Category Archives: Museums

Open House New York 2026

Politics, NYC, Museums, History, Nature, Technology
Materials Recovery Facility-Sunset Park

October in New York brings Open House weekend where hundreds of locations open their doors to the public.  On Friday, I visited the Material Recoveries Facility in Sunset Park–the largest in North America–and learned that it has the ability to recycle any solid plastic container!  Of course, we should still reduce and reuse first, but at least I feel comfortable that those numbers on plastic don’t matter in NYC, they recycle them all!

Audio-Kinetic Sculpture/ George Rhoads at Waterfront Museum-Red Hook

Saturday, I first stopped by Brooklyn Borough Hall and then headed over to Red Hook where I spent time at the Waterfront Museum, a former railroad barge that now contains artifacts from the Lighterage Era.  On certain days, they also hosts music and theater performances.  There was also art on display, including a kinetic sculpture by George Rhoads.

On Sunday, I first climbed to the roof of Brooklyn Solar Works, the largest producer of solar panels in New York City.  And finally, I ventured to the edge of Sunset Park for a tour of the magnificent Cass Gilbert designed Brooklyn Army Terminal. Three days of fun via Citibike!

Brooklyn Army Terminal-Building B

Taiwanese American Arts Council on Governor’s Island

History, Museums, Music, Nature, NYC

Every summer the Trust for Governors Island invites cultural organizations to host artists and events in its historic buildings previously occupied by military officers.  Yesterday I stumbled upon a concert being performed by the duo of Shu-Wei Tseng on cello and Yu-Ting Cheng on clarinet in building 17, which was hosting the Taiwanese American Arts Council.

Mixed Media sculpture/ Sarah Walko

After the concert they invited the artists in residence to speak about the projects they had displayed throughout the old house.

They even had a little reception afterwords with chips and Guac!

Minnesota Boat Club/ Paul S. Kramer

History, Minnesota, Museums

My mother gave me this signed print by Minnesota artist Paul S. Kramer (1919-2012). It is of the Minnesota Boat Club, a St. Paul rowing club, which dates back to 1870 and claims to be Minnesota’s oldest athletic institution.  Their boathouse on Raspberry Island was built in 1910 and can be rented for weddings or other events.

Kramer’s original 1998 painting is oil on canvas, measures 28″ x 37″ and is part of the Dan Shogren and Susan Meyer collection.  Shogren and Meyer’s collection focuses on twentieth century American art and has been featured at The Minneapolis Institute of Art.  A beautiful survey of Kramer’s art titled Other Realities was published by Julie L’Enfant, who taught at the St. Paul College of Visual Arts before it closed in 2013. 

Kramer grew up on a farm, first in North Dakota and then South St. Paul.  After serving in Europe during WWII, he studied art in France then returned to St. Paul, where he took classes at the St. Paul School of Art with Clement Haupers.  Next, he attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and spent more time in Europe, before returning to teach and become Director of Exhibitions at the St. Paul Gallery and School of Art, which is now the Minnesota Museum of American Art.

The museum struggled financially in the 1990s and early 2000s but seems to be thriving at its current home in the 1889-1890 Pioneer and Endicott buildings designed by Cass Gilbert and James Knox Taylor.  The museum is also free and hopefully can be part of a revitalized downtown St. Paul cultural scene!

MCNY Ginger Bread

Food, History, Museums, NYC

Among the NYC holidays countless joys are the seasonal exhibits held at certain museums. Vintage toys are found at The New York Historical Society.  The New York Botanical Garden has their fantastical Train Show–where artisans spend months transforming twigs, leaves and grasses into area monuments.  And The Museum of the City of New York hosts the enticing Gingerbread NYC, which I had the pleasure of visiting today.  The first thing you notice upon entering the gallery is the sweet aroma of confectionery wonders that could easily crush any TV Baking Competition.  My favorites included an apartment building with an iconic water tank, a wreath covered Sheridan Square subway station and a majestic Statue of Liberty.  Visiting children were enthralled.  The pieces must be made of edible material, but the cake and icing inevitably gets a little moldy.  So while they look delicious, eating would likely mean a tummy ache!