We Opened Our Doors for 200 People at Open House New York
By Henry Street Settlement
Nearly 200 curious individuals visited Henry Street for an insider’s tour of the Settlement’s historic headquarters during Open House New York 2017 on Saturday, October 14.
Open House New York 2017 is an annual weekend-long event during which historic buildings, architectural masterpieces, and other landmarks welcome the public to explore normally off-limits places in New York.
Henry Street’s visitors were treated to a brief illustrated talk by Katie Vogel, the Settlement’s new public historian, and a tour of the headquarters, including the dining room (founding site of the NAACP), the garden (one of the nation’s first playgrounds), the former bedroom of founder Lillian Wald, and the small dorm rooms once occupied by the original visiting nurses.
Lara Smith and Joe Gioco, the two Open House New York volunteers assigned to Henry Street, said that in the five years they’ve been volunteering, they had never seen a more popular site. The site became so crowded during the four-hour event, that many visitors had to be turned away because of capacity issues.
Open House New York will look very different at Henry Street next year. In 2018, the Settlement will celebrate its Quasquicentennial, its 125th year of continuous service to the community, with a series of public events. Primary among those will be the opening of a permanent interactive exhibition of Henry Street’s history in its historic headquarters, accompanied by a website, walking tour app, and numerous public programs.
