New Visions of Old New York
Presented by The New York City Department of Records and Information Services & The New Amsterdam History Center
The City of New Amsterdam, on Manhattan, 1650.
INTRODUCTION
New Visions of Old New York includes historical maps, drawings, sketches, and official documents, alongside newly imagined, digitally-generated content. The selections represent ways in which the lives of women, enslaved people, and Native Americans intersected with the settlement created by the Dutch West India Company.
Early colonial records from the Municipal Archives date from the mid-17th century and document land and property lines, rights and transfers and building on native lands. The bound volumes of minutes in Dutch and English outline the makings of a city government. The geography made way for trade which had significant economic and social impact on the burgeoning city. Artifacts and documents—the contracts, wills, deeds, edicts, and maps and drawings here—were used to interpret property ownership, trade, and glimpses of daily life for people living in and around New Amsterdam in the 17th century. With modern digital maps and scenes, new visions in a new century spurs reflection of a more dynamic colony.
This 3D model presents the settlement with its houses, farms, taverns and workshops, surrounded by walls. It is based on the Castello Plan, a map drawn by surveyor Jacques Cortelyou and the census conducted by councilor Nicasius de Sille. Above ground almost nothing remains today of New Amsterdam except the original street pattern. Underground, archeologists have found evidence of the plots of houses and gardens, Amsterdam yellow brick, and seeds or pollen from plants. The plants and trees in the 3D model are based on these findings. Over the centuries that followed this area became the Financial District.
LinkNYC video display. Eduard van Dijk, designer.
Creative collaboration for NEW VISIONS OF OLD NEW YORK includes:
New York City Department of Records and Information Services
Ken Cobb, Bilai Crandell, Sarah Cuk, Lindsey Hobbs, Yu-Lun Huang, LaTonya C. Jones, Sylvia Kollar, Michael Lorenzini, Matthew Minor, Amit Sharma, Khan Solaiman, and Pauline Toole.
New Amsterdam History Center’s Mapping Early New York Creative Team
Toya Dubin, Eduard van Dijk, Nitin Gadia, Daniel O’Toole, Drew Shuptar-Rayvis, Mustafa Akbay, Firth Haring Fabend, and Executive Director Esme Berg.
Additional Creative Contributors
Russell Shorto, Charles Gehring, Len Tantillo, Chief Harry Wallace, Lavada Nahon, Chelsea Teale, Joel Grossman, Dylan Yeats, Eric Sanderson, John Hollman, Toya Stovall, Mary Chipman, Rory Carlton
Printing and installation
Pro Image Photo and CCS Fabric Frame
Major Funding for the Mapping Early New York project is provided by:
Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation, the Society of Daughters of Holland Dames, the First Families of New York, The Consul General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Dutch Culture USA, Ken Chase, and the supporters of the New Amsterdam History Center.