Tenement Museum adding Evening Tours

This year, the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, a National Trust Historic Site in New York City, has seen an overwhelming growth in attendance—March 2008 was the third-busiest month in the museum’s 20 year history. So from May 1 to October 30, the Tenement Museum will stay open late on Thursdays for tours at 5:45, 6:30, and 7:15 pm and the Museum Shop extends its Thursday hours to 8:30 pm. By adding evening tours, the museum will give visitors the chance to enjoy a truly remarkable piece of the city’s history while avoiding the hustle and bustle of the weekend.

Architect Barbara Campagna actively pursuing Sustainability at Historic Sites

Barbara Campagna, AIA, LEED AP, Graham Gund Architect at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, has plunged deep in the conversations on sustainability and historic sites. This is a major initiative at NTHP and the Historic Sites department is fortunate it can support this effort with someone so thoughtful and passionate. If you’ve been to any conference or meeting on sustainability and historic preservation lately, no doubt you’ll have encountered her:

Lincoln’s Cottage receives MUSE award

President Lincoln’s Cottage, a National Trust Historic Site in Washington, DC, was just awarded a Silver MUSE Award from the Media and Technology Committee of the American Association of Museums, for “Lincoln’s Toughest Decisions,” an interactive experience that puts visitors in the role of President Lincoln’s cabinet members. Designed to supplement interpreter-led discussions and aimed predominantly at school groups, the program allows users to explore letters, documents, and archival materials to help them decide how they, as a member of Lincoln’s Cabinet, should advise Lincoln during discussions about critical issues like the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862, the military turning point of the Civil War in 1864, and the strategy for Lincoln’s reelection in 1864.

Blogging with Historical Documents

An interesting approach to blogging on historic collections is being taken by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.  Chewpapers.blogspot.com follows the efforts of several archivists in restoring and organizing a trove of documents recovered from the Chew’s family estate, Cliveden. The blog takes an interesting approach to the documentation by scanning the documents and posting them as high resolution pictures that can be viewed by readers. The quality of the pictures is fantastic and it is fascinating to be able to read the actual hand written documents. This innovative approach to blogging helps to include the public in research in an interactive way.

Glass House Adding More Tours

The Philip Johnson Glass House in New Canaan, New York, has been such a popular destination that tours quickly sold out when it first opened. This year was no exception and as soon as tours were announced, they again were sold out for the entire season and many people who were unable to obtain tickets were disappointed. Because of this demand, the staff at Glass House looked carefully at the schedule and are able to add one more tour each day without compromising the visitor’s experience or neighborhood ambiance. But be warned: when word gets out, they’ll sell quickly, so here’s my recommended strategy: