EventsPast Exhibitions
I Belong: A History of Civic and Social Clubs in Hoboken
July – December 2012
Hoboken has always been a haven for newcomers. So perhaps it’s not surprising that from as early as the 1700s, social clubs have sprung up as a way for people to connect with others around shared interests. From purely social groups like the Turtle Club—an eating and drinking society—to organizations devoted to civic and social philanthropy, along with special-interest clubs for theater, debate and sports, Hoboken has spawned a colorful array of clubs that reflect its citizens’ diverse interests and backgrounds.
Driving Under the Hudson: A History of the Holland and Lincoln Tunnels
January – June 2012
Through this exhibition, we celebrated the 85th anniversary of the Holland Tunnel and the 75th birthday of the Lincoln Tunnel. Love them for the access they provide to New York City, or curse them for the rush-hour traffic that ensnares Hudson County drivers, the tunnels define Hoboken’s northern and southern borders. Today we take them for granted, but when they were built, they were marvels of both engineering prowess and public works initiatives.
Yum Yum, Tootsie Rolls, and Chocolate Bunnies on Motorcycles....A Sweet History of Hoboken
January – December 2011
Buddy Valastro put Hoboken on the national culinary map with his popular TLC cable network show, “Cake Boss,” but did you know that Hoboken has been a confectionary powerhouse since the mid-19th century?
Surveying the World:
Keuffel & Esser + Hoboken, 1875–1968
January - December 2010
K&E, the initials carved into the roofline of the building at the corner of Third & Adams, are the only visible trace of a company that played a significant role in America’s phenomenal age of discovery and growth.
Up and Down the River:
A History of the Hudson, 1609–2009
March – December 2009
A hundred years ago, New York City threw a two-weeklong public celebration of a double anniversary: the tricentennial of Henry Hudson’s voyage up the river and the centennial (plus two) of Robert Fulton’s first successful steamboat crossing in 1807.
Heaven, Hell or Hoboken:
A City Transformed by World War I
September 2008 – January 2009
The designation as a port of embarkation meant national fame for Hoboken – General John J. Pershing’s promise to the troops that they’d be in “Heaven, Hell or Hoboken” by Christmas of 1917 became a national rallying cry for a swift end to the war, which actually dragged on for another year.
Greetings from Hoboken:
A Postcard History
January - August 2008
Corresponding with the greatest growth spurt in Hoboken’s history, 1898–1930, a simple change in postage from 2 cents to 1 transformed the medium of souvenir postcards into a national craze. Known among collectors as the “Golden Age of Postcards,” the first half of that era, up to roughly the beginning of World War I, gave rise to a flourishing of creativity and communications in an age when mail was delivered twice a day in many urban areas.
Hoboken Tunes: Our Musical Heritage
July - December 2007
Frank Sinatra may have put Hoboken on the world map, but his is not the only musical career this town has fostered. Stephen Foster lived here when he wrote I Dream of Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair. A few years after Sinatra, and just a few doors down from his childhood home, another crooner, Jimmy Roselli rose to fame singing standards and traditional Neapolitan songs.
From Another Time:
Hoboken in the 1970s
January – July 2007
Imagine a Hoboken before the high-rise residential towers and ubiquitous nail salons, cell phone stores, realtors and shoe boutiques. This exhibit celebrates the Museum’s latest book, From Another Time: Hoboken in the 1970s, where visitors will be transported back to Hoboken in the 1970s through a series of powerful black and white photographs taken by three highly regarded photographers.
