Pauline Toole
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Cynthia Brenwall
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Kenneth Cobb
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NYC Municipal Archives
Happy Thanksgiving

Fireworks

Fireworks off the Bridge, 1883. Brooklyn Bridge Drawings Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

Fireworks have been a part of American celebrations for centuries. Independence Day festivities traditionally include pyrotechnic displays. Many communities in the metropolitan New York area have fireworks at their annual 4th of July observances. The largest, and reputed to be the most spectacular, is the Macy’s-sponsored fireworks. First staged in 1976 to coincide with the Bicentennial, this annual event draws tens of thousands of visitors to the City.   

Although fireworks are ubiquitous in City celebrations, researching the topic in Municipal Archives and Library collections results mainly in documentation of regulations to control their sale and possession, and relatively few depictions of the displays. Two notable exceptions, however, are both related to the Brooklyn Bridge.  

The Brooklyn Bridge collection in the Municipal Archives includes drawings showing the grand fireworks display staged on its opening day, May 24, 1883. There are two items; both are watercolor, pastel and pencil works on paper by anonymous artists. 

Fireworks off the Bridge, 1883. Brooklyn Bridge Drawings Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

In the second instance, City photographers captured the spectacular fireworks display staged for the Bridge centennial on May 24, 1983. 

Fireworks, May 24, 1983. Mayor Edward Koch Photograph Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

This year the Macy’s-sponsored fireworks will be launched from barges positioned on the Hudson river between West 14th and West 34th Streets. The best spots to watch the display will be in Manhattan along the West Side Highway between those streets, or across the river near the New Jersey waterfront in Hoboken, Weehawken and Jersey City.

Whether or not it includes fireworks, For the Record wishes its readers a Happy Independence Day. 

Harmful Content Remediation Project Update

Recently, the Department of Records of Information Services (DORIS) shared its harmful content statement  on the agency’s website and new digital collections platform, Preservica.  

This statement is part of the larger and ongoing diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) initiatives at the agency. These include the “In Her Own Name” volunteer project to recover women’s names in the collections introduced by For the Record in Recovering Women’s Names in DORIS’ Digital Collections. This work comes after months of research on statements written by other repositories, and feedback from DORIS staff.  

Harmful content refers to both description and audio or visual material that may contain, but is not limited to, outdated, inaccurate, offensive, violent, or graphic materials. This may include a wide range of content, from outdated and offensive racial terminology to images of crime scenes and deceased individuals. 

Our actions to address harmful content will increase public access to collections and take into account inclusion and equity goals. Outdated language can sometimes make content inaccessible as modern researchers who use current terminology may not receive positive results in their searches. Adding terminology that is in line with current language guidance in descriptions helps open additional points for research and access. Furthermore, using modern language is more inclusive because it considers how current communities prefer to be described.  

“Squaw” Cigar Store Figure [Statue of Indigenous Women], 1937. WPA Federal Writers’ Project Photograph Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.  

It is important to note that DORIS does not alter or remove language in original records. This will ensure historical context and viewpoints of the time period. For outdated creator or legacy description, catalogers may include additional description in brackets to provide context or create another access point for users. Researchers who encounter such content, in finding aids (accompanying descriptions of collections), blogs, photograph captions, and more can report it here: Harmful Content Feedback Form.  

Here is one example that illustrates how outdated descriptions may limit access and alienate communities. This photograph from the Works Progress Administration (WPA) Federal Writers’ Project collection was titled, “Indian Squaw” in the inventory originally created by WPA writers in the 1930s. “Squaw” is a phrase that is considered derogatory by some Indigenous communities. Additionally, while “Indian” may be used by some Indigenous peoples as a form of self-identification and in some legal instances, “Indian” in reference to Indigenous Peoples reinforces many negative historical connotations. It also invites confusion on whether one is referring to Indigenous Peoples or people from India. This title may prevent people from finding this image if they are using modern terminology, nor does it give a full picture of what is actually depicted in the image. Catalogers will distinguish between the creator description and their updates by putting new language in brackets. 

In another example, a picture in the Department of Sanitation photograph collection was originally titled: Seventh Avenue above 110th Street, Black strolling down avenue, shop signs, sanitation man picking up paper. To distinguish between the original creator and updated description, DORIS catalogers will add their new language in brackets: [Seventh Avenue above 110 Street; People walking down avenue, shop signs, sanitation man picking up paper]. When referring to Black people, one should use the adjective form and not the noun form because you are referring to people not a color. Additionally, this description was updated to include the word “People” as the original description did not mention people were walking at all.  

Researchers should keep in mind that these changes may not appear right away as this process can require extensive research, community feedback, and a balancing of staff resources. Additional challenges are that language is constantly changing, there are community conflicts on best practices, and weighing the need to provide access balanced with the safety and privacy of users. Despite this, if DORIS makes an evaluation that some content may be harmful based on community input, access to the content will still be available in other ways. Researchers and community members can still request to view content through the inventory.

Once again, user feedback is valued. If you come across harmful content in any of DORIS’ work, please submit your comments here: Harmful Content Feedback Form. 

References:

Fox, Violet. “List of Statements on Bias in Libraries and Archives Description.” https://cataloginglab.org/list-of-statements-on-bias-in-library-and-archives-description/.  

National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). “Reparative Description Preferred Term: Black Person.” https://www.archives.gov/research/catalog/lcdrg/appendix/black-person. 

Vowel, Chelsea. “Just Don’t Call Us Late for Supper - Names for Indigenous Peoples.” Indigenous Writes: A Guide to First Nations, Métis & Inuit Issues in Canada. Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada: Highwater Press. 2016.

Preserving the Union: Military Records from the Town of New Utrecht

George William Stillwell enlisted in the Union Army on April 27, 1861. He fought in Civil War battles at Yorktown, Williamsburgh, Fair Oaks, and White Oak Swamp. Achieving the rank of Captain, he commanded a Regiment at the 2nd Bull Run, Fredericksburgh, under General Ambrose Burnside. He resigned his commission on account of physical disability.

Town of New Utrecht Record for the Bureau of Military Record, Old Town Records collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

Captain Stillwell’s son James Henry Stillwell also enlisted in the Army about a month after his father. He fought in battle at Fair Oaks where he was mortally wounded. He died on June 30, 1862, at age 18. These entries appear in the Record of Troops: Roll of Persons Liable to Military and Quota of Troops Furnished in the War of Rebellion for the Town of New Utrecht, 1851-1865.

This ledger-format record, and three similar items from the Kings County Towns of Flatbush and Flatlands are part of the Old Town Records collection. Recently processed and partially digitized with funding from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, this large collection (1,272 cubic feet), consists of records created and/or maintained by towns and villages in Kings, Queens, Richmond and Westchester Counties before they were dissolved, annexed, or consolidated into what is now the City of New York. They document administrative, court, financial, land, voting, and tax transactions. The collection includes records of military service as well as information documenting enslaved people.  

Although few in number, these Civil War-era ledgers are of particular value due to the unique information about the men recorded in the ledgers. Not only do they provide a summary of the soldier or seaman’s military service, they also indicate demographic data, e.g. places of birth, parents’ names and occupations.    

Captain Stillwell was born on February 9, 1813, in New Utrecht. His parents were Thomas Stillwell and Catharine Bennett. His son, James Henry, was born on September 10, 1844, in Brooklyn. His parents were George W. Stillwell and Margaret Bird. Birthdates of both father and son pre-date official birth record-keeping and these ledger entries may provide the only evidence of their birth. Examining the nativity of the other soldiers and sailors listed in the ledger confirm that both native-born men and new immigrants served in the Civil War.    

Town of New Utrecht Record for the Bureau of Military Record, Old Town Records collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

Town of New Utrecht Record for the Bureau of Military Record, Old Town Records collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

The Civil War-related records were created pursuant to a New York State law, Chapter 690 of 1865: “An Act in relation to the bureau of Military Statistics.” The legislation was enacted “To collect and furnish to the bureau of military record, and to preserve in permanent form for the county, a record of the miliary services of those who have volunteered or been mustered, or who may hereafter volunteer or be mustered into the service of the general government from the county since the fifteenth day of April, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, and a brief civil history of such person, so far as the same can be ascertained.” The full text of the law is available in the Municipal Library.     

Civil War Veterans, Flushing, Queens, lantern slide, n.d. Borough President Queens Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

The Stillwells were not the only New Utrecht family to suffer grievous loss in the Civil War. Researchers reviewing the ledger entries will be struck by the number of men recorded as dead or wounded. On the same page listing the Stillwells there are four other men, William Ackley, James Cozine, William Haviland and Leffert Benson, who are recorded as deceased. According to the ledger entries, William Ackley, a farmer, remained with his regiment until Chapins Farm when he was “instantly killed on the battle field and there buried.” James Cozine was “wounded in the seven days before Richmond . . . since dead and buried in Gravesend.” William Haviland had been in the battle of Williamsburgh and “afterward taken sick returned home and died April 9, 1864.” Leffert Benson had “taken sick and died at Fortress Monroe, buried at New Utrecht, April 2, 1863.”    

The transcribed version of the New Utrecht ledger has been digitized and is available via the Department’s website.  

These records demonstrate the profound effect the Civil War had on communities throughout the City. For the Record recently reviewed The New York City Civil War Draft Riot Claims Collection. Look for future posts that examine other records that document this significant era in New York City and United States history.  

Flag Day

June 14th is recognized as Flag Day in the United States of America.  Various states, including New York, set aside a day for honoring the flag beginning in the mid-1860s.  On a national level, Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation naming June 14, 1915 “Flag day.”  He called for a day of “renewal and reminder … of the ideals and principles” of the founding of the country.   Even though the proclamation urged that Flag Day be observed annually, it was not until 1949 that Congress established a national day to honor the flag, without making it a holiday.

June 14th is the anniversary of the date in 1777 on which the Continental Congress adopted a resolution establishing an official “flag of the thirteen United States shall be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the Union be thirteen stars, white on a blue field, representing a new constellation.”

The flag has been a symbol used to create both unity and discord over the years.   

Consider an article in the Hearst-owned New York American  from November 29, 1935 on the display of Soviet flags at a mass meeting in Madison Square Garden: “Twenty-five red banners were unfurled from the platform at that meeting. But not one of this country’s national emblems was on display!”  The article reported on the anger this generated among elected officials and civic leaders, leading to demands that the Soviet flag be banned and that all meetings should display the American flag.  The president of the Daughters of the American Revolution said, “I know of no other country in the world in which such a thing would be permitted.  I consider it a disgrace not to have the national emblem displayed at public meetings.”

Lester Stone, the intrepid Secretary to the Mayor alerted LaGuardia of the events and the newspaper’s interest in a comment on the allegations of “an insult to the American flag at a mass meeting of Communists and Socialists, at which 25 red banners were unfurled without one American flag being displayed.”  Unusually, Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia did not offer a comment.

Members of the Board of Aldermen showed no such restraint.  Within the week, a proposed law was introduced and by week two, on December 10th, the Board unanimously passed the legislation that would require the display of American flags at  public meetings.  The bill required that at all public assemblies of 15 or more people where political or public questions were to be discussed, whether on the public streets or at any type of public location, “the American flag, of dimensions not less than 36 inches by 48 inches, shall be conspicuously displayed at all times …”  The bill exempted private assemblies that were not open to the public and established fines of $100 and up to 10 days imprisonment.

This touched off a firestorm of letters, telegrams and postcards sent to Mayor LaGuardia.  The Mayor’s office dutifully responded to each one, acknowledging receipt.

Organizations such as the dozens of branches of the American League Against War and Fascism, the West Bronx Workers Club, the Italian Progressive Club, the Retail Drygoods Clerks, the Teachers Union of the City of New York, and the National Council of Student Christian Associations opposed the bill.  Many referenced newspaper publisher Randolph Hearst whose papers were crusading in support of the ordinance.  The telegram from the Newspaper Guild of New York explicitly stated that it “regards the proposed American flag ordinance as a vicious proposal, sponsored not because of patriotic motives but as part of a widespread effort of reactionary newspaper interests.  It is aimed at inflaming the minds of uninformed and unthinking persons against all labor, liberal and progressive ideas.”  A postcard from a loyal American shared similar sentiments: “Hearst does not own NYC.”

There were supportive statements among the hundreds of communiques to the Mayor about this proposed local law, including those from The New York Society of Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence, the Irish-American Independent Political Unit, various American Legion chapters, the Daughters of the American Revolution, and many individuals.

On December 31, 1935, the Mayor vetoed the proposal.  In his veto message, he noted that he could have used a “pocket veto” --not take any action - which would have effectively killed the proposal.  But he wanted to do more because of the great interest in the measure.

This has been attempted in a measure for meetings in public squares and streets.  Surely no one will contend that the presence of the flag at such meetings, in instances held by disloyal people, have made them either loyal or patriotic. 

In addition to that, the provisions of the Ordinance might well be employed to repress or limit free speech guaranteed by the Constitution.  Free speech does not mean that, because of the right of the speaker to utter a thought, there is agreement or approval of the statement, but it does mean the right of every person to speak within the limits of existing law without interference.

Patriotism can no more be instilled into a disloyal person by the forced presence of our flag than can the love of God be put into an atheist’s heart by placing a Bible in his hand.

We must protect the flag and not permit the use of the flag except with dignity, love, and respect for it.  The American flag must not be made an instrument of repression.  It must be continued as a symbol of freedom.

“It’s a grand old flag, a high-flying flag …”

Re-discovering the Old Pennsylvania Station

“The razing of this station, McKim, Mead & White’s 1910 masterpiece of Beaux-Ars design, was one of the greatest traumas New York City ever suffered,” wrote New York Times architecture critic Herbert Muschamp, in 1993. Describing the demolition of Pennsylvania Station thirty-years earlier, he continued, “Public reaction was profound and in some ways beneficial. Historical preservation was transformed from a genteel pastime to a nationwide movement with political clout.” (“In this Dream Station Future and Past Collide,” New York Times, June 20, 1993.)  

Pennsylvania Station, aerial view, n.d. Terminals, Pennsylvania Station Vertical File, NYC Municipal Library.

Pennsylvania Railroad New York Station, Seventh Avenue Elevation. McKim, Mead & White, ca. 1906. Department of Buildings Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

Today, more than fifty years later, regret over loss of Pennsylvania Station has hardly abated. And for almost as long, archivists at the Municipal Archives believed the Manhattan Building Plans collection did not include drawings of the original Pennsylvania Station. It had been assumed that plans and permit records had been disposed after the building was demolished in accordance with Department of Buildings practice at that time. Therefore, the recent discovery of several architectural drawings of the original station in the Building Plans collection is surprising, but welcome news.   

Municipal archivists have been processing the Manhattan Building Plans collection for several years. For the Record articles have described the project and provided updates on progress, most recently, in Loews Canal Street Theatre. Although relatively few in number, the recently discovered plans include several from the 1906 new building (NB) application by McKim, Mead & White as well as 1926 and 1956 alterations. One NB application plan shows an upper floor designed for Long Island Railroad (LIRR) employee recreation with a gymnasium, shuffle board, pool tables, reading room and library. The 1926 alteration plan shows details of the LIRR passage between the concourse and waiting room with brass railings, still there today. Unfortunately, the collection does not include a full set of the original NB plans, only supplemental sheets added later.

Pennsylvania Railroad New York Station, Eighth Avenue Elevation. McKim, Mead & White, ca. 1906. Department of Buildings Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

Pennsylvania Station, exterior, ca. 1936, WPA Federal Writers’ Project Photograph Collection. NYC Municipal Archives. 

The plans discovery prompted questions about what other records could be found in Municipal Archives and Library collections that document the station in the early 1960s, given the enduring interest in its demolition. 

Pennsylvania Station, interior, March 13, 1936. Photographer: Ezzes. WPA Federal Writers’ Project Photograph Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

The Municipal Library’s vertical files proved a good resource. The file, “NYC Terminals – Pennsylvania Station” contains newspaper and magazine clippings dated from 1955 to 2003. Headlines in the early 1960s tell the sad story: “Brickbats Fly as Landmarks Tumble – Tradition-Lovers fight to Preserve Some of Little Old New York.” (World Telegram, Sept. 5, 1961.) “50 Pickets in March to Save Penn Station.” (Herald Tribune, August 3, 1962.) Articles from the 1970s took on a more elegiac tone: “It was Once a Glorious City’s Grand Portal,” (Long Island Press, July 21, 1971.)  

By the 1990s, dissatisfaction with the “new” Penn Station led to calls for improvements, notably a scheme promoted by Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan to re-purpose the General Post Office as a facsimile of the old station. Located directly west of Penn Station, the Post Office’s Beaux-Arts exterior resembled that of the original Pennsylvania Station: both had been designed by the architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White. It took many decades, but Moynihan’s plan, now known as the Moynihan Hall, came to fruition and opened on January 1, 2021.

Pennsylvania Railroad Co. New York Station, Passage L.I. Concourse to Main Waiting Room. Gibbs & Hill, 1926. Department of Buildings Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

Given the oft-quoted statement that Municipal Archives mayoral collections provide information about every possible topic in local, national and even international history, a search of the Mayor Robert Wagner (1954-1965) collection seemed reasonable. However, a review of Wagner’s subject listings did not reveal anything that seemed pertinent to the subject.

Letter, Robert Moses, President, New York World’s Fair 1964-1965 Corporation, to Department of Parks Commissioner Newbold Morris, April 2, 1962. Department of Parks General Files. NYC Municipal Archives.

Another Municipal Archives collection often cited for its wide-ranging subject matter, the Parks Department records, proved more fruitful. The Penn Station story in the 1960s did not have any obvious connection to Parks. However, based on previous experience, the Parks collection often provided information on seemingly unrelated topics, especially when Robert Moses served as Commissioner from 1934 to 1960. During that period, the records document his wide range of responsibilities beyond parks, such as highways, airports, and housing.

Although Mayor Wagner replaced Moses with Newbold Morris as Parks Commissioner in 1960, correspondence in the collection continues to serve many research subjects. In this instance, it turned out that there was a parks-connection. The bulk of the correspondence in the early 1960s concerned an effort by Commissioner Morris to preserve some of the granite columns from the façade of the soon-to-be-demolished station.

And it should not come as a surprise that Robert Moses, then serving as President of the New York World’s Fair 1964-1965 Corporation, would have something to say about this idea as well as the impending demolition of the station. “The whole station was inconvenient. The big shed was, and is, a monstrosity. No doubt the Grand Central Station is not as fine a monument, but it is a hell of a lot better station.” He also dismissed Morris’ column preservation plan.

Memo, Stuart Constable, New York World’s Fair 1964-1965 Corporation, to Robert Moses, March 30, 1962. Department of Parks General Files. NYC Municipal Archives.

What is a little harder to explain is why the Parks folders contained copies of correspondence to Mayor Wagner about Penn Station. But they do help researchers understand city government’s role, or lack thereof, in its demise. The 1962 Parks folder includes a copy of a letter to Mayor Wagner from the Midtown Realty Owners Association expressing their enthusiastic support for “...the recently announced plans to build a new Madison Square Garden sports center and office building complex above Pennsylvania Station.” Similarly, the Thirty Fourth Street Midtown Association issued a press release reproducing a letter they sent to Mayor Wagner on August 28, 1962: “Our Association herewith expresses approval of the proposed construction of a new Madison Square Garden on the site of the Pennsylvania Station. The opposition of a small group to this improvement appears to be entirely unsound. Redevelopment of this valuable property will represent a great economic gain for the midtown area and the entire city.”   

The folder also included copies of correspondence from Pennsylvania Railroad Company officials explaining their actions. They wrote that the original purpose of the station to accommodate long-distance travelers did not serve its current use as a commuter hub. Operating the station incurred an annual loss of more than $2 million. While they recognized the aesthetic value of the station, as a private enterprise, answerable to stockholders, the economics of their industry dictated replacing the “outmoded” station.    

Pennsylvania Station, exterior, 1961. Mayor Robert Wagner Photograph Collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

Muschamp’s 1993 Times article about Moynihan’s plan, quoted the Senator: “New York City has never got over tearing down Penn Station... it was a joy coming up from Norfolk as a young ensign”—this was in the late forties—“and arriving there.” Moynihan then referenced the often-cited quote from Vincent Scully, professor of art history at Yale. “One entered the city like a god,” Scully wrote in “American Architecture and Urbanism,” in 1969. “One scuttles in now like a rat.”

Look for future For the Record articles that explore the plan to preserve the original columns from the station, as well as the origins of the Landmark Preservation Commission.

100 Years of WNYC

Since 2015, the Municipal Archives has participated in the annual New York City Photoville festival. Photoville is a citywide two-week pop-up exhibit. The main venue is directly under the Brooklyn Bridge at the corner of Water and New Dock Street in DUMBO, Brooklyn. This year, it runs from June 1-16, 2024. For the core exhibits, each Photoville participant transforms a shipping container into a temporary gallery. Our exhibit this year celebrates 100 years of WNYC.

Municipal Building with WNYC radio antennae, July 18, 1924. Photo by Eugene de Salignac. NYC Municipal Archives.

From 1924 until 1997, WNYC radio was owned and operated by the City of New York for “Instruction, Enlightenment, and Entertainment.” WNYC turns 100 this year, and its history is intimately related to both City government and the NYC Municipal Archives. From the first broadcast on July 8, 1924, preserved in photographs by Eugene de Salignac, to historic broadcasts (both radio and television), the Municipal Archives is the repository of much of WNYC’s historical audio and video programs. The rest of its history has been preserved by the New York Public Radio Archives, founded in 2000. Its archivist, Andy Lanset, has spent more than two decades gathering ephemera, equipment, and lost recordings. He has been awarded several collaborative grants to digitize the recordings housed in the Municipal Archives and New York Public Radio.

WNYC’s first day on the air, July 8, 1924. (Earlier in the day - first broadcast at night) Grover A. Whalen, WNYC’s founder, (in tux) is joined by Public Address Operators Bert L. Davies and Frank Orth (seated) who is operating a wave meter. Photo by Eugene de Salignac. Department of Bridges/Plant and Structures collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

Grover Whalen, Commissioner of the Department of Plant & Structures launched WNYC Radio on July 8, 1924. Through their original programming and recordings made at City Hall events and press conferences, WNYC Radio reporters, engineers and producers captured a wide range of important cultural and political personalities. John Glenn and John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, Josephine Baker and Bob Dylan, astronauts and politicians, artists, musicians and poets all made appearances on WNYC. The founder of the Municipal Archives, librarian Rebecca Rankin, even had her own radio program on WNYC.

WNYC’s first issued program guide, The Masterwork Hour, December 1935. WNYC collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

Over time, WNYC Radio grew into both AM and FM stations, as well as a television station that enhanced the civic life of New Yorkers. In 1996, the City sold WNYC TV to a commercial entity. WNYC AM and FM continue today as the core of New York Public Radio, a non-profit organization that also includes WQXR, WQXW, New Jersey Public Radio, Gothamist and The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space.

Although the station was a very public presence in New York and often groundbreaking in programming and technology, it was not always beloved. Mayor John Francis Hylan used the station as a tool to attack his opponents, which led to a 1925 lawsuit and a judgement that WNYC could not be used for propaganda. His successor, Mayor James J. Walker, considered shutting it down, but it survived despite public calls for its elimination, including from mayoral candidate Fiorello H. La Guardia. Mayor La Guardia appointed Seymour N. Siegal as Assistant Program Director to “shut the joint down.” Instead, Siegel returned with a report on how the station could be improved. He saw value in the station as a means to make government more transparent and to educate the public on issues of health and safety. Siegel got a stay of execution from La Guardia as the station was put on probation and a broadcasting panel of experts from the networks studied the situation and eventually reported back to La Guardia with recommendations for what was needed to keep the station going.

WPA Federal Art Project poster by Frank Greco circa 1939 (colorized). NYC Municipal Archives.

WNYC Radio Map, ca. 1937. A.G. Lorimer artist. WNYC Archive Collections. https://www.wnyc.org/story/123806-artist-and-architect-a-g-lorimer

Original can from the WNYC Film Unit. WNYC collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

Meanwhile by the mid-to-late 1930s, the Federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) provided funding which underwrote half of the programming. It also supported construction of new studios for the station in the Municipal Building and a new transmitter in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. WPA artists even contributed murals and artwork for the studios. La Guardia changed his attitude and saw the station as an educational and cultural tool and began to use it as a way to talk directly to the people of the City. He also separated WNYC from the Department of Plant & Structures and created a new mayoral agency, the Municipal Broadcasting System, with Morris S. Novik as its director.

Title card from “Baby Knows Best,” a WNYC-TV production, ca. 1950s. WNYC collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

WNYC-TV cameraman in City Hall, ca. 1962. Photographer unknown. WNYC collection, NYC Municipal Archives.

Ralph McDaniels, creator of Video Music Box, on the cover of Wavelength, 1989. WNYC Archive Collections.

After World War II, Siegel, fresh from five years in the Navy, became the second director. Siegel continued to develop new educational programming for the station, and in 1949 he created the WNYC film unit to develop short educational films for the new medium of television. By 1962, WNYC-TV had its own television channel, the first municipal TV station in the nation. Facing massive budget cuts, Siegel turned in his resignation in 1971. The 1970s were not kind to WNYC, and in 1975 it held its first on-air membership drive to raise money. In 1979 the WNYC Foundation was formed with the idea of eventual independence from the City. In the 1980s, WNYC-TV broke new ground, with the first LGBT TV news series, Our Time, which premiered in 1983, and Video Music Box, which was launched by a young employee, Ralph McDaniels, in 1984. It was the first TV program to regularly air rap videos.

Staff on the roof of the Municipal Building for the 53rd Anniversary of WNYC, July 1977. Photograph by Sal de Rosa. WNYC Archive Collections.

Nelson Mandela receiving the key to the city from Mayor Dinkins, June 20, 1990. NYC Municipal Archives. https://www.wnyc.org/story/mandela-in-new-york/

FM Transmitter on top of World Trade Center, 1986. Photograph by Lisa Clifford. NYC Municipal Archives.

After a tumultuous review, Mayor Guiliani announced the sale of WNYC AM & FM licenses to the WNYC Foundation in 1995. WNYC-TV was to be sold at auction to commercial bidders. June 30, 1996, was the last broadcast of WNYC-TV, and on January 27, 1997, WNYC AM & FM were officially on their own. Of course, it took a little while to move out of the ‘attic.’ It was not until June 2008 that WNYC transferred the studios from the tower of the Municipal Building to the current Varick Street location.

More challenges awaited WNYC. In September 2001, WNYC lost its FM transmitter in the collapse of the north tower of the World Trade Center. The AM station continued to broadcast using a telephone land-line patch. In August 2003, the northeast blackout plunged the city into darkness, but the station stayed on the air with candlelight and emergency generators. In 2012, the WNYC-AM transmitter site in the new Jersey Meadowlands was damaged by Hurricane Sandy, taking it off the air. And in March 2020, WNYC had to set up home studios for its hosts as the COVID-19 pandemic shut down offices. Independence for WNYC also meant the launching of new magazine programing, podcasting, and a bevy of Peabody and other awards for programming including work by the producers of Radiolab, Studio 360, On the Media, Soundcheck and others.

Recovery efforts at Ground Zero, September 2001. Photographer unknown, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani collection. NYC Municipal Archives.

The Masterwork Bulletin, May-June 1971. WNYC Archive Collections.

Fitting 100 years of this history into a 20-foot-long shipping container presented a challenge. An easy solution would have been to just illustrate some part of the station’s history, but that did not seem to be fitting for this momentous birthday. The early years of WNYC were well photographed by Eugene de Salignac, agency photographer, but the Municipal Archives had few photos from the 1970s and 1980s. Luckily WNYC engineer Alfred Tropea had taken some beautiful color slides of the Greenpoint transmitter site and WNYC operations. And the WNYC program guides started to include more colorful covers with photographs of some hosts. Although Photoville centers on photography, we knew to tell the story we would need to use archival photographs, ephemera, and audio clips to celebrate WNYC’s history and importance to the City of New York. Even then, the story is too broad to tell fully. The exhibit had to be an immersive experience, with audio and visual components, so we settled on using four panels, each with a collage of images. A timeline underneath each panel marks highlights in the station’s history. An audio montage accompanies the visual panels:

Brian Lehrer broadcasting from his home, March 2020. Wayne Schulmister/WNYC Engineering.

Not everything made the cut, and the reasons are rather random. The great blues musician Huddie ‘Leadbelly’ Ledbetter was a hugely important presence for WNYC in the 1940s, but the audio was hard to fit in. Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie were also cut, but Bob Dylan’s first radio broadcast went in. Rebecca Rankin, despite her importance to the Municipal Archives, was cut from the exhibit, but stayed in the audio. For Photoville we wanted to include a panel discussion on modern photography with Edward Steichen, Margaret Bourke-White, Walker Evans, Irving Penn, and Ben Shahn from 1950 but it was hard to find a good short clip. Instead, we went with a rare interview with Diane Arbus, recorded shortly before her death in 1971. A 1961 Malcom X interview was left out and Martin Luther King, Jr. was included simply because the Malcolm X interview was not an official WNYC broadcast and the 1964 King event was an important City celebration. We had wanted to include something on gay rights in the wake of the 1969 Stonewall Riots, but we found a better clip of an ACT UP demonstration for more funding for the AIDS crisis, which happened to be recorded by a young reporter named Andy Lanset.

WNYC Transmitter building, Greenpoint, ca. 1980s. Photograph by Alfred Tropea, WNYC Archive Collections.

WNYC audio and WNYC-TV/Film collections are available from the NYC Municipal Archives and from the New York Public Radio Archive.

To learn more about WNYC’s history, follow Andy Lanset’s New York Public Radio History Notes Newsletter. Here are some highlights in addition to the links in this article.

  1. The night WNYC became real: www.wnyc.org/story/wnycs-first-official-broadcast

  2. WNYC and the Federal WPA:  www.wnyc.org/story/wnycs-wpa-murals

  3. The Plan and Promise of WNYC: www.wnyc.org/story/new-york-citys-silver-jubilee-plan-and-promise-wnyc

  4. Morris Novik and a Model of Public Radio: www.wnyc.org/story/218821-morris-s-novik-public-radio-pioneer

  5. WNYC’s ID – Hope for the World: www.wnyc.org/story/where-7-million-people-live-peace-and-enjoy-benefits-democracy

  6. Lead Belly on WNYC Throughout the 1940s: www.wnyc.org/story/king-twelve-string-guitar-wnyc-regular-through-1940s

  7. Christie Bonsack and Early WNYC: www.wnyc.org/story/christie-bohnsack-wnycs-first-director

  8. WNYC – The Station that Dodged Bullets: www.wnyc.org/story/wnyc-station-dodged-bullets

  9. WNYC’s Journey to Independence: www.wnyc.org/story/going-public-story-wnycs-journey-independence

  10. WNYC – Visions of a Flagship Station for a Cultural Network: www.wnyc.org/story/1937-vision-wnyc-flagship-station-non-commercial-cultural-network

100 Years of WNYC, Audio montage, list of clips

  1. Re-enactment of first 1924 WNYC broadcast, 1948

  2. Sweet Georgia Brown, Ben Bernie and His Hotel Roosevelt Orchestra, 1925

  3. Col. Lindbergh Tickertape Parade Reception, June 13, 1927

  4. Emergency Relief Committee Orchestra, 1931

  5. Station sign-off, December 1931

  6. Rebecca Rankin, Municipal Librarian, 1938

  7. News broadcast, 1938

  8. World’s Fair station ID, 1939

  9. Pearl Harbor attack broadcast, December 7, 1941

  10. Mayor La Guardia war-time Talk to the People, January 2, 1944

  11. Mayor LaGuardia reads the comics during newspaper strike, July 8, 1945

  12. Audio from City of Magic, WNYC-TV/Film, 1949

  13. AM and FM Station ID, January 11, 1950

  14. Bert the Turtle, Duck and Cover, ca. 1952

  15. Audio from This is the Municipal Broadcasting System, WNYC-TV/Film, 1953

  16. Eleanor Roosevelt DJs Elvis Presley’s song Ready Teddy, February 6, 1957

  17. Last run of the 3rd Avenue El, May 12, 1955

  18. Footloose in Greenwich Village, May 6, 1960

  19. Bob Dylan’s first radio appearance, October 29, 1961

  20. John Glenn, first American to orbit the earth, February 20, 1962

  21. President Lyndon B. Johnson, Gulf of Tonkin announcement, August 4, 1964

  22. Martin Luther King, Jr. welcome at City Hall, December 17, 1964

  23. Station ID, 1963

  24. Diane Arbus, interviewed for Viewpoints of Women by Richard Pyatt, September 2, 1971

  25. Shirley Chisholm announces run for presidency, January 25, 1972

  26. WNYC Golden Anniversary, Mayor Abraham D. Beame reading proclamation, July 8, 1974

  27. Mayor Ed Koch town hall in Jackson Heights, June 1, 1979

  28. Transit Strike, April 3, 1980

  29. “Voices of Disarmament” rally, June 14, 1982

  30. Vito Russo’s Our Time: Episode 1 - Lesbian & Gay History, February 16, 1983

  31. Philip Glass interviewed on New Sounds by John Schaefer, January 6, 1985

  32. ACT UP demonstration at City Hall, Andy Lanset reporting, March 28, 1989

  33. Ladysmith Black Mambazo, August 30, 1987

  34. Mayor David N. Dinkins and Nelson Mandela in New York, June 20, 1990

  35. Snap!, The Power, Video Music Box with Ralph McDaniels, WNYC-TV, September 14, 1990

  36. Audio from Heart of the City with John F. Kennedy, Jr., March 2, 1994

  37. WNYC Independence Celebration, January 27, 1997

  38. Kurt Vonnegut, Reporter for the Afterlife, 1998

  39. World Trade Center montage, September 11, 2001

  40. Brooke Gladstone, On the Media, December 20, 2002

  41. Blackout announcement, August 14, 2003

  42. David Garland, NYPR takeover of WQXR, October 8, 2009

  43. RadioLab intro, February 20, 2010

  44. John Schaefer, Soundcheck live from The Greene Space, December 15, 2011

  45. Hurricane Sandy aircheck, October 29, 2012

  46. Brian Lehrer Show, first broadcast from his apartment due to COVID-19, March 16, 2020

  47. Protests, September 4, 2020

  48. All of It, Allison Stewart, October 21, 2021

  49. New Yorker Radio Hour, May 11, 2024

  50. Notes From America with Kai Wright, May 19, 2024

  51. Morning Edition, Michael Hill with Andy Lanset on the Anniversary of WNYC, July 8, 2023