Buzz
New interactive map honors ratification of the 19th
amendment and highlights New York City’s role
BY ALEJANDRA
O’CONNELL-DOMENECH
A new interactive map highlights
the crucial role that
lower Manhattan played
in the fi ght for women’s suffrage.
Village Preservation launched
the map this month in honor of
the 100th anniversary of the ratifi
cation of the 19th amendment
which granted white women the
right to vote.
The amendment, which was
fully certifi ed by Congress on
Aug. 26, specifi cally prohibited
states from denying voting rights
to citizens based on sex. Offi cials
still used a series of voter suppression
tactics to keep some women
away from the polls. In 1920,
Black, Indigenous and Asian
women were not citizens cutting
meaning the newly won privilege
did not apply to them. But the
passage of the legislation is still
considered a major milestone in
the fi ght for universal women’s
suffrage.
Users just need to place their
cursors over a collection of scattered
gray boxes on the watercolor
painting styled map to
learn that the Washington Square
Park Arch was the starting point
for the largest women’s suffrage
parade in 1915.
The map spotlights a remarkable
number of people and places
in Greenwich Village, the East
Village, and NoHo which were all
long centers of “political ferment
and progressive social change,”
according to Village Preservation’s
website.
Other historical gems included
on the map are:
The Mother Zion AME Church
at 215 West 10th St. where Abolitionist
and Civil Rights leaders
Sojourner Truth and Frederick
Douglas worshiped.
Beethoven Hall, 210-214
East 5th St. the site of a
1907 Woman’s Trade Union
PHOTO VIA WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
League convention where the organization,
made up of workingclass
and well-off women, fully
endorsed women’s suffrage.
Cooper Union Great Hall at 7
East 7th Street site of the National
Rights Convention where Criminal
justice reformer and suffragist
Abby Hopper Gibbons served as
secretary. Many leading suffragists
gave landmark speeches at
Cooper Union.
“StoryMaps are a great way to
explore history and gain a greater
understanding of how places
shape our lives and our collective
experiences. We’re proud of how
this StoryMap shows the critical
role that the people and places of
Greenwich Village, the East Village,
and NoHo played in making
the historic achievement of the
19th amendment possible,” wrote
Executive Director of Village
Preservation Andrew Berman in
an email to amNewYork Metro.”
It was wonderful to look at the
diversity of people — women
and men, black and white, rich
and poor, radical and traditional
— who worked over the course
of a century and a half to secure
this critical victory. On the eve
of one of the most consequential
elections in history, with issues
of equality and justice front and
center in the debate, looking at
the obstacles which had to be
overcome in this civil rights movement
a hundred years ago and the
people who helped make it happen
seems more relevant than ever. “
Historic ship at South Street Seaport set to once again welcome visitors
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
One of the hallmark attractions
at South Street
Seaport, the 135-yearold
tall ship Wavertree, is ready
to welcome visitors aboard again.
The South Street Seaport Museum
announced Monday that the
public will be able to again take
limited tours of the historic ship
in September. Entry is free, but
visitors must reserve times and
passes in advance.
“The Seaport Museum is
thrilled to welcome back visitors
to our historic ship Wavertreeon
select days in September,” said
Museum President and CEO
Captain Jonathan Boulware.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has
kept New Yorkers at home for the
last fi ve months, and now we are
pleased to safely open the outdoor
spaces of our fl agship at no cost to
our community, which has been
so steadfast in supporting our
work during this diffi cult time.”
Docked at South Street
Seaport’s Pier 16 and offering
spectacular views of the Manhattan
and Brooklyn skylines, the
wrought-iron Wavertreeserves as
an archetype of the sailing ships
that crossed the globe during the
latter part of the 19th century. She
was saved in 1968 from industrial
use in South America, and
brought to the Seaport Museum
to become the centerpiece of the
institution’s “Street of Ships.”
Over the last half-century,
thousands of tourists have gazed
upon and toured the Wavertree,
gaining an appreciation for the
history of sailing and shipping
along the way. The old ship underwent
a $13 million renovation
between 2015 and 2016, funded
by the city’s Department of Cultural
Affairs through allocations
from the Mayor’s offi ce, Manhattan
Borough President Gale
Brewer, and the City Council.
Various safety protocols will
be instituted when visitors are
welcomed back to the Wavertreein
September. All visits will be selfguided
along a self route; no more
than 35 people will be allowed on
board at any time to encourage
social distancing. All guests over
the age of two must wear masks.
Moreover, only the exterior
parts of the Wavertreewill be
open to the public; interior spaces
will remain off-limits.
While visiting the Wavertree,
guests can also enjoy the museum’s
new outdoor exhibition
on Pier 16, which features panels
and window graphics celebrating
the generations of people who
have lived and worked in the
South Street Seaport Historic
District. The museum also offers
The Wavertree.
an outdoor, pop-up gift shop.
The Wavertreewill be open
to visitors with timed entries
from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on four
Saturdays, Sept. 5, 12, 19 and
26, and one Sunday, Sept. 6.
Museum members will be able to
take a tour on a special preview
day this Saturday, Aug. 29, from
11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
To reserve your tickets for
timed entry, visit seaportmuseum.
org/visitwavertree.
PHOTOS BY RICHARD BOWDITCH/SOUTH STREET SEAPORT MUSEUM
A limited number of guests will be able to tour the Wavertree
at South Street Seaport this September
18 August 27, 2020 Schneps Media