Historic House Trust
The Historic House Trust of New York City was formed in 1989 as a public-private partnership with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation[1] to preserve the historic houses located within New York City parks,[2] although most of the houses were not originally city-owned.[3] The Trust works with the individual houses to restore and promote the houses as a means of educating residents and visitors about the social, economic and political history of New York City and cast urban history in a new light.[4] The Trust includes 23 historic sites, with 18 operating as museums and attracting 729,000 annual visitors.[2]
Contents |
[edit] Properties
The Historic House Trust includes properties in each of New York City's five boroughs,[5] and there is a house for every period in the City's history, depending on one's scheme of dividing history.[4] A number of the properties have live-in caretakers to help prevent vandalism and other problems.[6]
[edit] History
In 1988, the City Parks department established a Historic House Office to preserve the 16 City-owned historic house-museums located in City parks. This office gave way to the Historic House Trust of New York City in 1989, funded by private donations,[9] as well as grants,[10] with the goal of each house becoming a professionally-accredited museum.[11] In an effort to increase awareness of the program during its first year of operation, the Trust developed a so-called passport program wherein visitors would receive stamps each time they visited one of the houses. If a visitor went to all 15 properties, they would receive an audience with the Mayor.[12] HHT's passport program was brought back in 2008 as a method of commemorating the Trust's 20th anniversary.[13]
The Trust also holds events such as the Historic Houses Festival, during which all the houses are open with different events at each, in order to raise awareness.[9] New properties are added to the Trust when they come under city control if private care-taking or ownership has not succeeded,[14] although the contents of the home may remain under private ownership.[15]
[edit] References
- ^ Albanese, Laura (2007-03-26). "Restoration bringing Lott all back home". New York Daily News. http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/brooklyn/2007/03/27/2007-03-27_restoration_bringing_lott_all_back_home.html. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
- ^ a b "About Us". The Historic House Trust of New York City. http://www.historichousetrust.org/page.php?p_id=16. Retrieved 2008-03-15.
- ^ "Polishing the City's Gems". The New York Times. 1989-06-23. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DEFD8123DF930A15755C0A96F948260. Retrieved 2008-03-15.
- ^ a b Amy Gale (2004-09-08). "Houses Bring New York's Past to Life". The Christian Science Monitor. http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0908/p14s01-trgn.htm. Retrieved 2008-03-15.
- ^ "Houses". The Historic House Trust of New York City. http://www.historichousetrust.org/item_list.php. Retrieved 2008-03-15.
- ^ Lynn M. Ermann (1999-05-23). "Making it Work; A Life of Housework". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE2DD1631F930A15756C0A96F958260. Retrieved 2008-03-15.
- ^ Richard Weir (1999-01-17). "Old Tree May be Benched". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B05E5D61131F934A25752C0A96F958260. Retrieved 2008-03-15.
- ^ Richard Weir (1999-03-14). "Weeping Beech Will Live On in Memory, and in Art". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F04E7DE153EF937A25750C0A96F958260. Retrieved 2008-03-15.
- ^ a b "15 Historic Houses Saved from Obscurity". The New York Times. 1989-05-11. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DEFD81E3BF932A25756C0A96F948260&n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/Subjects/H/Historic%20Buildings%20and%20Sites. Retrieved 2008-03-15.
- ^ Richard Weir (1998-06-28). "Marine Park; A Farmhouse with a Future". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D02E3D6163FF93BA15755C0A96E958260. Retrieved 2008-03-15.
- ^ Timothy C. Forbes, Betsy Gotbaum (1991-11-10). "Old Yacht Club". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE5DC163AF933A25752C1A967958260&n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/People/G/Gotbaum,%20Betsy. Retrieved 2008-03-15.
- ^ Carol Vogel (1989-06-22). "Currents; A Passport to History in Houses". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DEEDC1338F931A15755C0A96F948260. Retrieved 2008-03-15.
- ^ "20th Anniversary". Historic House Trust. http://historichousetrust.org/assets/template_images/menu/menu_anniversary.jpg. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
- ^ Richard Weir (1999-02-28). "Fort Totten's Old Houses are Tottering". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE4D7173CF93BA15751C0A96F958260. Retrieved 2008-03-15.
- ^ Jim O'Grady (2003-06-22). "Fresh Hope for a Modest House That Helped Nurture Freedom". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9505EFD7163BF931A15755C0A9659C8B63. Retrieved 2008-03-15.
