New York Museum of Science and Industry

Last updated

New York Museum of Science and Industry
New York Museum of Science and Industry
EstablishedFebruary 11, 1936;88 years ago (February 11, 1936)
Location 30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York City, U.S.
Coordinates 40°45′32″N73°58′45″W / 40.75889°N 73.97917°W / 40.75889; -73.97917

The New York Museum of Science and Industry was a museum in Manhattan, New York City. Previously existing in temporary quarters, the museum officially opened in its permanent home at 30 Rockefeller Plaza (then known as the RCA Building), on February 11, 1936.

Contents

History

The New York Museum of Science and Industry was established through a $2,500,000 bequest from Henry R. Towne, for the, "creation of a technical museum." [1] The newly created museum was initially on display on 40th St. with a Dr. F.C. Brown as its director. [1] Subsequently, under the direction of Prof. Charles R. Richards, "the museum found it necessary to expand." [1]

Relocating from temporary housing in the Daily News Building, the New York Museum of Science and Industry opened in its permanent location on February 11, 1936, in the Forum of 30 Rockefeller Plaza (then known as the RCA Building). [2] [1] Prominent attendees at the gala opening event included Dr. Frank B. Jewett, president of the board of trustees, Dr. Harold C. Urey and Dr. Albert Einstein. [1] According to The New York Times , "visitors remarked that there was probably no other major public museum in the city at which no implement of war was on view." [2] Exhibits covered topics/inventions including: the telephone and telegraph, weaving and spinning, electricity, marine transportation, light and magnetism. The largest exhibit was called "the Rocket, a replica of the high-funneled, wooden wheeled locomotive built by Robert Stephenson & Co. at Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1829." [2] Admission cost 25 cents for adults and 10 cents for children, "except pupils on regular instruction tours." [2]

The museum closed sometime in the 1940s. [3]

Objectives

Prof. Richards who, in the role of executive vice president, helped establish the Museum of Science and Industry outlined the museum's objectives as follows, "the processes of production that underlie the civilization of today are hidden behind factory walls, where only the specialized factory workers enter. To attempt to present these things through books is unsatisfactory and tame. The processes must be revealed to the eye and set forth in the simplest and clearest fashion if the foundations of our present-day life are not only to be understood but to become an element in the culture of today." [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Museum of Modern Art</span> Art museum in Manhattan, New York City, U.S.

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. The institution was conceived in 1929 by Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, Lillie P. Bliss, and Mary Quinn Sullivan. Initially located in the Heckscher Building on Fifth Avenue, it opened just days after the Wall Street Crash. The museum, America's first devoted exclusively to modern art, was led by A. Conger Goodyear as president and Abby Rockefeller as treasurer, with Alfred H. Barr Jr. as its first director. Under Barr's leadership, the museum's collection rapidly expanded, beginning with an inaugural exhibition of works by European modernists. Despite financial challenges, including opposition from John D. Rockefeller Jr., the museum moved to several temporary locations in its early years, and John D. Rockefeller Jr. eventually donated the land for its permanent site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1964 New York World's Fair</span> Worlds fair held in New York City

The 1964 New York World's Fair was an international exposition at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, United States. The fair included exhibitions, activities, performances, films, art, and food presented by 80 nations, 24 U.S. states, and nearly 350 American companies. The 646-acre (261 ha) fairground consisted of five sections: the Federal and State, International, Transportation, Lake Amusement, and Industrial areas. The fair's theme was "Peace through Understanding", and its symbol was the Unisphere, a stainless-steel model of the Earth. Initially, the fair had 139 pavilions, in addition to 34 concessions and shows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rockefeller Center</span> Skyscraper complex in Manhattan, New York

Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering 22 acres (89,000 m2) between 48th Street and 51st Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The 14 original Art Deco buildings, commissioned by the Rockefeller family, span the area between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue, split by a large sunken square and a private street called Rockefeller Plaza. Later additions include 75 Rockefeller Plaza across 51st Street at the north end of Rockefeller Plaza, and four International Style buildings on the west side of Sixth Avenue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radio City Music Hall</span> Entertainment venue in New York City

Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue and theater at 1260 Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Nicknamed "The Showplace of the Nation", it is the headquarters for the Rockettes. Radio City Music Hall was designed by Edward Durell Stone and Donald Deskey in the Art Deco style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frick Collection</span> Art museum in New York City

The Frick Collection is an art museum on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. It was established in 1935 to preserve the art collection of the industrialist Henry Clay Frick. The collection consists of 14th- to 19th-century European paintings, as well as other pieces of European fine and decorative art. It is located at the Henry Clay Frick House, a Beaux-Arts mansion designed for Henry Clay Frick. The Frick also houses the Frick Art Research Library, an art history research center established by Frick's daughter Helen Clay Frick in 1920, which contains sales catalogs, books, periodicals, and photographs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manhattan Bridge</span> Bridge in New York City

The Manhattan Bridge is a suspension bridge that crosses the East River in New York City, connecting Lower Manhattan at Canal Street with Downtown Brooklyn at the Flatbush Avenue Extension. Designed by Leon Moisseiff and built by the Phoenix Bridge Company, the bridge has a total length of 6,855 ft (2,089 m). It is one of four toll-free vehicular bridges connecting Manhattan Island to Long Island; the nearby Brooklyn Bridge is just slightly farther west, while the Queensboro and Williamsburg bridges are to the north.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Museum of Natural History</span> Natural history museum in Manhattan, New York

The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Located in Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 21 interconnected buildings housing 45 permanent exhibition halls, in addition to a planetarium and a library. The museum collections contain about 32 million specimens of plants, animals, fungi, fossils, minerals, rocks, meteorites, human remains, and human cultural artifacts, as well as specialized collections for frozen tissue and genomic and astrophysical data, of which only a small fraction can be displayed at any given time. The museum occupies more than 2,500,000 sq ft (232,258 m2). AMNH has a full-time scientific staff of 225, sponsors over 120 special field expeditions each year, and averages about five million visits annually.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">30 Rockefeller Plaza</span> Office skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

30 Rockefeller Plaza is a skyscraper that forms the centerpiece of Rockefeller Center in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, United States. Completed in 1933, the 66-story, 850 ft (260 m) building was designed in the Art Deco style by Raymond Hood, Rockefeller Center's lead architect. 30 Rockefeller Plaza was known for its main tenant, the Radio Corporation of America (RCA), from its opening in 1933 until 1988 and then for General Electric until 2015, when it was renamed for its current owner, Comcast. The building also houses the headquarters and New York studios of television network NBC; the headquarters is sometimes called 30 Rock, a nickname that inspired the NBC sitcom of the same name. The tallest structure in Rockefeller Center, the building is the 28th tallest in New York City and the 65th tallest in the United States, and was the third tallest building in the world when it opened.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queens Museum</span> Art museum in Queens, New York

The Queens Museum is an art museum and educational center at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, United States. Established in 1972, the museum has among its permanent exhibitions the Panorama of the City of New York, a room-sized scale model of the five boroughs originally built for the 1964 New York World's Fair. Its collection includes a large archive of artifacts from both the 1939 and 1964 World's Fairs, a selection of which is on display. As of 2018, Queens Museum's director is Sally Tallant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York Hall of Science</span> Museum in Queens, New York

The New York Hall of Science, branded as NYSCI, is a science museum at 47-01 111th Street, within Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, in the Corona neighborhood of Queens in New York City, United States. It occupies one of the few remaining structures from the 1964 New York World's Fair, along with two annexes completed in 1996 and 2004. There are more than 400 hands-on exhibits, which focus on biology, chemistry, and physics. Wallace Harrison designed the original structure, a 80-foot-high (24 m) curving concrete structure called the Great Hall. It adjoins an entrance rotunda designed by Beyer Blinder Belle; a glass-and-metal north wing designed by Todd H. Schliemann; a science playground; and Rocket Park, which contains a collection of spacecraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">General Electric Building</span> Office skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

The General Electric Building, also known as 570 Lexington Avenue, is a skyscraper at the southwestern corner of Lexington Avenue and 51st Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The building, designed by Cross & Cross and completed in 1931, was known as the RCA Victor Building during its construction. The General Electric Building is sometimes known by its address to avoid confusion with 30 Rockefeller Plaza, which was once known as the GE Building.

<i>Man at the Crossroads</i> 1933 fresco by Diego Rivera

Man at the Crossroads (1933) was a fresco by Mexican painter Diego Rivera. Originally slated to be installed in the lobby of the RCA Building at Rockefeller Center in New York City, the fresco showed aspects of contemporary social and scientific culture. As originally installed, it was a three-paneled artwork. A central panel, depicting a worker controlling machinery, was flanked by two other panels, The Frontier of Ethical Evolution and The Frontier of Material Development, which respectively represented socialism and capitalism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethel Walker School</span> Private college-prep school in Simsbury, Connecticut

The Ethel Walker School, also commonly referred to as "Walker's", is a private, college preparatory, boarding and day school for girls in grades 6 through 12 plus postgraduate located in Simsbury, Connecticut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rainbow Room</span> Event space and restaurant in New York City

The Rainbow Room is a private event space on the 65th floor of 30 Rockefeller Plaza at Rockefeller Center in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Run by Tishman Speyer, it is among the highest venues in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">47th–50th Streets–Rockefeller Center station</span> New York City Subway station in Manhattan

The 47th–50th Streets–Rockefeller Center station is an express station on the IND Sixth Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. It is located along Sixth Avenue between 47th and 50th Streets, on the west side of Rockefeller Center. The station is served by the D and F trains at all times, the B and M trains on weekdays, and the <F> train during rush hours in the peak direction. In 2019, it was the 12th busiest subway station in the system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Empire Building</span> Building in Rockefeller Center, New York City

The British Empire Building, also known by its address 620 Fifth Avenue, is a commercial building at Rockefeller Center in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Completed in 1933, the six-story structure was designed in the Art Deco style by Raymond Hood, Rockefeller Center's lead architect. The British Empire Building, along with the nearly identical La Maison Francaise to the south and the high-rise International Building to the north, comprise a group of retail-and-office structures known as the International Complex. La Maison Francaise and the British Empire Building are separated by Channel Gardens, a planted pedestrian esplanade running west to the complex's Lower Plaza.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">La Maison Francaise (Rockefeller Center)</span> Building in Rockefeller Center, New York City

La Maison Francaise, also known by its address 610 Fifth Avenue, is a commercial building at Rockefeller Center in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Completed in 1933, the six-story structure was designed in the Art Deco style by Raymond Hood, Rockefeller Center's lead architect. La Maison Francaise, along with the nearly identical British Empire Building and the high-rise International Building to the north, comprise a group of retail-and-office structures known as the International Complex. La Maison Francaise and the British Empire Building are separated by Channel Gardens, a planted pedestrian esplanade running west to the complex's Lower Plaza.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Construction of Rockefeller Center</span> Construction project in New York City (1931–1974)

The construction of the Rockefeller Center complex in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, was conceived in the late 1920s and led by John D. Rockefeller Jr.. Rockefeller Center is on one of Columbia University's former campuses and is bounded by Fifth Avenue to the east, Sixth Avenue to the west, 48th Street to the south, and 51st Street to the north. The center occupies 22 acres (8.9 ha) in total, with some 17 million square feet of office space.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">10 Rockefeller Plaza</span> Building in Manhattan, New York

10 Rockefeller Plaza is a 16-story building located on Rockefeller Plaza between 48th and 49th Streets in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Completed in 1940, the building is part of Rockefeller Center and, like the rest of the complex, was built in the Art Deco style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Building (Rockefeller Center)</span> Office skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

The International Building, also known by its addresses 630 Fifth Avenue and 45 Rockefeller Plaza, is a skyscraper at Rockefeller Center in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Completed in 1935, the 41-story, 512 ft (156 m) building was designed in the Art Deco style by Raymond Hood, Rockefeller Center's lead architect. The main tower is set back from Fifth Avenue and includes two 6-story wings to the east, known as Palazzo d'Italia and International Building North. The wings flank an entrance plaza that contains Lee Lawrie's Atlas statue.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Science: The Evolution of the Scientific Museum". The New York Times. February 16, 1936. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved March 10, 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Scientific Items Gleam in New Home". The New York Times. February 11, 1936. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved March 10, 2024.
  3. Samuel, Lawrence R. (August 30, 2007). The End of the Innocence: The 1964–1965 New York World's Fair (1st ed.). Syracuse University Press. p. 165. ISBN   978-0-8156-0890-5.
  4. "Chas. R. Richards, Educator, Is Dead". The New York Times. February 22, 1936. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved March 10, 2024.