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Brad Farwell for MCNY ‘The Occupied City: New York and the Revolutionary War’ is on exhibit at the Museum of the City of New York, at Fifth Avenue & 103rd St. |
Among the artifacts displayed currently in the Museum of the City of New York is Holland Lodge 8’s apron owned and worn by George Washington. The exhibit, “The Occupied City: New York and the Revolutionary War,” will close next April, so get there!
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A George Washington apron. He was an Honorary Member of Holland Lodge 8. See the artifact at MCNY before April 25, 2027. |
From the publicity:
Marking the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, this major exhibition, developed in partnership with the Gotham Center for New York City History, transforms the Museum’s entire third floor into a 7,000-square-foot immersive journey through Revolutionary-era New York. Framing the Revolution as a story of civic choice and consequence, the exhibition underscores how decisions made by New Yorkers 250 years ago continue to reverberate across the city and the nation today.
Visitors will trace New York’s pivotal role in the conflict, from the first sparks of rebellion in 1763 to its emergence as the new nation’s first capital in 1790. A crucial strategic site for both the Patriots and the British, New York’s revolutionary experience comes vividly to life through historical objects, multimedia installations, and interactive environments. “The Occupied City” tells the powerful and complex stories of revolutionaries and loyalists, enslaved and free black New Yorkers, women, Native peoples, and others who shaped and were shaped by this turbulent time. The exhibition highlights the resilience of New Yorkers, who endured seven years of British occupation, devastating fires, and violent battles, only to emerge as residents of the nation’s new capital.
Highlights include a recreated eighteenth century tavern and a walk-through experience of “Canvas Town,” along with digital dramatizations of key events like the Battle of New York. Visitors will explore immersive installations, including a recreation of New York City in the Revolutionary Era through scenes drawn from the video game Assassin’s Creed III. This exhibition invites visitors to see the Revolution not as a distant myth, but as a lived—and deeply contested—urban experience.
I want to see this tavern.
The Washington apron is not unknown to the city’s museums. It’s been twenty-five years, but Fraunces Tavern Museum had a Masonic exhibit for several months featuring many items on loan from the Chancellor Robert R. Livingston Masonic Library. Somewhere in my study lies an envelope of photos—prints from before digital cameras—I shot then, including close-ups of this and other aprons.
The Museum of the City of New York is open seven days a week. Click here for hours and tickets.
