Cornell University Press is pleased to announce that the journal New York History, published in association with the New York State Museum, will begin its second century of publication with a new look and an expanded mission. With volume 100, number 1, to appear this summer, New York History will feature a fresh design and offer more space and devote greater editorial attention to public history and the essential work done in museums and historical societies across the state. More space will be devoted to exhibit reviews, and new features like “Artifact NY” and “Community NY” will highlight museum collections and community engagement. The journal editors are also actively soliciting articles that address curation, programming, and other aspects of the work of public history.

As a brief preview of what is new in New York History, it is valuable to highlight two short pieces that indicate new directions. The summer 2019 issue will contain a short piece by Christine L. Ridarsky, Historian of the City of Rochester, exploring the history of Rochester’s LGBTQ+ communities. Focusing a new exhibit at the Central Library of Rochester & Monroe County titled Stonewall: 50 Years Out, Ridarsky describes the fruitful collaboration between the Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley (recently renamed the Out Alliance) and the public library’s Local History & Genealogy Division. The exhibit demonstrates the power of joining archival resources with community stories, and Ridarsky’s piece is the first installment of the now-regular “Community NY” feature. The other new feature series, “Artifact NY,” kicks off with a contribution from Don Wildman. Wildman, the host of Travel Channel’s long-running hit, Mysteries at the Museum, helps us excavate the history of lower Manhattan by looking at a nineteenth-century wooden water main. Unearthed during routine electrical maintenance around Coenties Slip Park near South Street Seaport in 2004, the main pipe (featured in photographs paired with the article) is a curiosity in itself and, more importantly, inspires stories of municipal development and politics, human need, and technical challenges as New York City grew. The ancient pipe now is housed and carefully preserved in the New York State Museum.

Articles, features, and reviews for coming issues of New York History can be sent for editorial consideration to NYHJ@nysed.gov. Subscription inquiries can be sent to nyhjournal@cornell.edu or to the attention of New York History at Cornell University Press, 512 East State Street, Ithaca NY 14850.