Tang Wing for American Democracy, The New York Historical, Courtesy of Alden Studios for Robert A.M. Stern Architects.
The New-York Historical Society has officially changed its name to the New York Historical. The 220-year-old American history museum, located at 170 Central Park West between West 76 and 77th streets, is also celebrating a new wing dedicated to American democracy, currently under construction and made possible by a $20 million gift from H.M. Agnes Hsu-Tang and Oscar L. Tang.
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The hyphen removed from “New York” had been in use since the institution’s founding in 1804, when the city’s name was spelled “New-York.” “[The new name] also eliminates the word ‘society’ to signal that the institution is welcoming to all,” the museum said in a press release. The museum also noted that its new logo will feature an icon—the letter “H,” to reflect the history of New York State and Indigenous cultures of the United States–along with a prominent crossbar that nods to the legacy of the hyphen and the history of New York City as a bridge of peoples and cultures.
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In an interview with The New York Times, which first reported on the story, Ken Wein, the museum’s senior vice president and chief content officer, “acknowledged that ‘the New York Historical’ doesn’t necessarily make grammatical sense, but he likened it to the former Apple marketing campaign, ‘Think different.’”
Construction for the New York Historical’s new Democracy Wing is underway. The new Tang Wing for American Democracy will be dedicated to exhibitions and programming on democracy and is set to open in time for America’s 250th anniversary in 2026. Designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects, the new wing is part of a $175 million construction project, with the Tang family’s donation completing the fundraising effort. About $75 million of the project’s funding comes from public sources, with $57 million contributed by the city. Tang has also made notable contributions to The New York Philharmonic.
The Tang Wing for American Democracy will house the Academy for American Democracy, new gallery spaces and classrooms, and the home of the American LGBTQ+ Museum.
“This fall brings several important milestones for New York’s first museum,” said Dr. Louise Mirrer, president and CEO of the New York Historical. Dr. Mirrer added that the gifts from Agnes and Oscar enable the museum to greatly expand teaching while celebrating democracy here in New York, the nation’s first capital and the place where George Washington was inaugurated. “With our new name and look, we are embracing our responsibility not simply as stewards and storytellers of history but, through our education programs reaching 30,000 students each year, as a contemporary leader in ensuring democracy’s future.”
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Artifacts expected to be featured in the wing include items from “George Washington’s inauguration, including an armchair he used in the Senate chamber of Federal Hall after being sworn in, the Bible, and a section of the wrought-iron balustrade that adorned the new capitol on Wall Street.” The galleries, like the incoming Klingenstein Family Gallery, will showcase works such as “a portrait of the Dutch-Seneca chief Gayë’twahgeh—or Cornplanter—who fought with the British during the Revolutionary War, and a sculpture by Augusta Savage, who overcame poverty, racism, and sexual discrimination to become an influential artist and community organizer during the Harlem Renaissance.
Klingenstein Family Gallery, The New York Historical, Courtesy of SKOLNICK Architecture + Design Partnership (SKOLNICK).
A conservation studio for painting and paper will house a state-of-the-art facility to conserve the institution’s exceptional collection of paintings and historical documents. The studio is designed to provide natural light, advanced ventilation, and workspace. The New York Historical, Courtesy of SKOLNICK Architecture + Design Partnership (SKOLNICK).
The new wing will also be home to the museum’s Academy for American Democracy, the New York Historical’s award-winning educational initiative during which sixth graders spend four full days onsite participating in a program that teaches civics and the importance of voter engagement and addresses critical knowledge gaps in the learning of American history. The number of students served will expand from 3,000 to 30,000 annually. It will also serve as the new home of the museum’s master’s program in museum studies, founded in 2019 with the City University of New York.
Roof garden, The New York Historical, Courtesy of SKOLNICK Architecture + Design Partnership (SKOLNICK).
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A rooftop garden terrace with a view of Central Park is also in the works. The facade will be “constructed of granite from Deer Isle, Maine—excavated from the same quarry that provided the stone for the New York Historical’s landmark building 120 years ago—creating an integrated and expanded campus that encompasses the existing landmarked building and a new 70,000-square-foot wing.”
A new tagline has also been crafted for the oldest museum in New York: “Our nation in conversation” (formerly “Because history matters”). New graphics in blue (presidential), orange (a nod to the history of New York as a Dutch colony), and white (which Dr. Mirrer said is a symbolic color for Navajo culture) will accompany the rebranding effort.
The New York Historical is now in the process of raising $10 million to support exhibitions and programming for the Tang Wing.
“We are all historically connected. I’m very proud to serve this institution that has been really a steward of the evolution of America,” said Hsu-Tang.
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Love the institution and its offerings, but I HATE the new name – just sounds incomplete!!
It’s shameful that they thought they needed to change the name. For anyone who felt left out because of “Society,” they can now feel included because the name has been dumbed down just for them. This is an outrage. I’m embarrassed to admit I am part of the group of people who would have felt more entitled to belong in the past. I don’t want to belong to any society that thinks itself enlightened when they are actually only being demeaning and pretentious.
Imo the new name isn’t great, but it’s better than the name change at the erstwhile Brooklyn Historical Society, now the Center for Brooklyn History, which, ugh.
Getting rid of the hyphen in New-York, however, is a real mistake — that’s a charming detail with actual historical significance, and it wasn’t dissuading any younger people from visiting. If I ever become a billionaire, I’ll make an eight-figure donation on the condition that the hyphen be restored.
I don’t know whether I can ever forgive them for retiring their once-treasured hyphen, never mind the dropping of “Society”! May they come to their senses on this.
Big mistake in the name. The hyphen demonstrated a commitment to the odd quirks of long ago, and off all the words, Society was the most critical because that’s what the organization was. Now as another commenter says, it’s incomplete.
Love the outage about the name change. If New Yorkers didn’t have something to whine about, it wouldn’t be New-York!
White people acting woke is often a cue that inside they are as bigoted as ever. This change is ridiculous. Any autodidact with true and honest understanding of the shared history of our country would understand how insulting this is: New York Historical Hypocrisy.
White people acting woke is often a cue that inside they are as bigoted as ever. Any autodidact with true and honest understanding of the shared history of our country would understand how insulting this is: New York Historical Hypocrisy.
Welcome to the Department of Redundancy Department.
I’m having trouble figuring out how the letter “H” “ reflect[s] the history of New York State and Indigenous cultures of the United States.” How much did the Society (and yes, I’m still going to call it that) pay consultants to come up with this harebrained change?
I don’t get the name change and silly, stodgy tag line/slogan, ‘Our Nation in Conversation.’ To claim that the word ‘society’ has a ‘highfalutin’ vibe’ is inane. I, too, will continue to visit, but the name change and new tag line are unnecessary.