Connecting the Dots- New York Historical Society

Although I was only able to be at the New York Historical Society for a short time, what impressed me the most was a map of Washington Square Park which documented the design of the park prior to all of the reconstruction that has occurred over the decades. I began to wonder what it would look like if transparent blueprints were created and placed one on top of another displaying all of the changes which have been made to WSP. I find it absolutely fascinating to analyze the numerous ways in which the history of WSP can be revealed. Architectural documentation, personal accounts, paintings, music and construction blueprints are all ways in which to bring the history of WSP to life.

Among the many artifacts which were presented to us while at the New York Historical Society there was a manuscript of a diary of one of the Mayors of New York City many, many years ago. While the diary was being presented to the class I made a mental note of something which one of the lectures said. He said that manuscripts are unpredictable; one never knows what might be revealed in a diary. I thought that to be the perfect analogy for WSP because so much has happened either in or around WSP that it would be illogical to assume that one could ever know everything having to do with WSP. WSP has been so many different things to so many different people that I am just glad that there is adequate documentation to preserve and pass on the history of WSP to future generations. Having never been to the New York Historical Society before, I found it to be quite a worth while trip being that it exposed me to new and fascinating objects which helped me to come to the realization of how important it is to collect and preserve a variety of artifacts in order to establish a full and accurate historical representation of a place.