Final Project Proposal:

We will compare old photos of New York City and State historical sites with ones that we take. We will do research on the context and preservation of these sites and analyze them on the blog. Our essential questions are: What determines if a site is preserved and how do preserved vs unpreserved areas change over time? How can studying NY history and photographing it improve our understanding of its future? Hopefully, with our resources and dedication to the topic, we will discover and better understand preservation throughout New York.

Project Title: 

New York History: A Photographic Narrative on Preservation 

Essential Question(s): 

What determines if a site is preserved and how do preserved vs unpreserved areas change over time? 

How can studying NY history and photographing it improve our understanding of its future?

Statement of Purpose

Our project will consist of researching preservation, historical sites, and New York History. We will travel to historical areas, take photos, and use what we learn about preservation and New York history to analyze how these areas have changed. The final product will be a collection of photographs and short writing pieces on the LREI blog. 

Overview: Describe your topic and project to the committee.

In 10th grade we studied local history through old photos and walking tours. Initially, we didn’t think this would be as captivating as it was. We enjoyed comparing places we are familiar with now to the same places 100 years ago. We are taking this a step further for our senior project, capturing our own images and doing our own analyses. We will take pictures and write short statements about places along the Hudson, ranging from lower Manhattan to Hudson Valley. In order to make this project the most informed and insightful as possible, we are meeting with preservation and archival experts weekly and completing an NYU course on New York history. We think learning about historical sites, doing our own research, familiarizing ourselves with New York history, and historical preservation will be incredibly valuable to our understanding of current policy, business, and natural environment. We want to discover how things have changed and adapted to modernization throughout the years. Hopefully, this research will aid us in predicting future solutions to modern problems. Answering our essential questions will challenge us to make our research more insightful and force us to look deeper into the photos we take and the connections we make between the past, now, and the future. The 4Cs integrate seamlessly into our project. To us, taking the risk to learn something new and use that knowledge to create ideas about the future is courageous. Learning about the only city and state we’ve ever lived in and striving to improve it is citizenship. Researching history, meeting with preservation professionals, and analyzing new information forces us to think critically in every step of the project. Finally, curating and taking photos that tell a story must be creative in order for it to be successful. Each of the Cs are fundamental to us and the project. We are and will continue to be aware of the challenges, opportunities, and successes that make this project possible. 

How will you measure your success?

It is important to us that the product of our project represents the hard work and attention to detail that we plan on dedicating to it. We want to become knowledgeable about New York history and preservation in a deep and nuanced way. We want the blog to be the culmination of our work throughout the six weeks and have it reflect the thought and nuance we add to the subject. Ultimately, we will measure our success by how much we know about preservation and what it means on a larger scale by the end. 

Resource List

Our project revolves around research and analysis of preservation. We have a contact in the city and upstate (Yuki Ohta and Ellen Henneberry) to help us determine what information we should use and how to find it. These women are experts in their respective fields of historic, architectural, and land conservency. We are using a combination of their recommended sources and our own, including Oldnyc.org and an NYU course on New York History. Along the way, we will acquire more sites and record everything we use. 

Daily Plan & Schedule:

Monday (NYC – upstate New york):

• Drive upstate from the city
• Research on an upstate site

• Find old photos
• Research and chronicle history of the site and people involved
• Research and chronicle history of the area around the site

Tuesday (upstate)

• Commute to the site
• Photograph the site
• Walk/drive around the area, visit local businesses

Wednesday (upstate)

• Meet with Ellen/Yukie

• Discuss recent site visits
• Learn about preservation

• Create blog post

• Use photos of the site and research done beforehand
• Add additional findings after visit
• Add new knowledge on preservation, in context with the site

Thursday (upstate-NYC)

• Begin research on a NYC neighborhood
• Start looking for next week’s upstate site
• Meet with Ellen/Yukie
• Drive back to the city

Friday (NYC)

• Research chosen neighborhood

• Find old photos to recreate
• Research and chronicle history of the neighborhood
• Research and chronicle history of the people and architecture of the neighborhood

• Watch first weekly lecture

• Discuss and take notes on content

Saturday (NYC)

• Commute to the neighborhood
• Photograph the area and recreate chosen old photos
• Walk around the area, visit local businesses

Sunday (NYC)

• Create blog post

• Use photos of the neighborhood and research done beforehand
• Add additional findings after visit to the area
• Add details on preservation, in context with the neighborhood

• Watch second weekly lecture

• Discuss and take notes on content

Documentation Plan

We will document our project with blog posts from each site that we photograph. These posts will show the changing of a site and will be accompanied by a description of the site and its history. Along with the photos and description, we will add information about how the site has changed or been preserved. As we watch lectures and meet with contacts, we will be able to add more information about general history and the specifics of preservation. This will holistically document our photographic findings throughout the project as well as show our learning progress and increased understanding from different aspects of research.

Material Needs

Nothing from school, personal camera