New Galleries of Little Syria and Preserved Artifacts
Save Washington Street has now added new galleries to the “Photographs” section of this website. The more photographs that we collect, the better we can understand the history of the neighborhood through visualizations of what the neighborhood looked like and how life was like, whether for a store owner, a tenant in one of the many tenement on Washington Street, or a visitor that wanted to experience a new culture that was different from the other cultures that populated New York City at the time.
Our collection of artifacts and photographs is always growing. We hope that these artifacts and photographs will help in the process of the neighborhood being preserved, remembered, and honored as an important immigrant community alongside the many other great ethnic neighborhoods of New York City. The cultural achievements produced by Little Syria should also be remembered because of their many benefits for America’s growth and development.
The following galleries have been added:
First, we have added a gallery of personal family artifacts and items that have been purchased or obtained on or around Washington Street.
In this gallery, you will see artifacts pertaining to business. My family had a business on Washington Street since 1893, and I have been fortunate enough to own many of their business records. These artifacts generally consist of business invoices, business transactions books, stationary, and other business related memorabilia.
This next gallery is a personal collection of family photographs and portraits from various families and or relatives. Not everyone within this set of photographs can be identified.
Last is a gallery about the music of the Arab Americans. Most of these recordings were done in New York City almost one hundred years ago and have been preserved since then. This music can stir intense emotions due to its transportation of the listener to the time and the environment of the music’s production. Recorded music is one of the best ways to preserve a culture or identity.
Latest News
-
Daily News Story on National September 11 Museum and “Little Syria”
May 18, 2013
Today the New York Daily News posted this informative piece by Carol Kuruvilla about our efforts to preserve the neighborhood and to encourage the National September 11 Museum to include some recognition. We want to emphasize that we only went public with our frustrations after several years of local historians asking the Museum to incorporate [...]
-
Community Board One Resolution on “Little Syria” Historical Signage
May 16, 2013
On May 1, 2013, the Financial District Committee of Community Board One unanimously advanced the below resolution advocating signage for “Little Syria.” While not all members necessarily voted or were present, the committee includes Edward Sheffe, CHAIR; Susan Cole, CO-CHAIR; Deron Charkoudian; Linda Gerstman; Mariama James; Michael Ketring; Joel Kopel; Elizabeth Lamere; Megan McHugh; Patricia [...]
-
Wall Street Journal Piece on Little Syria (Jennifer Weiss)
March 26, 2013
This morning the Wall Street Journal has a wonderful print and video piece about our campaign to protect the remaining complex of three historic buildings on Washington Street in Little Syria. This is indeed an urgent situation, and we would ask that people contact the Landmarks Preservation Commission (Chairman Robert Tierney) and Mayor Bloomberg, asking [...]
-
Salaam Club in New York Hosts Holiday Hafleh To Benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
December 14, 2012
On Saturday, December 8, our friends at the Salaam Club of New York City hosted a holiday hafleh (the Arabic equivalent of “party”) to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the internationally-known pediatric treatment and research facility in Memphis, Tennessee. Some people may not realize that the hospital was founded by popular Lebanese-American entertainer Danny [...]
-
Walking Tour of Washington Street on November 10 (With Joe Svehlak and Esther Regelson)
November 6, 2012
During Hurricane Sandy, lower Washington Street was flooded to near waist-high levels. Power is still trickling back, and the basements of most buildings were flooded, leaving some damage. However, a few of the neighborhood’s great advocates — local historian Joe Svehlak and community activist Esther Regelson — are still going forward with a walking tour [...]
Leave a comment