Friends of the New York Transit Museum
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Friends of the New York Transit Museum NYTM 2012 Annual Report Mission he mission of the New York Transit Museum is to collect, exhibit, interpret and preserve the history, sociology and technology of Tpublic transportation systems in the New York metropolitan region and to conduct research and educational programs that will make the Museum’s extensive collection accessible and meaningful to the broadest possible audience. 2012 Snap Shot ATTENDANCE 133,633 visitors to the Brooklyn location 133,633 390,762 visitors to Gallery Annex & Store at 12% increase Grand Central Terminal 119,167 1,063 Seniors admitted for Free Senior Wednesdays EDUCATION AND PUBLIC PROGRAMS 9,875 weekend workshop attendees 1,205 school and camp groups served (25,894 individuals) 151 special needs groups served 1,972 67 public programs and walking tours 8% increase 1,833 EXHIBITS AND ARCHIVES 7 exhibits installed 1,958 photographs cataloged and 72 objects photographed and cataloged 710 drawings, maps, posters, documents, ephemera cataloged 9,875 328 library books cataloged 18% increase 983 phone and email researchers 8,346 110 on-site researchers 47 donations and internal transfers 1 Artist Antonio Masi demonstrates his watercolor technique. Masi’s bridge paintings were featured in the exhibit, “New York’s Golden Age of Bridges.” From the Director n October 31st, 2012, two days Museum cemented its position as a resource after Hurricane Sandy slammed into and a leader in the special needs community. ONew York, the Transit Museum was Thanks to a $150,000 capacity-building grant one of the first cultural institutions in the from the Booth Ferris Foundation, the Mu- city to reopen, offering free admission and a seum created and filled the new position of much-needed distraction for families strug- finance director, marking an important step in gling to recover from the storm. Actions like the growth of the institution and its long-term this make the Transit Museum stand out as strategic plan. a resource and favorite destination for New Yorkers citywide. And amidst all of this, the Museum made extensive preparations for the 2013 Centen- In 2012, 133,633 people visited the Down- nial celebration of Grand Central Terminal, a town Brooklyn location, and an extraordi- major, year-long event that touched on every nary 390,762 visited the Gallery Annex and area of Museum operations: exhibitions, pub- Store at Grand Central Terminal. New art lic programs, school, youth and family events, and history exhibitions in 2012 incorporat- retail, marketing, development and press. ed photography, painting and design while challenging New Yorkers to imagine their city We thank our supporters in 2012, and look in new ways. Compelling public program- forward to continued success! ming brought in a new audience of young professionals and made the Museum a center for debate and forward thinking. Already a Gabrielle Shubert favorite destination for New York kids, the Director 2 Exhibitions Exhibitions in 2012 told wide-ranging stories of New York life through advertisements, paintings, photographs and oral histories. The Art of the Poster What’s New! Recent Acquisitions: February 7 – July 8, 2012 New York by Rehberger The Gallery Annex at Grand Central Terminal June 23, 2012 – December 2, 2012 was the only US venue for the London Trans- On the Museum’s platform level, What’s New! port Museum’s travelling exhibition, The Art Recent Acquisitions: New York by Rehberger of the Poster. Examining one hundred years of featured 22 car cards created by Gustav Reh- outstanding poster design, the exhibit displayed berger for the New York Subways Advertising original artwork and posters from London Un- Company. Unveiled in 1948 and viewed by derground’s prized poster collection. Works by millions of subway riders, they depicted a series many of the most prominent British artists of the of New York City landmarks. Born in Austria, twentieth century were included. Rehberger is best known for creating commer- cial illustrations for magazines, film promotions New York’s Golden Age of Bridges: and ad campaigns. Paintings by Antonio Masi May 12, 2012 – October 7, 2012 Colorama Visitors in Brooklyn were treated to epic urban July 28, 2012 – November 1, 2012 landscape paintings in New York’s Golden Age The Museum launched its Grand Central Termi- of Bridges: Paintings by Antonio Masi. This exhi- nal Centennial exhibition series with Colorama. bition featured beautiful large-scale watercolors From 1950 until 1990, Kodak’s “Coloramas,” of the Brooklyn, Williamsburg, Queensboro, gigantic, back-lit panoramic color photographs Manhattan, George Washington, Triborough, —18 feet high by 60 feet wide — dominated Bronx-Whitestone, Throgs-Neck and Verraza- the east side of Grand Central’s Main Concourse no-Narrows Bridges. Painter Antonio Masi as with images of a stylized America. The exhibi- well as author and historian Joan Marans Dim tion was curated by the George Eastman House. held conversations, art workshops, and led tours of the exhibition for museum visitors. 3 Meet Miss Subways: New York’s Beauty Queens 1941-1976 October 23, 2012 – June 3, 2013 In the fall, the Museum opened Meet Miss Subways: New York’s Beauty Queens 1941 – 1976. Miss Subways was New York’s most democratic beauty contest, showing portraits and biographies of young New York middle and working class women in subway cars throughout the city. Photographer Fiona Gard- ner and journalist Amy Zimmer tracked down former winners to see how their lives unfolded. Through striking portraits and oral histories, 11th Annual Grand Central Holiday Train Show juxtaposed next to the original November 21, 2012 – February 10, 2013 glamorous car cards, the exhibition The 11th Annual Grand Central Holiday Train Show focused on explored how these women’s lives Grand Central’s landmark anniversary. A newly-designed 34 and careers evolved over the years. foot long, two-level layout highlighted long distance train travel from GCT, with Lionel’s New York Central and Metro-North Railroad trains departing from a miniature Grand Central and The Once and Future Pennsylvania traveling north. Reproductions of New York Central Railroad Station, on display at the Gallery posters from the 1920s-1940s covered the gallery walls with Annex in 2011, was shown again expansive landscapes. From the Museum’s collections, vintage on loan at the Long Island Railroad model trains that once served the Terminal were also on view. Museum in Greenport, Long Island. This popular family exhibit brought record crowds to the Gal- lery Annex and Store, with visitors lining up each day through- out the holiday season. 4 Preparing to Wish “Happy Birthday” to New York’s Great Landmark hrough much of 2012 the Transit Museum The Transit Museum Store developed a wide-range was engaged as a lead partner in planning for of products including a sketchbook published by Tthe Centennial of Grand Central Terminal. As Moleskine, with Grand Central-inspired images Centennial Co-Director, Museum Director Gabrielle submitted by architects as part of a competition Shubert joined Metro-North Railroad and the MTA co-sponsored with The Architecture League of New to oversee the vision and execution of this mam- York. moth, year-long project. In-depth planning for two centennial centerpieces A distinguished roster of New York civic leaders, undertaken by the Museum were Grand by Design, business executives and cultural luminaries was an exhibition developed for Vanderbilt Hall, and the assembled as Centennial and Honorary Centennial official centennial volume entitled Grand Central Committees, led by former MTA Chairman Peter Terminal: 100 Years of a New York Landmark, writ- Stangl and Caroline Kennedy. Other members ten by the New York Transit Museum and Anthony include: Arthur Sulzberger, Chairman of The New Robins. York Times; award-winning actress Cynthia Nixon; filmmaker Spike Lee; Kathryn Wylde, President of Both of these projects were endorsed with the the Partnership for New York City; Kenneth Cole and receipt of several prestigious grants, including: George Fertitta, CEO of NYC & Company. $160,000 from American Express; $75,000 from the Samuel Freeman Charitable Trust and $5,000 from During 2012, the Museum planned a series of the JM Kaplan Fund’s Furthermore program. Addi- six Centennial exhibitions, developed Centenni- tional support included: Bombardier; Kawasaki Rail al-related public programs and youth and family Car; Veolia Transportation; Malkin Holdings L.L.C, workshops, and planned to integrate this significant the Dean S. Edmonds Foundation, the New York anniversary into 2013 school and camp programs. Building Foundation and Metro-North Railroad. 5 Collections and Archives he Transit Museum developed all of the content for the Grand Central Centennial celebration in T2012. Using the museum’s rich collection of historical documents, images, and artifacts, our archi- vist and registrar undertook the monumental task of researching, sourcing and organizing material for the Museum’s exhibitions and publications. Pulling from collections around the country, in addition to mate- rial in the Museum’s holdings, the archives provided material that served press, product development, promotional collateral, and external authors and journalists. A number of significant objects from the Museum’s collections were conserved for use in the Grand by Design exhibit. Other collection activities in 2012 included receipt of a Local Government Records Management Fund grant from the New York State Archives