Archives for local-history

Local History: Societies & Clubs

Local History: Societies & Clubs

Between the late 1920s and the mid 1980s, librarians amassed a large collection of pamphlets, flyers, photographs, newsletters, and yearbooks from all kinds of organizations in White Plains and filed them under “Societies & Clubs.” Below are a few examples–some pulled at random, some pulled because I found them amusing–of the fascinating, often quirky contents of the Societies & Clubs folders. As with all of the material posted on this blog, these items are available for the public to view in the library. If you're interested in doing so, email or call ahead to schedule an appointment!      
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December 16, 2016 5:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Local History.
Tags: local-history, newsletters, organizations, pamphlets, socieites and clubs, white plains collection, white plains history, and yearbooks.

People & Stories Oral History Project: Art Bennett

People & Stories Oral History Project: Art Bennett

Art Bennett (alto saxophone/flute) was born and raised in White Plains. Art was active in the ‘Loft Jazz’ movement in New York City during the 1970’s. This subsequently led to appearances at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully and Avery Fisher Halls and other New York venues. Art has performed with many notable musicians such as Lonnie Liston Smith, Rashied Ali, Roy Brooks, James “Blood” Ulmer, William Parker, Marion Meadows and an impressive list of musicians in the Free Jazz art form. He was also a member of the New York Musicians Organization (NYMO), which secured grants to provide musical education programs,
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December 13, 2016 5:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Local History and Oral History.
Tags: jazz, Jazz Fest, local-history, loft jazz, music, oral history, People & Stories, saxophone, and white plains history.

Local History: Slow Down with a Book

Local History: Slow Down with a Book

If you are reading this, you probably read more than just quaint blog posts. You might have a list of trusted sites you regularly browse, or perhaps you let an algorithm assemble content for you. Either way, information is liable to come at you fast in the form of tawdry headlines illustrated with photographic click-bait or in tweet-size bursts that belie the complex stories hidden behind shortened links. In the midst of all the media vying for our attention, I'd like to offer a classic suggestion: the book. All of the books below are part of the library's local history
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December 9, 2016 5:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Local History.
Tags: books, grace church, local-history, peter gansevoort, Revolutionary War, washington irving, white plains collection, White Plains High School, and white plains history.

Local History: Lester Associates, Inc.

Local History: Lester Associates, Inc.

Lester Associates, Inc. was a giant in the world of miniatures. Based out of Thornwood for a time, the firm was responsible for constructing scale models, exhibits, and custom technical displays for some of the most well-remembered endeavors of the 1960s. Although its most famous work is the Panorama of New York City that debuted at the 1964 World's Fair, Lester Associates also built a giant “time zone mural map” for IBM and intricate models of space craft for NASA. The images in this post come from a catalog sent to the library by Lester Associates in 1964.    
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December 2, 2016 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Local History.
Tags: 1964 world's fair, IBM, lester associates inc, local-history, models, raymond a lester, scale models, united nations, white plains collection, and white plains history.

People & Stories Oral History Project: Jack Harrington

People & Stories Oral History Project: Jack Harrington

Jack Harrington arrived in White Plains in June 1951. He moved here on assignment from the insurance company he worked for. During his long residency in White Plains, Jack has done a tremendous amount for the preservation of historical resources and the conservation of green spaces. Barbara and Rod Carlson, two active members of the White Plains Historical Society and knowledgeable students of local history, conducted these oral histories over a period of months. The creation of the Greenway, the politics of urban renewal, the character of White Plains, and the importance of historical preservation are some of the topics
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November 29, 2016 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Local History and Oral History.
Tags: conservation, good counsel, greenway, jack harrington, local-history, oral history, People & Stories, preservation, purdy house, Urban Renewal, white plains historical society, and white plains history.

Local History: Contentious Politics

Local History: Contentious Politics

Political battles are a near-ubiquitous part of our history. White Plains was the site of numerous political dramas in the late 19th- and early 20th-century. As the seat of the county and the home of many individuals who fancied themselves powerful and important, what happened in White Plains was news throughout the state. Rather than have you read two blog posts, I will direct you to a highly informative article written by local history expert Cliff Blau. The political cartoons in his article are by John Rosch, and can be seen in Rosch's scrapbooks or in Historic White Plains. The picture
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November 26, 2016 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Local History.
Tags: democrats, elections, historic newspapers, hopkins, hopper, John Rosch, local-history, moran, politics, republicans, scrapbooks, village board of trustees, village president, white plains argus, white plains daily argus, and white plains history.

Local History: 1960 Thanksgiving Day Parade

Local History: 1960 Thanksgiving Day Parade

Here are some pictures of a Thanksgiving Day Parade on November 25, 1960 in White Plains. The parade route ran along Main Street, Martine Avenue, and Mamaroneck Avenue. These photographs are from the Peter Kanze Collection, detailed in a previous blog post.                                                                                
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November 18, 2016 10:00 am | by | 2 Comments
Categories: Local History.
Tags: Alexander's, city hall, isaac leven, local-history, Main Street, Mamaroneck Avenue, Martine Avenue, parades, peter kanze, thanksgiving, and white plains history.

People & Stories Oral History Project: Johnnie Pantanelli

People & Stories Oral History Project: Johnnie Pantanelli

Colonel Johnnie Pantanelli knew two things when she graduated from Scarsdale High School in the early 1940s. First, she wanted to fly airplanes. Second, she liked driving motorcycles even though her mother and aunt tried to tell her riding was not a proper hobby for girls. As you will hear in this oral history, Johnnie (her given name is “Joan”) did not listen to anyone who tried to discourage her and charted a determined, adventurous course from an early age through her 90s. Johnnie joined the Civil Air Patrol during World War II. The CAP is the official auxiliary of
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November 15, 2016 10:00 am | by | 2 Comments
Categories: Oral History.
Tags: airplanes, civil air patrol, local-history, motorcycles, oral history, People & Stories, westchester county airport, and white plains history.

Local History: Urban Renewal Collection

Local History: Urban Renewal Collection

The Urban Renewal Collection is a set of documents, photographs, newspaper clippings, and publications that tell part of the story of urban renewal in White Plains between the mid-1950s and the late-1970s. All of the information in this post is drawn from sources in that collection and the White Plains Collection more broadly. In White Plains we throw around the phrase “urban renewal” rather casually, but it actually first referred to a specific set of laws, projects, and changes. The phrase “urban renewal” was codified in the Housing Act of 1954. Ironically, the Housing Act of 1954 actually increased the
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November 11, 2016 10:00 am | by | 4 Comments
Categories: Local History.
Tags: 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, city planning, local-history, Urban Renewal, urban renewal collection, white plains collection, and white plains history.

People & Stories Oral History Project: Karen Smith

People & Stories Oral History Project: Karen Smith

Dr. Karen P. Smith is multi-faceted. Before her career as a professor, she served as principal of two schools in Yonkers and the Director of Integration for the district. She was handpicked by a superintendent for the Director of Integration job, an honor that came during Yonkers' conflicts with the federal government over racial inequalities in the city. As principal to children whose schools were transformed over the course of the summer of 1986 and ambassador to their (sometimes angry) parents, Smith faced numerous challenges. Interestingly, she recalls few conflicts between students and says she spent most of her time
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November 8, 2016 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Oral History.
Tags: children's literature, education, greenburgh, library school, local-history, oral history, People & Stories, white plains history, and yonkers.

Local History: Peter Kanze Collection

Local History: Peter Kanze Collection

Next time you come across old photographs at an estate sale or garage sale, stop and take a closer look to make sure someone is not discarding valuable historical records! Thanks to Peter Kanze's visit to an estate sale in White Plains some years back, we have an incredible collection of photographs of White Plains from the 1950s through the 1970s. Kanze can't remember now where the sale was or who owned the pictures, but it is likely they are the work of someone in the insurance business who was employed to document the condition of various businesses and locations
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November 4, 2016 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Local History.
Tags: fore n' aft, home savings bank, local-history, loew's theater, parking history, peter kanze, photographs, Reporter Dispatch, Urban Renewal, white plains collection, and white plains history.

People & Stories Oral History Project: Aurelio Saiz

People & Stories Oral History Project: Aurelio Saiz

Did you know that Juanita Castro, Fidel's sister, spent a night in White Plains? That story and many others come from Aurelio Saiz's oral history in which he describes moving with his family to White Plains from Cuba. The Saiz Family lived in a building on the corner of Main Street and Mamaroneck Avenue at a time when dozens of businesses had elaborate storefronts and narrower streets still accommodated two-way traffic. His bedroom windows were directly across from the marquee of RKO Keith's Theater! Saiz is a great storyteller. He conveys a vivid version of growing up on the streets
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November 1, 2016 3:25 pm | by | No Comments
Categories: Local History and Oral History.
Tags: cuba, Cuban-American History, Hispanic-American History, local-history, Main Street, Mamaroneck Avenue, oral history, People & Stories, RKO Keith's, and white plains history.

Local History: Ghost Stories

Local History: Ghost Stories

The Hudson Valley seems to have been created with autumn in mind. During October and November, the area's increasingly hostile weather and abundant cultural history blend, creating a potent sense experience. The skittering of dead leaves behind you too easily becomes the footfalls of a disgruntled spirit and the bare tree branches resemble skeletal fingers grasping for diminishing portions of daylight. Even with these natural advantages, our imaginations need fuel, and that is where ghost stories come in. Westchester's most famous ghost story, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, is known around the world. Less well-known, but no less spooky, is
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October 28, 2016 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Local History.
Tags: charles pryer, dutch history, ghost stories, halloween, Halloween Books, hudson valley history, huguenots, local-history, new rochelle, the legend of sleepy hollow, washington irving, and white plains history.

Local History: The Racial Balance Plan

Local History: The Racial Balance Plan

In the 1960s, northern as well as southern communities were forced to desegregate their schools to achieve educational equity between races. The White Plains Collection contains a number of sources for learning more about the desegregation that took place here under the Racial Balance Plan. Multiple reports issued by the Board of Education as well as a report from a committee of citizens provide statistical and administrative assessments of the plan. For a more sociological view, the slim volume Children In The Balance does a remarkable job of revealing what classrooms were like in the years after the plan was
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October 21, 2016 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Local History.
Tags: carroll f johnson, education, elementary education, local-history, race relations, racial balance plan, schools, and white plains history.

Local History: Biography Scrapbooks

Local History: Biography Scrapbooks

The White Plains Collection is home to one of the few remaining card catalogs that is made up of actual cards. Yes, the very same typewritten index cards so many people ask about when they enter the library. Librarians at White Plains Public Library started maintaining a card index for materials of local interest as early as 1926. In addition to organizing newspaper articles by subject, they also created an index for nearly one hundred biography scrapbooks. I've never come across material explaining whose idea the scrapbooks were, nor who is responsible for all the cutting-and-pasting required to construct them.
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October 14, 2016 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Local History.
Tags: biography, bootlegger, historical research, local-history, louie pope, mamie haynes, margaret sanger, planned parenthood, prohibition, scrapbooks, white plains collection, and white plains history.

Local History: Religious History

Local History: Religious History

Some of White Plains' longest standing buildings are religious institutions of one kind or another. The Presbyterian Church on North Broadway was built in 1824, but the congregation was established in the early 18th century. Our Lady of Mt Carmel on Lexington Avenue is a reminder of pre-urban renewal White Plains. The Silver Lake Preserve contains ruins of the ancestor of today's Mount Hope AME Zion Church. The quiet history of these architectural sites is complemented by pictures and documents from the White Plains Collection. Below are a few representative items pulled from the collection. Current members of congregations are
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October 7, 2016 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Local History.
Tags: catholics, christianity, church history, Jewish History, local-history, religion, religious history, synagogues, white plains collection, and white plains history.

Local History: Slum Clearance

Local History: Slum Clearance

The words “urban renewal” are never far from the lips of anyone familiar with White Plains' history over the past 60 years. But what exactly do we mean when we use the phrase “urban renewal?” Most people use the words to describe the transformation of the area bordered on the east and west by Mamaroneck Avenue and the train tracks and on the north and south by Barker Avenue and Post Road, respectively. The term itself comes from the mid-1950s when the language of policy, legislation, and city planning took on a progressive tone that left behind the moralizing sensationalism
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September 30, 2016 10:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Local History and Uncategorized.
Tags: Brookfield Street, chamber of commerce, city planning, daily reporter, downtown, local-history, slum clearance, urban development, urban planning, urban redevelopment, Urban Renewal, water street, white plains collection, white plains history, and winchester street.

Local History: Woman’s Club Trolley Tour

Local History: Woman’s Club Trolley Tour

Welcome to the White Plains Public Library's local history blog. While the library is undergoing renovations and we are unable to host as many in-person local history programs in the library, this blog will be the place to learn about White Plains history and discover interesting items from the White Plains Collection. Of course, you can still contact me to set up research appointments! I want to use this post to highlight a creative and well-researched project put together by two White Plains residents, Woman's Club of White Plains Past-President Mary Ann Boustead and Publicity Chairperson Colleen Fay. To commemorate
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September 23, 2016 10:39 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Local History.
Tags: community history, historical research, history, local-history, trolley tour, white plains collection, white plains history, and Woman's Club.

The Art of Local History: Collage Night 9/21

The Art of Local History: Collage Night 9/21

Help us put some old local history books to good use at a family night/local history event in the Trove on Wednesday, September 21, from 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM! We'll provide all the supplies you need to create a collage using historical pictures from books that tell the story of White Plains. Part arts and crafts, and part local history, we'll use both sides of our brains to learn while creating. Special thanks to the White Plains Historical Society for the donation of books. Check out their website here.
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September 10, 2016 10:03 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Events, Kids, and Local History.
Tags: arts & crafts, collage, local-history, The Trove, white plains historical society, and white plains history.

White Plains Trivia Night: March 30 @ 6 PM

White Plains Trivia Night: March 30 @ 6 PM

Join us on Wednesday, March 30, from 6:00 – 8:00 PM for the first White Plains Trivia Night, the March edition of the White Plains History Roundtable. We will have food, White Plains history-based trivia, and prizes. No prior experience with or knowledge of White Plains history is necessary! You can come with a team of 4-6 people or come solo and we will put you with a team. Everyone from newcomers to longtime residents will be able to participate, learn something, and possibly win…. In the mean time, brush up on your local history with visits to our local
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March 22, 2016 5:00 am | by | No Comments
Categories: Events and Local History.
Tags: events, local-history, trivia night, and white plains history.