"Cars, Culture, and the City" Exhibition at the Museum of the City of New York

Last night I had the distinct pleasure of attending the opening of the new exhibit at the Museum of the City of New York.  As its name implies, this new show explores the relationship between the Automobile and the City. On the face of it, one would expect a polemical exhibit that focuses on urban planning crises wrought by the car, and how Robert Moses and his road and bridge building almost destroyed steet life in the city.  But in fact the exhibit avoids these well worn themes, and should be really edifying to the casual visitor because it reveals and celebrates the fact that until the decay of the 70s, the city's relationship with the automobile had many positive aspects, and that in fact New York offered many far-reaching contributions to car culture across the country. Moses is still presented too, naturally. But he is shown within a larger context which makes the viewer better understand the general optimism and enthusiasm for the car that formed the cultural backdrop for his actions.

For example, the very first auto shows in America were here in New York.  They were held in posh hotels and geared towards the very wealthy who were in the market for bespoke luxury automobiles -- usually chauffer driven. It was a far cry from the uniform black GMC Yukons that convey the wealthy and powerful around Manhattan today.  As the mass produced automobile became a commercial reality, the first real auto show for the masses was also held in New York.  It was GM's Futurama at the 1939 World's Fair. The Motorama changed the auto show from an elite event into the mass spectacle that it is today. And it all happened right here!  The exhibit has some really wonderful artifacts and ephemera from the Motorama, as well as period footage of the event. The exhibit also covers, among other things, the Vanderbilt Cup races held on Long Island, which were the premier racing events held in the United States nearly a decade before the Indy 500 even existed.  There were also many fascinating renderings of urban planning proposals for car-oriented architecture.  A Paul Rudolph proposal for a multi-use complex built over the approach to the Williamsburg bridge leaves one breathless with its MC Escher-esque complexity.

This historical, political, and cultural survey flows across two large rooms filled with original artwork, drawings, models, and ephemera that are truly rare and special to see.  There was so much great eye candy, my photos don't really come close to doing it justice, even though it is not a large exhibit.

Some selected highlights:

Original Hugh Ferriss drawings I had never before seen, even as reproductions.  Ferriss was a master renderer, used by many major architectural firms in New York to delineate art deco skyscrapers.  Here he envisions a riverside highway that precisely presages what FDR Drive would end up looking like!

This is a design model for a Pontiac concept car from the Bill Mitchell era at General Motors.  The model is stunningly executed, oozing appeal from every angle.  Truly a treat.

Original Frank Lloyd Wright drawing for the showroom of Max Hoffman's Manhattan auto dealership.  But Hoffman was not just some car dealer.  Hoffman was to cars what Murray Moss is to the world of high design: a tastemaker who brought the best of Europe's offerings to a sophisticated New York audience.  Hoffman was the first to import the VW Beetle to the United States.  He was first to import BMW's here, and also was the sole importer for Porsche and Jaguar in the 1950s and 60s.  In short, Hoffman was a critical conduit through which European sports cars reached our shores, and his influence on the sports car market can't be overstated.

Original period model for Norman Bel Geddes' ideal automobile, known as Motor Car no. 9.  Bel Geddes was not only a New York based Industrial Designer and one of the founding fathers of the field, but he was also the master planner of the GM Futurama exhibition.

Check out the rest of my photos here!

The Exhibition runs through August 8th.  Worth the trip up to see it!!

Museum of the City of New York is located at 103rd Street and 5th Ave.