It Happened Here
It is a truism that Lower Manhattan has been America’s town square since its founding in 1524, even though its history is much deeper. Virtually every aspect of global, local and national significance can be in some manner traced to this Downtown stage. Some have been forgotten and some have been transformative in our culture and many have fallen between. This is both a project in urban archeology and a way of describing the city over time. It Happened Here captures the multiple and overlapping stories that are woven throughout our city’s life. It embraces America’s history as the museums, monuments and memorials that dot its streetscape do. It highlights many of the concerns, events and places that the people who lived, fought, worked and visited here thought were important at their moment in time.
It takes another look at the issues that they were preoccupied with and how they solved them: their politics, religion, social protest, health and safety, commerce, disasters and defense, scandals and crime, education, publications, art and culture, parades and celebrations, architecture and engineering. It encapsulates the events that shaped the physical and cultural landscape within the changing geography at the water’s edge. And it raises questions that need to be considered as we plan a more resilient city in our future.
It Happened Here seeks to excavate its many historical layers: from its inception as the precolonial Lenapehoking territory (once inhabited by the Munsee Lenape and Wappinger tribes), to the creation of New Amsterdam by the Dutch, to the establishment of the first free African settlement in North America, to the establishment of British control, to the gateway for immigration, to being the site of the American Revolution, to its present-day significance as the nation’s cultural and financial nerve-center.
To kick off the United States’ upcoming 250th birthday It Happened Here will be a weekend on July 4, 2025 which will compress our 400 years into 4 days with each day being devoted to a century. The program will feature multiple types of activations, including tours, panels, and special events that will take place in many of the sites downtown where highlighted historical events occurred supplemented with our digital museum without walls app.
A Celebration of the New York Cocktail
A Celebration of the New York Cocktail
Thursday, February 20, 2025
5:00 PM 9:00 PM
A Benefit for It Happened Here
Lower Manhattan has been America’s town square since its founding as Fort Amsterdam in 1624. Key global events— and nearly every aspect of national and local significance—can be traced to this New York “stage”. To kick off the United States’ upcoming 250th birthday and celebrate the 400th anniversary of the founding of New York, It Happened Here in July 2025 will compress 400 years into 5 days. Special events, tours, panels and other programming will re-activate the sites where America began, supplemented with cultureNOW’s digital museum without walls app.
Our host venue is the soon-to-be-completed workplace of the future, WSA (Water Street Associates) Our event will be held in the Water Street Projects exhibition space. Join us for an unforgettable evening dedicated to the historic cocktails that define the Big Apple. Sip on familiar and unfamiliar classic drinks while mingling with fellow cocktail enthusiasts. Our expert mixologists will be on hand to share the history behind each drink. Don't miss out on this unique opportunity to indulge in the flavors of New York City!
Time:
Building Tour: 5:15pm
Cocktail Reception: 6:00pm - 9:00pm
Cocktails by:
Natasha David Bartender
David Moo Bartender + Voice Actor
cultureNOW is a 501(c)(3) charitable association. EIN #75-3056357. The estimated fair market value of the cocktail reception is $100 per person. The balance is deductible as a charitable contribution to the extent allowed by law.
Lower Manhattan Historical Timeline
Black History at Foley Square - It Happened Here : An Afternoon of Black History From the African Burial Ground to Thurgood Marshall Courthouse
Black History at Foley Square - It Happened Here : An Afternoon of Black History From the African Burial Ground to Thurgood Marshall Courthouse
Tuesday, February 18, 2025
3:00 PM 7:00 PM
Much of Black history in New York revolves around Foley Square. This is a two-part event. First, we will have a tour of the African Burial Ground with its architect Rodney Leon, including a look at some of the artworks commissioned for the Burial Ground which depict the experience of enslaved people. This will be followed by the second part of the program highlighting three legal pioneers — Justice Thurgood Marshall, Judge Constance Baker Motley, and Judge Robert L. Carter — who collaborated at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund before going on to preside on the federal bench at Foley Square.
The honorees and the speakers are as follows
Justice Thurgood Marshall
Speaker: Hon. Paul A. Engelmayer, United States District Judge, Southern District of New York — former law clerk to Justice Marshall
Judge Constance Baker Motley
Speaker: Hon. Laura Taylor Swain, Chief Judge, United States District Court, Southern District of New York — former law clerk to Judge Motley
Judge Robert L. Carter
Speaker: Hon. Barrington D. Parker, Jr., United States Circuit Judge, Second Circuit — judicial colleague of Judge Carter
Thurgood Marshall U.S. Courthouse Renovation
Speaker: Lawrence Gutterman, AIA, Project architect
Please join cultureNOW, the Lower Manhattan Historical Association, the National Park Service, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, & Black Gotham for an afternoon tour and symposium.
Time
3:00 pm : Tour - African Burial Ground National Monument, 290 Broadway NY
5:00 pm : Symposium - Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse, 40 Foley Square, NY
This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the city council. cultureNOW’s program is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
Event Program
It Happened Here : American Presidents in New York
It Happened Here : American Presidents in New York
Monday, February 17, 2025
3:00 PM 5:00 PM
Every American President passed through New York City. Some were born here such as Theodore Roosevelt. Some lived here including Herbert Hoover who spent his post Presidential years residing in the Presidential Suite at the Waldorf Astoria. Some were married here. In 1844, for instance, John Tyler wed Julia Gardiner at the Church of the Ascension on 5th Avenue & 10th Street. Some worked here. Chester Arthur practiced law in New York first before he was appointed the Collector of the Port of New York, a position which actually paid more than the presidency. Some received medical care here. Grover Cleveland was operated on for cancer of the jaw on a yacht off of Pier A. Some like Ulysses S Grant went bankrupt here. Some launched their candidacy here. Abraham Lincoln gave the famous speech at Cooper Union that launched his candidacy and sadly returned a few years later in a casket to City Hall to terminate it. The appropriate place to celebrate President’s Day is, of course, Federal Hall, our first capital whose balcony was the site of Washington’s inauguration.
Please join cultureNOW, the Lower Manhattan Historical Association, & the National Park Service for a symposium.
Event Program
It Happened Here: American Presidents in New York - Introduction & Ranger Ryan Ventura, National Park Service
Introduction:
Ramon E. Mangual, PhD
Supervisory Park Ranger
National Park Service
Welcome:
Ambrose Richardson III
President, Lower Manhattan Historical Association
Presenter:
Ranger Ryan Ventura
National Park Service
It Happened Here: American Presidents in New York - Seth Kaller
Presenter:
Seth Kaller
Seth Kaller, Inc., Historic Documents & Legacy Collections
It Happened Here: American Presidents in New York - Abby Suckle
Presenter:
Abby Suckle
President, cultureNOW; Vice President, Lower Manhattan Historical Association
Saratoga Yorktown Celebration
Saratoga Yorktown Celebration
Saturday, October 19, 2024
2:30 PM 3:30 PM
A commemoration of the American Victories of Saratoga on October 17, 1777 and Yorktown on October 19, 1781. Each October the LMHA celebrates two of the Continental Army’s most decisive Revolutionary War victories, the battles of Saratoga and Yorktown. Both General Horatio Gates, the commanding general at the Battle of Saratoga, and Alexander Hamilton, a key aide to General George Washington and the leader the climactic charge against redoubt 10 at the Battle of Yorktown, are buried at Trinity Churchyard. Additionally, the Battle of Yorktown is symbolic of the United States of America’s oldest military alliance. Powerful French land forces, commanded by the Comte de Rochambeau, and an equally important and sizable French fleet, commanded by the Comte de Grasse, played a crucial role in the defeat and capitulation of the British army.
This will be the Inaugural Frederic P. Vigneron Award Federation of French War Veterans
Event Program
Shaping the Skyline in Lower Manhattan - American Institute of Architects National Presidents in Lower Manhattan
Shaping the Skyline in Lower Manhattan - American Institute of Architects National Presidents in Lower Manhattan
Friday, October 4, 2024
3:00 PM 4:30 PM
The American Institute of Architects was founded in Lower Manhattan by 29 architects in 1857 to “promote the scientific and practical perfection of its members” and “elevate the standing of the profession.” Until this time, anyone who wished to call themselves an architect, including masons, carpenters, bricklayers, and other members of the building trade, could do so. With over 95,000 members and 200+ chapters, AIA is the largest and most influential network of architects and design professionals in the world. AIANY is the country’s largest chapter and in 2011 it launched Archtober—NYC’s annual, month-long architecture festival. We will honor the AIA National Presidents with a two-part event beginning with an afternoon walking tour of some of the most distinguished buildings designed by them that have shaped Lower Manhattan. Richard Upjohn served for nearly 20 years as the first president. He was followed by some of the best architects of the day: Richard Morris Hunt, Daniel Burnham, Cass Gilbert, George Post, and Charles McKim. The evening will end with our signature Friday evening Cocktails & Conversations with the current AIA National President.
Tour Leaders:
Abby Suckle FAIA, President cultureNOW; Principal, Abby Suckle Architect
William M. Singer AIA, Code and Zoning specialist Technical Affairs, New York City Department of Buildings
Event Program
A Celebration of Constitution Day
A Celebration of Constitution Day
Tuesday, September 17, 2024
5:00 PM 7:00 PM
September 17, 1787 marks the signing of the US Constitution. George Washington wrote a cover letter explaining to the states why they should ratify it. The first printing was in the Pennsylvania Packet and Daily Advertiser 2 days later. Notably, on display there will be a rare copy of the Constitution, and the United States District Court for the District of New York was the first court to convene after the passage of the Judiciary Act of 1789.
Please join cultureNOW, the United States District Court for the District of New York, & the Lower Manhattan Historical Association for an afternoon symposium about our Constitution and its ratification.
Speakers:
Professor Kevin Arlyck, Georgetown Law
Honorable Judge P. Kevin Castel, United States Southern District Court
Seth Kaller, Historical Documents & Legacy Collections
James von Klemperer, FAIA, President Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates
CLE and CEU credits
Event Program
9th Annual Independence Day Celebration
9th Annual Independence Day Celebration
ThursdaThursday, July 4, 2024
10:00 AM 4:00 PM
The celebration of Independence Day has been a long standing tradition in Lower Manhattan from the very first days of the Revolution, and especially following the British military's evacuation in 1783. As the celebration of this most important of American patriotic holidays gravitated uptown to other neighborhoods this and other Lower Manhattan historical traditions gradually faded into relative obscurity and finally ceased to be active by the mid-1970s. Understanding only too well how Lower Manhattan holds a place second to none among the cities and States leading the revolutionary cause for independence and appreciating the wealth of historical monuments and American patriot gravesites concentrated in what is often called the "tip of Manhattan" several of the oldest and most respected historical and military organizations with deep ties to the neighborhood formed the Lower Manhattan Historical Association in 2014 for the purpose of reviving the patriotic traditions so closely associated with our beloved city, offer the multiplicity of our communities as well as our many visitors the opportunity to participate and enhance the sentiments of coexisting plurality and unity that define the ideals of great nation.
For its Ninth Parade, festivities will begin with a 10:00 Flag Raising Ceremony led by the Veteran Corps of Artillery of the State of New York, followed by the parade which will end at South Street Seaport Pier 16. In the afternoon, Fraunces Tavern Museum will have an open house from 2:00-5:00pm. There is also an It Happened Here program at 2:00pm highlighting the newly installed Lafayette exhibit. Original copies of the Declaration of Independence including newspapers printed on July 18th will be on display at the museum.
Museum at Eldridge Street
Museum at Eldridge Street
Sunday, June 23, 2024
1:00 PM 3:30 PM
The Eldridge Street Synagogue was the First synagogue in America purpose-built by immigrants from Eastern Europe. By 1887 when it was constructed, the Lower East Side was in the process of becoming the most densely populated neighborhood on in the world. The building was dedicated a National Historic Landmark in 1987 which inaugurated a decades long preservation project. It was reopened in 2007 Please join cultureNOW, the Lower Manhattan Historical Association, the Federal Hall Conservancy & The Museum at Eldridge Street for an afternoon symposium highlighting the cultural richness of this amazing synagogue.
Event Program
St Paul’s Chapel : Places Over Time
St Paul’s Chapel : Places Over Time
Thursday, March 7, 2024
2:30 PM 4:30 PM
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.
Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.
Event Program
Lunch & Learn: The Birth of New York City's Municipal Government
Lunch & Learn: The Birth of New York City's Municipal Government
Friday, February 2, 2024
1:00 PM 2:00 PM
An online program of presentations on Dutch colonial records to launch the 400th Anniversary of the arrival of the Dutch in New York.
On February 2, 1653 the States General in the Hague and the Dutch West India Company in Amsterdam issued a charter officially establishing a government structure like those existing in the Netherlands.
Register for the program here
Event Program
8th Annual Independence Day Celebration
8th Annual Independence Day Celebration
Tuesday, July 4, 2023
10:30 AM 12:00 PM
The celebration of Independence Day has been a long standing tradition in Lower Manhattan from the very first days of the Revolution, and especially following the British military's evacuation in 1783. As the celebration of this most important of American patriotic holidays gravitated uptown to other neighborhoods this and other Lower Manhattan historical traditions gradually faded into relative obscurity and finally ceased to be active by the mid-1970s. Understanding only too well how Lower Manhattan holds a place second to none among the cities and States leading the revolutionary cause for independence and appreciating the wealth of historical monuments and American patriot gravesites concentrated in what is often called the "tip of Manhattan" several of the oldest and most respected historical and military organizations with deep ties to the neighborhood formed the Lower Manhattan Historical Association in 2014 for the purpose of reviving the patriotic traditions so closely associated with our beloved city, offer the multiplicity of our communities as well as our many visitors the opportunity to participate and enhance the sentiments of coexisting plurality and unity that define the ideals of great nation.
For its Eighth Parade, festivities will begin with a 10:00 Flag Raising Ceremony led by the Veteran Corps of Artillery of the State of New York and their Annual Salute to the Nation, marchers will assemble at 10:45am for the parade which will end at South Street Seaport Pier 16. In the afternoon, Fraunces Tavern Museum will have an open house from 2:00-5:00pm. There is also the first It Happened Here program at 2:00pm.
Event Program
