South Street Seaport offers an exciting calendar of events in art, literature, and history. Most of these events are free ($3 suggested donation) and complimentary wine and refreshments are served. Over the next few months, we have quite a few events that will undoubtedly appeal to people interested in New York history and culture. For directions or further information please email publicprograms@southstseaport.org or call(212)748-8735Tuesday, May 6, 2003
7-9 p.m.
Melville Gallery - 213 Water St. (Manhattan)
THOMAS KESSNER presents CAPITAL CITY: NEW YORK CITY AND THE MEN BEHIND AMERICA'S RISE TO ECONOMIC DOMINANCE, 1880-1900. Go back a century in time to see just what it took to make New York tick, and learn how Gould, Morgan, Rockefeller and Tweed were so instrumental in the rise of New York as a city of global trade and commerce. Book signing.
Thursday, May 8, 2003
7-9 p.m.
Melville Gallery - 213 Water St. (Manhattan)
BUCKNER F. MELTON, JR. reads from A HANGING OFFENSE: THE STRANGE AFFAIR OF THE WARSHIP SOMERS, a gripping historical account of a near mutiny on an American training ship that changed the course of maritime history, leading to the foundation of the U.S. Naval Academy.
Wednesday, May 14, 2003
7-9 p.m.
STANLEY GREENBERG presents WATERWORKS: A JOURNEY THROUGH NEW YORK'S HIDDEN WATER SYSTEM. New York's system of aqueducts, reservoirs, tunnels, gatehouses, and tanks has been under continual construction since the 1830s. Greenberg began photographing the system in 1992 and finished shooting in the spring of 2001, just before the events of 9/11 closed most sites to all access. Book signing.
Saturday, May 24, 2003
7-9 p.m.
Melville Gallery - 213 Water St. (Manhattan)
Brooklyn Bridge Anniversary Celebration!
Historian RICHARD HAW reads from A CULTURAL HISTORY OF THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE, 1883 – 2003. Book Signing.
Thursday, June 5, 2003
7-9 p.m.
Melville Gallery - 213 Water St. (Manhattan)
PHILIP GOUREVITCH reads from A COLD CASE, his fascinating true account of an unsolved Manhattan murder mystery and the two men determined to solve the 27 year-old double homicide.
Friday, June 13, 2003
7-9 p.m.
Melville Gallery - 213 Water St. (Manhattan)
ED O'DONNELL reads from his new account of the 1904 Slocum disaster, SHIP ABLAZE: THE FORGOTTEN STORY OF THE BURNING OF THE GENERAL SLOCUM AND THE LOSS OF A THOUSAND LIVES. Prior to September 11, 2001, the Slocum disaster was the deadliest event in New York history. More than 1,000 New Yorkers – mostly German immigrants – perished when the steamboat burst into flame on the East River. O'Donnell draws on firsthand accounts to examine why the death toll was so high, how the city responded to the catastrophe, and why this disaster has failed to achieve the historic prominence accorded similar tragedies. Wine and refreshments.
Sunday, June 15
3-5 p.m.
Melville Gallery - 213 Water St. (Manhattan)
Melville Gallery
PATRICK TULL’s one man performance: THE HERO OF THE SLOCUM, based on the 1904 disaster that took the lives of 1021 immigrants on the East River excursion boat General Slocum. The performance will mark the ninety-ninth anniversary of the disaster. Tull renders twenty characters through a variety of voices and dialects.
Wednesday, June 18, 2003
7-9 p.m.
Melville Gallery - 213 Water St. (Manhattan)
ANTHONY M. TUNG presents THE PRESERVATION OF HISTORIC WATERFRONTS: VENICE, AMSTERDAM, MEXICO CITY, NEW YORK. Anthony Tung has traveled throughout the world to visit remarkable buildings and districts in China, Italy, Greece, the U.S., Japan, and elsewhere. Everywhere he found the devastating legacy of war, economics, and indifference, but also the accomplishments of people who have worked and sometimes risked their lives to preserve and renew the most meaningful urban expressions of the human spirit. Tung shares the story of the fight to save the world’s architectural and cultural heritage and discusses the many forces that lead us to preserve the fabric of our great cities.
Thursday,June 19, 2003
7-9 p.m.
Melville Gallery - 213 Water St. (Manhattan)
In the wake of September 11, 2001, and with the rising likelihood of increased waterborne transit, the conversion of former industrial and military installations to public uses, and the hosting of the 2012 Summer Olympics, New York City faces the monumental task of rethinking and redeveloping its waterfront. But how will this transformation take place, and what will it produce? In BEYOND THE EDGE: NEW YORK'S NEW WATERFRONT, RAY GASTIL presents a convincing case for inspired design in the revitalization of the city's waterfront, a vision that holds out the promise of reconnecting New Yorkers to their waterfront as a vital place of work and of public life. Wine and refreshments.
Wednesday, June 25, 2003
7-9 p.m.
Melville Gallery - 213 Water St. (Manhattan)
AUGUSTEN BURROUGHS, the New York Times best-selling author, reads from his new memoir DRY. In RUNNING WITH SCISSORS, Burroughs detailed the amazing story of his childhood spent living with his mother's insane psychiatrist and his deeply eccentric family. In DRY, Burroughs continues that story, telling us what happened after he relocated to Manhattan and established a life for himself as a high-paid advertising hotshot. DRY is at times howlingly funny, devastatingly moving, and in the end, exhilaratingly uplifting as the author finally gets it together. Book signing.
Wednesday, July 9, 2003
12:15 - 1:15 p.m.
Melville Gallery - 213 Water St. (Manhattan)
Melville Gallery
LUNCHTIME LECTURE: NAIMA RAUAM, PAINTING THE WATERFRONG
Naima Rauam is an artist and photographer who knows the East River waterfront quite intimately – her studio is in the Fulton Fish Market overlooking the East River. She has painted, photographed and documented the many aspects of this waterfront for over thirty years. Naima will illustrate her vision through a watercolor, photograph and slide presentation.
Saturday, July 26, 2003
1-3 p.m.
Meet at Melville Gallery - 213 Water St. (Manhattan)
LENAPE TRAILS OF THE LOWER EAST SIDE
Experience a unique layering of history on a walking tour with author and historian EVAN PRITCHARD. On the tour, we will retrace forgotten trails, visit long-gone cherry orchards and imagine ancient canoe crossings of the Lenape people, tapping into the "prehistory" of Lower Manhattan and the Seaport District.
Wednesday, August 6, 2003
12:15-1:15 p.m.
Melville Gallery - 213 Water St. (Manhattan)
LUNCHTIME LECTURE: NAIMA RAUAM, PAINTING THE FULTON FISH MARKET
Naima Rauam began painting and photographing the Fulton Fish as a student in 1965. Since then, she has recorded every aspect of the Market and maintains a studio there as well. Naima will share the watercolor technique that has helped capture a passing moment in New York City’s history.
Wednesday, August 13, 2003
7-9 p.m.
Melville Gallery - 213 Water St. (Manhattan)
NAIMA RAUAM, BRIDGES AND NEIGHBORHOODS
Naima Rauam is a resident artist and photographer who has captured many aspects of the New York waterfront. She has drawn inspiration from the Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg Bridges and the neighborhoods connected by these great spans. Naima will reflect on how this sense of place has informed her work and talk about her experiences climbing these bridges.
