002. New-York Historical Society\, 101680d \n \nAlfred Beach’s grandson\, Stanley Yale Beach\, inside the Beach Pneumatic Railway passenger car after it was discovered inside the tunnel in 1899; Credit: From the Collections of The Henry Ford \n \nThe interior of the passenger car; Credit: Public domain from Illustrated Description of the Broadway Pneumatic Underground Railway\, 1870 \n \nBeach’s patent application depicting his pneumatic railway; Credit: United States Patent and Trademark Office
URL:https://vicsocny.org/calendar/how-boss-tweed-killed-new-yorks-first-subway/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251019T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251019T130000
DTSTAMP:20260416T063225
CREATED:20251002T210430Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251002T210430Z
UID:10000155-1760871600-1760878800@vicsocny.org
SUMMARY:Walking Tour: Finding Prospect Park
DESCRIPTION:Join us for a walk through Prospect Park\, where we’ll discover lost features and why their disappearance matters. \n“Finding Prospect Park\,” a historical discovery tour sponsored by the Victorian Society New York\, will take you through the northern half of Prospect Park\, Olmsted and Vaux’s masterpiece. A brief introduction to the park’s history and design will be provided\, but the focus of the tour will be on discovering lost features and why their loss matters. Some of these features are gone without a trace; others remain only as archaeological remnants; some are largely intact but have been “lost” to the public for other reasons. We will investigate lost rustic and picturesque shelters and bridges\, the marvelous “electric fountain\,” the mysterious “Culvert Arch\,” the Park’s “Dairy\,” the “braiding of the ways\,” the still present but deteriorating Litchfield Villa\, the circular yacht\, and other sites and features of the original park. \nSunday\, October 19\n11:00 am–1:00 pm\nProspect Park\, Grand Army Plaza\, West Shelter\nGrand Army Plaza Brooklyn\, NY 11238 \nPurchase tickets. \nFor those who register\, a link and QR code will be available that will allow you to download a series of historic images to use on your cell phone or tablet during the tour. There will be a physical set of images that can be viewed as well. \nJeremy Woodoff\, is a city planner and historic preservationist. He currently serves as President of the Board of the Metropolitan Chapter of the Victorian Society in New York\, and is a board member of the Bowne House Historical Society\, the Park Slope Civic Council\, Save America’s Clocks\, and the Historic Districts Council. During his 20-year career at the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission\, Jeremy was responsible for setting up the Commission’s review procedures for work in scenic landmarks like Prospect Park and for reviewing all work proposed for the park by the Parks Department and the Prospect Park Alliance. \n \nA 19th-century view of the Vale of Cashmere\, one of the stops on our tour. \n \nA view of Litchfield Villa\, c. 1857\, architect Alexander Jackson Davis’s Italianate-style masterpiece\, now administrative offices for NYC Parks.
URL:https://vicsocny.org/calendar/walking-tour-finding-prospect-park/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251015T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251015T193000
DTSTAMP:20260416T063225
CREATED:20250822T201518Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250829T001949Z
UID:10000153-1760553000-1760556600@vicsocny.org
SUMMARY:The Queen of Bohemia Who Fought for the Poor
DESCRIPTION:Independent scholar and New York Times contributor Eve M. Kahn in conversation with scholar and podcaster Carl Raymond about her new book. \nKahn will explore her seven-year Zoe Anderson Norris book journey: the strangest coincidences\, most frustrating roadblocks\, and most heartbreaking\, luminous\, and funniest details uncovered on the trail. \nZoe Anderson Norris (1860–1914) was a Kentucky belle turned restless Kansas housewife turned lauded writer/reformer/publisher on the Lower East Side\, documenting desperate immigrant poverty in her own bimonthly magazine\, The East Side. Defying her era’s ingrained xenophobia (that echoes in our own tumultuous times)\, and sometimes reporting undercover dressed as a pauper\, Zoe (as everyone called her) raged against predatory landlords\, corrupt charity executives\, cruel Ellis Island guards\, and garbagemen ignoring trashcans spreading pestilence\, among other pernicious forces. Her motto: “To fight for the poor with my pen.” She took breaks from activism to admire Manhattan skyscrapers “flashing back the fire of the sun” and to dine at restaurants with her friends in an intentionally disorganized group that she organized\, the Ragged Edge Klub\, dedicated to “the Killing of Kare.” \nWednesday\, October 15\n6:30–7:30 pm\nSalmagundi Club\n47 5th Avenue New York\, NY 10003 \nPurchase tickets. \nThis event is hosted by Coffee House Club. Queen of Bohemia will be available for sale and signing. \nEve M. Kahn writes for The New York Times among other publications. Queen of Bohemia has been called a “compelling\, vibrant biography of a larger-than-life character [that] will appeal to anyone interested in turn-of-the-century New York and women’s history.” (Library Journal). Kahn’s 2019 book\, Forever Seeing New Beauties: The Forgotten Impressionist Mary Rogers Williams\, 1857-1907 (Wesleyan U. Press)\, won awards from groups including the Connecticut League of History Organizations. \nCarl Raymond is the creator and host of The Gilded Gentleman history podcast.
URL:https://vicsocny.org/calendar/the-queen-of-bohemia-who-fought-for-the-poor/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251014T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251014T200000
DTSTAMP:20260416T063225
CREATED:20250821T003804Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250829T002201Z
UID:10000152-1760466600-1760472000@vicsocny.org
SUMMARY:Queens: From Agricultural Hinterland to Vital Urban Corridor
DESCRIPTION:In celebration of the late Jeffrey A. Kroessler’s book Rural County\, Urban Borough: A History of Queens (Rutgers U. Press\, 2025)\, his widow\, Laura Heim\, will discuss with Eve Kahn and Frampton Tolbert the unique production process and engaging content of this first comprehensive\, scholarly\, and readable history of the great borough of Queens. \nLaura Heim\, architect and widow of author Jeffrey A. Kroessler\, will discuss with Eve Kahn\, lectures committee co-chair of the Victorian Society’s New York chapter\, and Frampton Tolbert\, Executive Director of the Historic Districts Council\, the genesis\, evolution\, production\, revelatory content\, and impact of Kroessler’s posthumously published book\, Rural County\, Urban Borough: A History of Queens. A former wetlands\, Queens today is a crowded cityscape of dense urban neighborhoods and suburban sprawl. Rural County\, Urban Borough is a history of place\, charting the rapid transformation of the Queens landscape\, identifying what drove the borough’s development\, from public infrastructure\, architecture\, and transportation to technological innovation and urban planning. The book dramatically chronicles how Queens’s relationship with the city has evolved and highlights how Queens residents\, from all backgrounds\, care for their neighborhoods and build their communities. Queens is integral to New York City and the wider world and reveals\, in its evolution\, the whole arc of American urban history. \nTuesday\, October 14\n6:30–8:00 pm\nSt. Paul & St. Andrew United Methodist Church\n263 West 86th Street New York\, NY 10024 \nThe book will be available for sale and signing at the event. \nPurchase tickets. \nLaura Heim\, FAIA LEED AP\, is an award-winning architect with a firm in historic Sunnyside Gardens\, Queens. Her firm has a particular expertise in historic preservation and adaptive reuse/renovation. She has served as the Chair of Architecture on the Steering Committee of the Sunnyside Gardens Preservation Alliance\, as president of the AIA Queens chapter\, and on the Board of Directors of AIA New York State. She was the Co-Chair of the AIANY Fellows Committee in 2023. Currently\, she is on the Board of Directors of the Historic Districts Council. She frequently collaborated on historic preservation work with her late husband\, Jeffrey Kroessler\, author of Rural County\, Urban Borough. \n \nVillage of College Point\, 1876. Courtesy of the Queens Borough Public Library\, Archives\, Borough President of Queens Photographs. \n \nSteinway and Sons Factory\, Astoria\, New York\, 1895. Courtesy of the Queens Borough Public Library\, Archives\, Illustrations Collection-Astoria. \n \nBorden Avenue\, Long Island City\, as it appeared in an Earlier Day\, Looking from the roof of the Long Island Railroad Station\, n.d. The LaGuardia and Wagner Archives\, LaGuardia Community College/The City University of New York. \n \nView of Steinway Street\, 1923. Courtesy of the Queens Borough Public Library\, Archives\, Eugene L. Armbruster Photographs.
URL:https://vicsocny.org/calendar/queens-from-agricultural-hinterland-to-vital-urban-corridor/
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250930T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250930T200000
DTSTAMP:20260416T063225
CREATED:20250813T202801Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250908T020350Z
UID:10000150-1759257000-1759262400@vicsocny.org
SUMMARY:Beyond Self-Reliance: Biography\, Recovery\, and Women’s Contributions to the American Renaissance
DESCRIPTION:Scholars Kate Culkin and Patricia Valenti will discuss the role of biography in recovering the lives and contributions of 19th-century women\, in conjunction with the publication of Culkin’s Emerson’s Daughters: Ellen Tucker Emerson\, Edith Emerson Forbes\, and Their Family Legacy. \nEllen Tucker Emerson and Edith Emerson Forbes were the daughters of Lidian Jackson and the famous philosopher and author Ralph Waldo Emerson. Culkin and Valenti will explore Culkin’s groundbreaking investigations of how\, in a culture that celebrated self-reliance\, Ellen and Edith formed a partnership that allowed them to serve as their father’s secretaries and editors and shape his posthumous image\, while they also pursued their own goals and passions. This talk will address how Culkin’s work\, along with Valenti’s on Sophia Peabody Hawthorne (writer Nathaniel Hawthorne’s wife)\, contributes to the growing understanding of women’s contributions to transcendentalism and the American Renaissance\, as well as the critical role biographies play in the recovery of influential but understudied women. Culkin’s book (University of Massachusetts Press\, 2025) will be for sale and signing at the event. \nTuesday\, September 30\n6:30–8:00 pm\nSt. Paul and St. Andrew United Methodist Church\n263 West 86th Street New York\, NY 10024 \nPurchase tickets. \nKate Culkin\, Ph.D.\, is Professor of History at Bronx Community College and on the faculty of the Biography and Memoir MA program at the CUNY Graduate Center. She is the author of Harriet Hosmer: A Cultural Biography and Emerson’s Daughters: Ellen Tucker Emerson\, Edith Emerson Forbes\, and the Emerson Legacy and was an associate editor of The Harriet Jacobs Family Papers. \nPatricia Dunlavy Valenti is Professor Emerita in English at the University of North Carolina Pembroke. An award-winning teacher who held visiting professorships at the US Military Academy and the US Air Force Academy\, she is the author of five books and numerous articles on American literature and biography. Her two-volume Sophia Peabody Hawthorne\, A Life will be re-issued by Louisiana University Press in 2026. \nThe images are from the William Munroe Special Collections\, Concord Free Public Library. \n \nA sketch of Ellen and Edith Emerson by Caroline Hildrith\, c. 1847 \n \nEllen Emerson leads Edith Emerson on Gloriosa\, Ellen’s donkey\, c. 1870s \n  \n \nFamily portrait of the Emersons\, 1879
URL:https://vicsocny.org/calendar/beyond-self-reliance-biography-recovery-and-womens-contributions-to-the-american-renaissance/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250917T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250917T200000
DTSTAMP:20260416T063225
CREATED:20250814T035147Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250829T002051Z
UID:10000151-1758133800-1758139200@vicsocny.org
SUMMARY:A (Nearly) Unknown 20th-Century Preservation Hero: Albert Sprague Bard\, a Servant of Beauty
DESCRIPTION:In Conversation with Anthony C. Wood and Robert Jaeger on Wood’s new book Servant of Beauty: Landmarks\, Secret Love and the Uniminaged Life of an Unsung New York Hero \nAnthony Wood\, award-winning preservationist and author of Servant of Beauty: Landmarks\, Secret Love and the Unimagined Life of an Unsung New York Hero (Bloomsbury\, 2025)\, and Robert Jaeger\, preservationist\, co-founder of Partners for Sacred Places and author of Sacred Places at Risk\, will discuss Wood’s new book and preservation battles in 20th-century New York City. They will focus especially on the life and work of unknown civic activist and preservationist\, Albert Sprague Bard\, whose story is told for first time in Servant of Beauty. \nWednesday\, September 17\n6:30–8:00 pm\nSt. Paul and St. Andrew United Methodist Church\n263 West 86th Street New York\, NY 10024 \nPurchase tickets. \nAnthony C. Wood is a nationally recognized preservationist who has worked for\, founded\, served on the board of\, and chaired multiple New York preservation organizations including Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts\, the Preservation League of New York State\, and Partners for Sacred Places; winning awards such as the 2020 New York Landmarks Conservancy’s Lucy G. Moses Award for Preservation Leadership. Wood has served as an adjunct faculty member at Columbia University and founded the non-profit New York Preservation Archive Project whose mission is to document\, preserve\, and celebrate the history of preservation in New York. He is also the author of Preserving New York: Winning the Right to Protect a City’s Landmarks (Routledge\, 2008). \n \nAlbert Bard; Courtesy of Chi Psi Fraternity \n \nAnthony C. Wood; Photo: Eric Vitale Photography
URL:https://vicsocny.org/calendar/a-nearly-unknown-20th-century-preservation-hero-albert-sprague-bard-a-servant-of-beauty/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250906T090000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250906T150000
DTSTAMP:20260416T063225
CREATED:20250802T025229Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250802T202124Z
UID:10000149-1757149200-1757170800@vicsocny.org
SUMMARY:"Alexander Jackson Davis: Designer of Dreams" at Lyndhurst
DESCRIPTION:Tour the exhibition Alexander Jackson Davis: Designer of Dreams with the Director of Lyndhurst and enjoy a private tea in the Carriage House! \nLyndhurst is a National Historic Landmark located on the banks of the Hudson River in Tarrytown and is considered the masterpiece of architect Alexander Jackson Davis. Our private tour of the mansion will be led by Lyndhurst staff\, along with executive director\, Howard Zar\, who will join us for the Designer of Dreams exhibit\, which explores Davis’s career as an architect and furniture designer. Upon the tour’s conclusion\, we will have an exclusively catered afternoon tea in the Lyndhurst Carriage House\, which includes sandwiches\, scones with cream and jam\, mini desserts\, and tea. \nPurchase tickets. \n \n \nMeeting Location: Northwest corner of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue.\nDeparture Time: Bus leaves promptly at 9:00 a.m.\, please be sure to arrive at least 10 minutes early.\nTicket Price: $175 per person for current members; $200 for new and renewing members\, which includes a membership at the $40/$50 level for $25—at a discount! (Please be in touch if you wish to join or renew at a higher level\, or if you need to check on your membership level\, status\, or renewal dates: membership@vicsocny.org.) \nPhotographs: Bruce M. White
URL:https://vicsocny.org/calendar/alexander-jackson-davis-designer-of-dreams-at-lyndhurst/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250714T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250714T191500
DTSTAMP:20260416T063225
CREATED:20250627T234157Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250628T222347Z
UID:10000148-1752516000-1752520500@vicsocny.org
SUMMARY:How French Flats Changed the Way We Live
DESCRIPTION:Join us this Bastille Day for a fun and enlightening talk about “French Flats\,” which first began to appear in New York not long after the Civil War\, and by the end of the 19th century had completely changed the way New Yorkers lived. \nUntil the late 19th century\, no New Yorker of means lived in what we would now call an apartment\, other than as a temporary measure. Private homes were the only appropriate place of residence for those well off enough to choose where and how they lived. But a new concept slowly entered bloodstream of our city\, very consciously pegged to Parisian models\, as an acceptable and later even a desirable way for middle- and upper-class New Yorkers to live. By the beginning of the 20th century\, apartment living had become the height of chicness in New York\, and no longer needed to allude to European models to achieve a veneer of respectability and acceptance. \nWe’ll take a look at how and why this revolution in housing took place in our city\, examining the very first examples\, and then honing in on how\, where\, and why French Flats spread throughout Greenwich Village and the East Village. While many of these groundbreaking first-generation early models of affluent apartment living are long gone\, a surprising number survive all around us in our midst. While a few may be obvious to spot\, many more hide in plain sight\, providing only the faintest of clues to their original function and profound significance. \nZoom Webinar\nPre-registration required\nFree \nRegister here. \nThis event is co-sponsored by Village Preservation. \n \nLecturers: \nAndrew Berman has been Executive Director of Village Preservation since 2002. Andrew is an architectural historian and lifelong New Yorker who worked on development and preservation issues in Greenwich Village\, Lower Manhattan\, and the West Side for more than three decades. \nDena Tasse-Winter is a historic preservationist\, writer\, and Village Preservation’s own Director of Research and Preservation. A native New Yorker and Greenwich Village resident\, she holds an MA in Historic Preservation and Cultural Heritage Management from the University of York\, U.K.\, and a BA in Music History from the University of Rochester.
URL:https://vicsocny.org/calendar/how-french-flats-changed-the-way-we-live/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250614T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250614T143000
DTSTAMP:20260416T063225
CREATED:20250404T033422Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250404T033422Z
UID:10000147-1749906000-1749911400@vicsocny.org
SUMMARY:A Walking Tour of the Mansions and Monuments of Riverside Drive
DESCRIPTION:Join popular tour guide Stephanie Azzarone for a fascinating tour of Riverside Drive—best known for elegance and quiet. But behind its serene facades lie secrets\, from intriguing architectural details to headline-making tales. This in-person tour will take a close look at the avenue’s most notable buildings—many of them built around the turn of the century—and reveal design delights and scandalous stories alike. We’ll discuss the sad fate of America’s first supermodel\, see the mansion where William Randoph Hearst ensconced his paramour\, Marion Davies\, visit the Drive’s tallest apartment building and its only privately owned freestanding villa—among other eye-catching sites. Along with sharing the history of how Riverside Drive came to be\, the tour will identify the famous architects responsible for the look of this lovely boulevard and unveil some of its most impressive\, designated landmarks. \nPurchase tickets \nTop image: Postcard\, Riverside Park and Drive\, New York\, 1905; The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art\, Prints and Photographs: Picture Collection\, The New York Public Library.
URL:https://vicsocny.org/calendar/a-walking-tour-of-the-mansions-and-monuments-of-riverside-drive/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250609T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250609T200000
DTSTAMP:20260416T063225
CREATED:20250327T163733Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250401T232358Z
UID:10000144-1749492000-1749499200@vicsocny.org
SUMMARY:Spring Benefit: Victorian Splendor in a Brooklyn Brownstone
DESCRIPTION:Join the Metropolitan Chapter of the Victorian Society in America (Victorian Society New York) for its annual Margot Gayle Fundraiser! \nThis year we will enjoy a private tour of an exceptional Brooklyn brownstone. Built in 1862 in the affluent neighborhood of Fort Greene\, bordering downtown Brooklyn\, it was designed as an upper-class residence featuring large rooms outlined with intricate molding and woodwork\, tiled and marble mantles\, and ornate stained glass. As the neighborhood fell into decline\, the home fortunately was never divided into apartments. It has been in the care of its current owner since 1971\, when he began restoring it. Now faithfully returned to its nineteenth-century opulence\, the house teems with a museum-quality collection of furniture\, textiles\, lighting\, sculptures\, and paintings. \nThe Margot Gayle Fundraiser enables the Metropolitan Chapter to contribute monetary grants from the Margot Gayle Fund for the Preservation of Victorian Heritage in support of projects relating to the preservation\, conservation\, and scholarly exploration of Victorian material culture in the New York Metropolitan area. The Margot Gayle Fund for the Preservation of Victorian Heritage was established in 2003 to honor Margot Gayle (1908–2008)\, an eminent preservationist who was one of the founders of the Victorian Society in America. \nPurchase tickets \nTop photograph: Residence Dining Room © Bruce M. White 2025 \nNapoli Residence First Floor Parlor © Bruce M. White 2025 \nNapoli Residence First Floor Stair Hall © Bruce M. White 2025 \nNapoli Residence Library © Bruce M. White 2025
URL:https://vicsocny.org/calendar/spring-benefit-victorian-splendor-in-a-brooklyn-brownstone/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250607T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250607T153000
DTSTAMP:20260416T063225
CREATED:20250327T162135Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250327T162135Z
UID:10000145-1749304800-1749310200@vicsocny.org
SUMMARY:Book Talk: Under-Sung Monument Sculptor Evelyn Beatrice Longman (1874–1954)
DESCRIPTION:Pat Hoerth Batchelder\, author of the new book Evelyn Beatrice Longman\, The Woman Who Sculpted Golden Boy\, Thomas Edison\, and Other Monuments\, has mined long-forgotten archives to explore how Longman arose from Midwestern poverty to portray luminaries and allegorical figures in stone and bronze for public and private spaces nationwide. Longman navigated an art world where hardly any other women hammered at marble blocks and created works that topped skyscrapers. Hoerth will be in conversation with Dana Pilson\, Curatorial Researcher & Collections Coordinator\, Chesterwood National Historic Trust Site and Museum\, and the panel will be moderated by Eve Kahn\, journalist\, independent scholar\, and New York Times contributor. Hoerth’s book will be available for sale and signing at the event. \nRegister \nTop photograph: Sculptor Evelyn Beatrice Longman\, 1921\, Arts & Decoration\, November 1921; Credit: Keystone View Co. \nMemorial plaque for John Ansley Storey\, sculpted by Evelyn B. Longman\, 1905\, located in the Lowell Cemetery\, Lowell\, Massachusetts; Credit: Marty Aligata via CC 4.0 \nSpanish-American War Memorial titled “Spirit of Victory” by Evelyn B. Longman\, 1926\, located in Bushnell Park\, Hartford\, Connecticut; Credit: Marty Aligata via CC 4.0
URL:https://vicsocny.org/calendar/book-talk-under-sung-monument-sculptor-evelyn-beatrice-longman-1874-1954/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250528T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250528T203000
DTSTAMP:20260416T063225
CREATED:20250401T232039Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250401T232039Z
UID:10000146-1748458800-1748464200@vicsocny.org
SUMMARY:Metropolitan Chapter of the Victorian Society 58th Annual Meeting
DESCRIPTION:All are welcome at our annual meeting\, awards showcase\, and reception! \nCurrent members\, new members\, and guests are invited to join us at our Annual Meeting\, where we will vote in new board members\, showcase this year’s award winners\, and hear our reports for 2024-25. \nCelebratory reception to follow on a 36th floor’s outdoor terrace (weather permitting) with libations\, hors d’oeuvres\, and (of course) general merriment. \nThe Kips Bay / Murray Hill location will be sent upon reservation as the building requires a list of attendees. \nWe so look forward to seeing you there! \nGet tickets
URL:https://vicsocny.org/calendar/metropolitan-chapter-of-the-victorian-society-58th-annual-meeting/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250513T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250513T200000
DTSTAMP:20260416T063225
CREATED:20250401T231407Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250401T231407Z
UID:10000142-1747161000-1747166400@vicsocny.org
SUMMARY:Emerging Scholars: Cliff Dwellers’ Portrayals & Furniture on the Move
DESCRIPTION:The Victorian Society New York’s 2025 Emerging Scholars winners will shed light on little-known yet influential aspects of Gilded Age history\, literature\, international trade\, and design. \nCenter at West Park\n165 West 86th Street\nNew York\, NY 10024 \nRegister \nSarah Egan\, a graduate student at the Bard Graduate Center\, will discuss Illinois education advocate Clara Kern Bayliss (1848–1948) who authored early 1900s children’s books about Lolami\, a fictional “Little Cliff Dweller” in Arizona. In the books\, Lolami becomes orphaned\, explores abandoned cliff settlements\, and then becomes ingratiated with another local indigenous group\, the Hopi. Egan will look at Bayliss’s archaeological and historical sources\, including displays at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair\, and the books’ classroom uses that shaped children’s thinking about American history and Americanness and reflected and transmitted harmful and reductive racial and social hierarchies. \nTop photograph: Edition of Clara Bayliss book about Cliff Dwellers. Library of Congress. \n“Cliff Dwellers at 1893 World’s Fair\, The Columbian Exposition\, Chicago.” Photograph in Glimpses of the World’s Fair: A Selection of Gems of the White City Seen Through a Camera. Chicago: Laird & Lee\, 1893. Northern Illinois University\, courtesy Sarah Egan. \nEdition of Clara Bayliss book about Cliff Dwellers. Library of Congress. \nSteven Baltsas\, a graduate student in the Winterthur Program in American Material Culture\, University of Delaware\, will explore how\, in the mid-19th century\, Alexander Roux and his brother Frédéric organized a transnational furniture enterprise between New York and Paris. The brothers catered to cosmopolitan customers via networks of manufactories\, retailers\, and display rooms. \nAlexander and Frédéric Roux (retailers)\, cabinet in mahogany\, brass\, gilt bronze mounts\, ca. 1855. Credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. \nDetail of head on rosewood library table carved by worker for Alexander Roux\, ca. 1858–60\, in New York. Heidelberg Hall Collection\, PA.
URL:https://vicsocny.org/calendar/emerging-scholars-cliff-dwellers-portrayals-furniture-on-the-move/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250324T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250324T190000
DTSTAMP:20260416T063225
CREATED:20250306T022033Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250306T022033Z
UID:10000143-1742839200-1742842800@vicsocny.org
SUMMARY:2025 Mayoral Candidates Forum with Preservation Organizations
DESCRIPTION:Please join the Victorian Society of New York as we co-sponsor a mayoral candidates’ forum hosted by Village Preservation. The forum will focus on historic preservation and development issues and will be held via Zoom on March 24 at 6:00 PM. Registration is free and is required to attend. \nRegister
URL:https://vicsocny.org/calendar/2025-mayoral-candidates-forum-with-preservation-organizations/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250319T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250319T200000
DTSTAMP:20260416T063225
CREATED:20250126T175924Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250126T175924Z
UID:10000141-1742409000-1742414400@vicsocny.org
SUMMARY:Amelia Bloomer: So Much More than Bloomers
DESCRIPTION:Scholar Sara Catterall will discuss her new biography of the oft-misinterpreted activist Amelia Bloomer.\nAmelia Bloomer (1818–1894) is best known now for the garments that bear her name. But rational dress was “but an incident” in her life and career\, and the last thing she wanted to be remembered for. From a village childhood and minimal education in Central New York\, Bloomer became a key figure in the temperance and women’s rights movements. She was publisher and editor of The Lily\, the U.S.’s first newspaper by and for women\, which became a vital information hub and source of community for progressive women. She introduced her friends and collaborators Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton\, held a groundbreaking position as deputy postmaster of Seneca Falls\, and\, despite scandal and chronic illness\, she continued to speak\, organize\, write\, and travel East to participate in national meetings after her move to the frontier town of Council Bluffs\, Iowa. \nSara Catterall’s new book\, Amelia Bloomer: Journalist\, Suffragist\, Anti-Fashion Icon (Belt Publishing)\, is the first fully researched biography of Bloomer since one published in 1895 by her widower Dexter Bloomer. At this illustrated talk\, Catterall’s book will be available for purchase and signing. A starred review in Booklist called it “A timely and exhaustively researched biography . . . that resonate[s]\, given our current political climate.” \nThe Center at West Park\n165 West 86th Street\nNew York\, NY 10024 \nPurchase tickets\n \nCatterall is a writer with a Drama degree from NYU and an MLIS from Syracuse University. She was born in Ankara and grew up in South Minneapolis. She has worked as a librarian at Cornell University\, a reviewer and interviewer for Shelf Awareness\, and a book indexer. Her work has been published in the NEH’s Humanities magazine and The Sun magazine\, and she co-authored Ottoman Dress and Design in the West: A Visual History of Cultural Exchange. She lives with her family near Ithaca\, NY. \n📷 “The Bloomer Costume\,” N. Currier (New York)\, 1851; The Library of Congress \n📷 Courtesy of the author
URL:https://vicsocny.org/calendar/amelia-bloomer-so-much-more-than-bloomers/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250205T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250205T200000
DTSTAMP:20260416T063225
CREATED:20250116T035333Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250116T040544Z
UID:10000140-1738778400-1738785600@vicsocny.org
SUMMARY:Newport and Stained Glass: La Farge\, Tiffany and More
DESCRIPTION:A presentation by Richard Guy Wilson\, Ph.D.\, Professor Emeritus of Architectural History at University of Virginia and Director of the Newport Summer School\nA major American design creation in the later 19th century was the stained glass window. The work of John La Farge and Louis Comfort Tiffany pioneered opalescent stained glass but there were other types that appeared in houses\, churches and public buildings. This talk will examine some of these windows in Newport and elsewhere\, some of which is seen in the Victorian Society Summer School. \nThe event will include remarks about the Victorian Society Summer Schools in Newport\, Chicago\, and London\, which first started back in 1974\, and include brief presentations by recent program graduates. There will be a reception following the presentations. \nDraesel Hall of the Church of the Holy Trinity\n316 E 88th Street\nNew York\, NY 10128 \nRegister here\n \nThe event is cosponsored by the Alumni Association of the Victorian Society Summer Schools\, the Victorian Society in America\, the Victorian Society New York\, the Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts\, and the New York Landmarks Conservancy. \n📷 John La Farge\, “Trompe L’Oeil” window 1882–84; Photo courtesy of Richard Guy Wilson \n📷 Richard Guy Wilson; Photo courtesy of Richard Guy Wilson
URL:https://vicsocny.org/calendar/newport-and-stained-glass-la-farge-tiffany-and-more/
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241112T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241112T190000
DTSTAMP:20260416T063225
CREATED:20241008T110029Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240927T164224Z
UID:10000139-1731438000-1731438000@vicsocny.org
SUMMARY:Fall Benefit with Bob Shaw\, Production Designer of "The Gilded Age"
DESCRIPTION:Keeping It Real:\nHow Bob Shaw\, Production Designer of “The Gilded Age\,” Resurrects Nineteenth-Century New York\n  \nPark Avenue Armory \n643 Park Avenue \nNew York\, NY 10065 \n$50.00 members (plus fees)* \n$70.00 general public (plus fees) \n$30 live stream (plus fees) \nTickets Here!!\nFrom the opulent mansions of Fifth Avenue to the original interiors of Brooklyn’s brownstones\, HBO’s “The Gilded Age” has brought to life a New York City lost to the demands of progress\, changing tastes\, and the march of time. Join us for a special evening with Bob Shaw\, the show’s Emmy-winning production designer\, to learn how he balances historical accuracy against creative license\, the penchants of a modern audience\, and the realities on the ground to resurrect nineteenth-century Gilded Age New York City. \nThe talk will take place in the Veterans Room and Library of the Park Avenue Armory. Designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany and Stanford White and completed in 1881\, these historic interiors are among the few remaining American Aesthetic Movement spaces and the only fully extant interiors created by Tiffany’s cooperative design firm\, Associated Artists. \nReception to follow. \nAll proceeds benefit the preservation efforts of the New York Metropolitan Chapter of the Victorian Society in America. \nBob Shaw’s work as a production designer includes Martin’s Scorsese’s film “The Irishman\,” for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Production Design\, and the television shows “The Sopranos\,” “Mad Men\,” and “Boardwalk Empire\,” for which he received Emmy nominations\, winning for the latter two. \n*Members must use the presale code sent via e-mail to access the members discount. \n \n \n📷 Alison Cohen Rosa/HBO \n📷 Alison Cohen Rosa/HBO \n📷 Barbara Nitke/HBO
URL:https://vicsocny.org/calendar/fall-benefit-with-bob-shaw-production-designer-of-the-gilded-age/
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20241016T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20241016T200000
DTSTAMP:20260416T063225
CREATED:20240915T220800Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240915T220800Z
UID:10000138-1729103400-1729108800@vicsocny.org
SUMMARY:Rediscovering Architect-Trailblazer E. G. W. Dietrich
DESCRIPTION:Rediscovering Architect-Trailblazer E. G. W. Dietrich\n  \nThe Center at West Park \n165 West 86th Street \nNew York\, NY 10024 \n$7.18 members / $12.51 general public \nTickets Here!!\nErnest George Washington Dietrich\, AIA (1857–1924) is one of the most prolific yet least studied architects of his generation. A native of Pittsburgh\, Pennsylvania\, Dietrich first attracted attention in the 1880s for his eye-catching designs of Shingle Style country residences. Finding success on the East Coast\, he relocated to New York\, New York\, where he practiced for nearly 40 years. He was an early proponent of the Colonial Revival and Arts and Crafts styles. Through his collaboration with tastemaker Gustav Stickley\, Dietrich is recognized as designing the first Craftsman house published in Stickley’s magazine The Craftsman in May 1903. \nIndependent scholar Christopher Jend will give a lavishly illustrated talk about Dietrich’s career with a focus on projects in and around New York City. Jend discovered Dietrich while researching and writing the successful National Register nomination of the c. 1893 John Mollenhauer House in Bay Shore\, New York. For the last twelve years\, Jend’s rigorous and enthusiastic research of the architect has resulted in the documentation of more than 450 of Dietrich’s designs and visits to his built projects in six states. Jend has presented his research on Dietrich to communities in New York\, Connecticut\, and Pennsylvania. \n \n📷 Flyer\, courtesy of Christopher Jend \n📷 Author photograph by Lori Savaree \n📷 Louise E. Wisner House in Warwick\, New York\, designed by architect E. G. W. Dietrich and built circa 1884
URL:https://vicsocny.org/calendar/rediscovering-architect-trailblazer-e-g-w-dietrich/
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240918T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240918T200000
DTSTAMP:20260416T063225
CREATED:20240803T145448Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240803T145616Z
UID:10000137-1726684200-1726689600@vicsocny.org
SUMMARY:Women\, Egyptology\, and Gilded Age New York
DESCRIPTION:Women\, Egyptology\, and Gilded Age New York\n  \nThe Center at West Park \n165 West 86th Street \nNew York\, NY 10024 \nTickets Here!!\nWomen built American Egyptology. When Britons Amelia Edwards and Kate Bradbury arrived in New York in November of 1889\, the first thing they saw was a still-copper-hued Statue of Liberty. They had arrived for a five-month whirlwind lecture tour\, hoping to fan America’s spark of Egyptological interest into flames. Their plan worked. The women toured Egyptology collections\, including at the New-York Historical Society and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Over the next 25 years\, American women took up the mantle\, building and curating these collections in New York. \nOn September 18\, from 6:30 to 8:00 pm\, Dr. Kathleen Sheppard (@kathleensheppardwrites)\, author of the new book Women in the Valley of the Kings: The Untold Story of Women Egyptologists in the Gilded Age (St. Martin’s Press)\, will take attendees on a tour of New York between 1889 and 1916\, shedding light on some of the city’s oldest Egyptological sights. Dr. Sheppard will be signing copies of the new book. Dr. Sheppard\, a Professor in the History and Political Science department at Missouri S&T in Rolla\, Missouri\, has dedicated her career to telling the stories of women in Egyptology. She earned her MA in Egyptian Archaeology at University College London in 2002\, and her PhD in History of Science from the University of Oklahoma in 2010. Her 2013 book was a scientific biography of the archaeologist and Egyptologist Margaret Alice Murray (2013). Her 2022 book\, Tea on the Terrace: Hotels and Egyptologists’ Social Networks\, 1885–1925\, investigated how Egyptologists traveled and worked their ways through Egypt. \n📷 Sphinx – Boston Public Library / William Vaughn Tupper \n📷 Author and Book cover – Courtesy of Dr. Kathleen Sheppard and St. Martin’s Publishing Group \n📷 Egyptologist Amelia B. Edwards – Heath Trust Digital Library / University of Wisconsin – Madison;
URL:https://vicsocny.org/calendar/women-egyptology-and-gilded-age-new-york/
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240605T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240605T200000
DTSTAMP:20260416T063225
CREATED:20240428T174002Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240510T142744Z
UID:10000135-1717612200-1717617600@vicsocny.org
SUMMARY:57th Annual Meeting
DESCRIPTION:The Metropolitan Chapter of the Victorian Society in America\n57th Annual Meeting\n  \nRutgers Presbyterian Church \n236 West 73rd Street \nNew York\, NY 10023 \nTickets Here!!\nAll are welcome at Our Annual Meeting\, Awards Showcase\, and Reception! \nCurrent members\, new members\, and guests are invited to join us at the historic Rutgers Presbyterian Church on the Upper West Side\, where we will vote in new board members\, showcase this year’s award winners\, and hear our Treasurer’s and President’s reports. \nCelebratory reception to follow with libations\, light bites\, and (of course) general merriment. \nWe so look forward to seeing you there! \nTickets: Free for members. Guest tickets include a 1-year VSNY membership. \n📷 Mulberry Street\, New York City. c. 1900. Library of Congress.
URL:https://vicsocny.org/calendar/58th-annual-meeting/
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240522T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240522T203000
DTSTAMP:20260416T063225
CREATED:20240402T164405Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240402T171525Z
UID:10000133-1716402600-1716409800@vicsocny.org
SUMMARY:Victorian Elegance on the Upper West Side
DESCRIPTION:Annual Margot Gayle Fundraiser:\nVictorian Elegance on the Upper West Side\n170 West 74th Street \nNew York\, NY 10023 \nTickets Here!!\nJoin the Metropolitan Chapter of the Victorian Society in America (Victorian Society New York) for its annual Margot Gayle Fundraiser! This year we will enjoy a private tour of an exquisite\, historic Upper West Side home. Located in a 1910 building originally built as a residence hotel for Broadway actors and Manhattan “bachelors\,” the spacious 2800-square-foot apartment covers the top two floors of the building and includes a 4000-square-foot private rooftop terrace. Five apartments were combined to create this large\, multilevel abode that features expansive cityscape and Central Park views. Furnished with nineteenth- and early twentieth-century antiques and historic wallpapers\, it is a rare glimpse into the genteel lifestyle of New York City’s late Victorian period. \nThe Margot Gayle Fundraiser enables the Metropolitan Chapter to contribute monetary grants in support of projects relating to the preservation\, conservation\, and scholarly exploration of Victorian material culture in the New York Metropolitan area. \nTickets: $50. Please register early as space will be limited. \n📷 Private collection.
URL:https://vicsocny.org/calendar/victorian-elegance-on-the-upper-west-side/
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240520T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240520T200000
DTSTAMP:20260416T063225
CREATED:20240501T220622Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240501T221133Z
UID:10000136-1716229800-1716235200@vicsocny.org
SUMMARY:The “Italian” Angel of Central Park
DESCRIPTION:The “Italian” Angel of Central Park\nThe Story Behind One of NYC’s Most Popular Icons\nCasa Italiana \n24 West 12th Street \nNew York\, NY 10011 \nTickets Here!!\nCental Park’s Bethesda Fountain\, topped by the “Angel of the Waters” sculpture\, is one of the most popular icons of New York City. Scenes from countless movies have been filmed at its feet. But very few people know that the artist who created the Angel was a woman\, New Yorker Emma Stebbins\, who is the first woman to receive a public art commission in New York City. Also\, very few people know that the “Angel of the Waters” was created in Rome\, Italy\, and that it is a symbol of love\, harmony\, healing\, and rebirth. \nEmma Stebbins (1815–1882) was a true pioneer as an artist and as a woman who\, together with her companion Charlotte Cushman\, defied prejudice and social conventions\, living openly as a “married” gay couple 150 years before it became legal in the United states. \nMaria Teresa Cometto\, author of Emma and the Angel of Central Park (Bordighera Press\, 2023)\, will be in conversation with VSNY’s own Eve M. Kahn\, independent scholar and our vice president\, moderated by Stefano Albertini (NYU). \n \n📷 “Angel of the Waters\,” Bethesda Fountain\, Central Park. Francisco Diez\, 2009. \n📷 Portrait of Emma Stebbins. Emma Stebbins scrapbook\, 1858–1882\, Archives of American Art\, Smithsonian Institution.
URL:https://vicsocny.org/calendar/the-italian-angel-of-central-park/
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240507T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240507T200000
DTSTAMP:20260416T063225
CREATED:20240327T215214Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240403T201801Z
UID:10000132-1715106600-1715112000@vicsocny.org
SUMMARY:Emerging Victorian Scholars Night
DESCRIPTION:Emerging Scholars:\nGilded Age Escalators\, Windows\, and Women on the Rise\nThe Center at West Park \n165 West 86th Street \nNew York\, NY 10024 \nTickets Here!!\nThe Victorian Society New York’s 2024 Emerging Scholars winners will shed light on little-known yet influential aspects of Gilded Age culture\, activism\, and architecture. Sophia Kamps\, recent graduate of Queen’s University in Ontario\, will report on surveying 1\,200 Gilded Age stained-glass windows at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx. Diane Dias De Fazio\, a graduate student at Kent State University\, will lecture on how the forgotten c. 1900 inventors of the ubiquitous\, oft-unheralded escalator changed the way people experienced and used department stores and other public spaces. Deena Ecker\, a student at the CUNY Graduate Center\, will look at late Victorian streetscapes and culture (popular\, consumer\, and sexual) through the lens of prostitution. How did these maligned women maintain some agency? Amanda Westbrook Brennan\, a CUNY Graduate Center student\, will analyze Black women activists\, writers\, and club women who elevated communities while defying stereotypes. \n  \n \n📷 “Inclined Elevator” at Coney Island\, Street Railway Review\, 1896. \n📷 Gordon Ross\, “The Dance of Death\,” Puck\, v. 71\, no. 1822 (1912 January 31)\, centerfold. 1912. N.Y.: Published by Keppler & Schwarzmann. Library of Congress\, Prints and Photographs Division. \n📷 C.M. Bell\, Mrs. A.J. Cooper\, 1901. Photograph from a glass plate negative. Library of Congress\, C.M. Bell Studio Collection\, Prints and Photographs Division. \n📷 Elizabeth Hunter. Sophia Kamps with a Mausoleum’s Religious Window\, 2023.
URL:https://vicsocny.org/calendar/emerging-victorian-scholars-night/
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240505T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240505T130000
DTSTAMP:20260416T063225
CREATED:20240413T190748Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240413T190748Z
UID:10000134-1714906800-1714914000@vicsocny.org
SUMMARY:Finding Prospect Park
DESCRIPTION:Finding Prospect Park: A Historic Walking Tour\nProspect Park \nBrooklyn\, New York \nTickets Here ($20/$15)\nJoin the Victorian Society of New York and Historic Districts Council for a tour through the northern half of Prospect Park\, Olmsted and Vaux’s masterpiece. A brief introduction to the park’s history and design will be provided while will investigate lost rustic and picturesque shelters and bridges\, the marvelous “electric fountain\,” the mysterious “Culvert Arch\,” the park’s “Dairy\,” the “braiding of the ways\,” the still present but deteriorating Litchfield Villa\, the circular yacht\, and other sites and features of the original park. The main focus of the tour will be discovering lost features and why their loss matters. Some of these features are gone without a trace; others remain only as archaeological remnants. Some are largely intact but have been “lost” to the public for other reasons. \nYour tour guide is VSNY’s own Jeremy Woodoff\, who chairs our Preservation Committee. Jeremy is a city planner and historic preservationist currently serving on the Advisory Board of the Historic Districts Council as well as the VSNY Board\, both of which are sponsoring this tour. During his 20-year employment at the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission\, Jeremy was responsible for setting up the Commission’s review procedures for work in scenic landmarks like Prospect Park and for reviewing all work proposed for the park by the Parks Department and the Prospect Park Alliance. \nFor those who register\, a QR code will be available that will allow you to download a series of historic images to use on your cell phone or tablet during the tour. The tour leader will have a set of images that can be viewed as well. \n \n \n📷 Prospect Park. Photo by Elizabeth Keegin Colley. Courtesy of Prospect Park Alliance. \n📷 Rustic Bench and Drinking Fountain\, the Midwood near the Dairy\, Prospect Park Concerts Programme Brochure\, 1897 season. Center for Brooklyn History. \n📷 Jeremy Woodoff. Courtesy of Jeremy Woodoff.
URL:https://vicsocny.org/calendar/finding-prospect-park/
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