Hidden Treasures: The Preservation Conference's Walking Tours
Some wanted to better understand their heritage. Others wanted to learn more about the city’s dazzling architecture. On Sunday, March 7, for a variety of reasons, New Yorkers flocked to the 16th Annual Preservation Conference’s walking tours.
Victoria Hofmo, founder of the Scandinavian East Coast Museum, led a “A Walk Through Norwegian Brooklyn: Lapskaus Boulevard” tour through parts of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. (The name of a Norwegian stew, “Lapskaus” is an informal nickname for Bay Ridge’s Eighth Avenue and serves as a reminder of the contributions Norwegians have made to New York City’s culture.)
“In twenty years, the neighborhood has changed from a Scandinavian community to a Chinese and multiethnic community,” Hofmo explained and added that some stores–such as a Palestinian corner store that sold a few Norwegian goods–tried to blend different cultures.
“Still, many people don’t recognize that Scandinavians were a large part of this community. Scandinavians opened kindergartens and homes for children whose parents may have been gone or away at sea. People cared deeply about their communities and started organizations that are still serving people today. They opened stores that were passed down from generation to generation,” Hofmo said.
The Lapskaus Boulevard Tour
William Casari, archivist and instructional librarian at Hostos Community College, whose tour of the Bronx’s Grand Concourse sold out, said that many people were eager to learn about New York’s lost or forgotten history.
The Grand Concourse Tour
“I had scheduled the tour for two and a half hours, but people were so interested and had so many questions that we ended up taking up three,” Casari said.
During Casari’s tour, which ended at the Bronx Museum and included visits into apartment lobbies and the famous “Fish Building” (1150 Grand Concourse), Casari gave out handouts with links to websites so that people could find out more information about the places toured.
“Most of the people on the tour had never been to Bronx Museum, and there they had a chance to see the large-scale photographs of the Grand Concourse… I think that having gone on the tour, people are a lot more familiar with buildings and more in touch with the architecture. The tour has raised their knowledge and connection to the architecture,” Casari said.
Hofmo mentioned that people are sometimes surprised when they become emotional after a tour.
“I’ve met people who lived here 30-40 years ago, and they still miss the˙neighborhood. People have started crying because they have so many good memories of the old neighborhood,” Hofmo said.