Exhibitions
From Elvis to Action Windows: When SPOUT Brought Hudson Alive
The Hudson Area Library hosts an exhibition from its Arthur Koweek Urban Renewal collection on view May - June 2023. The opening reception for this inhouse curated exhibition is Thursday, May 11, 6pm in the Community Room. The Arthur Koweek Urban Renewal collection includes a scrapbook on a civic organization that existed for over 20 years in Hudson: The Society to Promote Our Unique Town (SPOUT). This scrapbook forms the main part of the exhibition.
The library’s SPOUT exhibition shows the creativity, drive, dedication, and time that so many civic-minded people spent to revitalize the struggling business district of their city. The organization carried out numerous SPOUT campaigns including ‘Action Windows’ whereby live performers were stationed in Warren Street shop windows and there were outdoor concerts on Warren Street. There were also Italian American Festivals with spaghetti eating contests, bocci championships and Irish American Festivals with raffles for round trip tickets to Dublin. So much was done by so many people to save their city as they knew it.
Many of the images from the exhibition are digitized and on considerthesourceny.org and will soon be available on nyheritage.org as well.
Local Historical Maps & Atlases
Maps and atlases are a hallmark of the Library’s History Room resources. This extensive collection from 1740 through 2001 was recently archived by Nina Boutsikaris, who along with Brenda Shufelt, History Room Coordinator, curated the exhibition, which runs March-April 2023. Ms. Boutsikaris states, “The library’s maps and atlases contain a treasure trove of information about the Hudson area and beyond, giving us a glimpse into the eras they represent. In addition, many show the artistry and scholarship of the map creators. A part of the exhibit includes recently acquired urban renewal maps coupled with photos from our Cipkowski Family Photo collection, which show images of life on Front Street prior to demolition of many buildings in the 1970s. Educators, researchers, and community members are all sure to find value in this collection and our exhibit.”
Many of the images from the exhibition are digitized and on considerthesourceny.org and will soon be available on nyheritage.org as well. Here are two articles on the opening reception & exhibition:
Two Hudson Years of Hudson Cartographic History by John Isaacs
Hudson Area Library Local Hudson Maps & Atlases Exhibition Opening by Rich Volo
Oakdale: Past & Future
This exhibit, a real community effort, was originally shown in the Oakdale Lake Beach House during the First Annual Oakdale Picnic in 2018 and was co-created by Friends of Oakdale Lake, Friends of Hudson Youth, Hudson Area Library, Columbia University’s Hudson Valley Initiative, and the City of Hudson Youth Department’s Oakdale Campers. It was then expanded and shown in the library's Community Room in 2019. It featured the historic black and white photographs of Oakdale in its heyday--including Rowles photos restored by Katrina Stair of Stair Galleries--, maps from early Oakdale Lake plans, a concise history of Hudson’s relationship with its lake, and environmental projects by Oakdale campers. We are also thrilled to have the Hudson Valley Initiative’s final design concept, which was created using community input on improving ecological conditions and recreational opportunities at Oakdale, in the exhibit as well.
Some images from this exhibition are on our Images page and on nyheritage.org.
The History of the Census in Hudson
The Hudson Area Library and the Jacob Leisler Institute for the Study of Early New York History collaborated on this February 2020 exhibition, which was designed to be informational and encourage people to participate in the census. Focusing on Hudson from its founding and even earlier times, it included original 1845 census books for the City of Hudson, displayed alongside maps, documents and images that illuminate the area’s growth and history. In addition to materials about the 2020 census and its importance to Hudson, the exhibit featured a post from Gossips of Rivertown illustrating how censuses are used in historical research.
View PDF
Wish You Were Here: A Look Back at Life in Hudson Through Vintage Postcards
The library’s first ever curated local history exhibition, in 2018, represented our extensive collection of postcards from the Hudson Area, most from the early 1900s. These postcards illuminate how essential this widely used method of communication was for travelers, family and friends in and around Hudson.
The display was curated by David Murphy of Hudson, former president of the Hudson Area Library Board of Trustees and a member of its History Room Committee and Gary Sheffer, Board member and chair of the History Room Committee. The entire postcard collection is located in the History Room archives and many are available on nyheritage.org.
Click the link below to view the text featured in our postcard exhibition from 2018.
Historic Hudson Postcards: Wish You Were Here Fall 2018 Exhibition
All Roads Lead to the River: The 1799 Columbia Turnpike and Historic Tollhouses
In 2017, we featured this exhibition originally shown at the Roeliff Jansen Historical Society (RJHS) in our Community Room. “The Columbia Turnpike had a major role in the development of early Hudson and Columbia County,” said Peter Cipkowski, former president of RJHS. “It was the first turnpike in Columbia County and became part of a giant network of roads designed to promote commerce after the American Revolution.” Two toll houses still stand on either end of Route 23 in Columbia County - both listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Known as the East Gate (Hillsdale) and the West Gate (Greenport), they marked the beginning and end of Columbia County’s first turnpike, established in 1799 by the New York State Assembly.
Mr. Cipkowski, who created this exhibit and lectured on the information presented, generously gave permission for this to be shared on our website. For more information on the tollhouse visit https://www.friendsofeastgate.org and https://www.roeliffjansenhs.org/.
Bash Bish Falls Exhibit
This exhibit, first shown at Roeliff Jansen Historical Society, was on display in the Community Room of the library in 2017. It celebrates the rich history of Bash Bish Falls – one of New England’s tallest and most dramatic waterfalls. Bash Bish Falls has been the Roe Jan region’s single biggest attraction for more than 150 years.
The exhibit was originally curated by Greg Keffer, principal at Rockwell Group, and Darin Johnson, former senior strategist to Old Sturbridge Village. Both Keffer and Johnson are proud residents of Copake Falls, NY and supporters of the Roeliff Jansen Historical Society.
Peter Cipkowski, who created this exhibit and lectured on the information presented, generously gave permission for this to be shared on our website. For more information visit https://www.roeliffjansenhs.org/.
Bridges Past and Present: Crossing the Hudson River
In January of 2018, the library featured the Hudson River bridge watercolors of artist Otto Miranda. The exhibition consisted of 63 watercolors of bridges from the 1800’s to the present that all pass over the Hudson River. From New York City to the river’s beginning in the Adirondack Mountains at Lake Henderson’s Tear of the Clouds, the bridges represented include vehicle, railroad, pedestrian, and even troop bridges.
Otto Miranda moved to Columbia County in 2009, where the wonderful mountains and the Hudson River inspired him to take on this project. He spent 15 months researching and then traveled with his wife Dale, and her GPS, from the river’s beginning to the lower end. Together they photographed many of the existing bridges, which Miranda then painted. Bridges no longer in existence are painted in sepia tones. Miranda states, “My greatest expectation and satisfaction is to show this project at as many libraries, museums and other venues as possible so everyone can enjoy the history as much as I have preparing it for presentation.”
Hear My Voice: Abolition and Women’s Rights in Local History
Through a New York Humanities Action Grant given to the library with matching funds from Hudson Community Schools, high school students at the Writing Center studied primary source documents, photos and places about the abolition and suffrage movements in our local area and New York State. A Zine of their exhibition of their work is below