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115-861: It was founded in 1901 in New York City by Barnard College debutante Mary Harriman Rumsey . The first Junior League was founded in 1901 in New York City as the Junior League for the Promotion of the Settlement Movement . This original chapter is now known as the New York Junior League (NYJL). Its founder was then 19-year-old Barnard College student and debutante Mary Harriman Rumsey , sister of future Governor of New York W. Averell Harriman and daughter of railroad executive Edward H. Harriman . Inspired by

230-513: A Junior League was established in London which was the first League established outside of North America (100 Years, 154-155). This prompted a name change with the organization official becoming the Association of Junior Leagues International, Inc. (History Timeline). The idea that women can meaningfully contribute to solving social issues and bettering communities through voluntarism has been

345-655: A concession stand that is well-known for certain menu items, including its pimento cheese sandwiches. The Par 3: Tea-Time at the Masters includes a recipe for "Four-Cheese Pimento Sandwiches" which is said to resemble the ones served at The Masters. Members of The Junior League obtain knowledge, skills, and experiences in areas such as: Leadership, Organizational development, Community needs assessment, Mentoring, Advocacy, Communications, Fund development, Strategic planning, Negotiation, Consensus-building, and Networking. "The Association of Junior Leagues International, Inc. (AJLI)

460-482: A core tenet of the Junior League since its conception. In the Junior League’s 1906 Annual Report, Harriman Rumsey emphasized the organization’s imperative to alleviate civic ills: “It seems almost inhuman that we should live so close to suffering and poverty ... within a few blocks of our own home and bear no part in this great life” (100 Years, Introduction). This altruistic spirit inspired Harriman Rumsey to organize

575-631: A decade between Irish immigrants and Black people for work. Rioters burned the Colored Orphan Asylum to the ground. At least 120 people were killed. Eleven Black men were lynched over five days, and the riots forced hundreds of Blacks to flee. The Black population in Manhattan fell below 10,000 by 1865. The White working class had established dominance. It was one of the worst incidents of civil unrest in American history . In 1886,

690-444: A form of community service for League members and as way of introducing live-performance to children who might not have experienced it otherwise. The Junior League of Chicago was the first to stage children’s theater in 1921, and by 1929, it hosted “America’s first conference on children’s theater” (100 Years, 57). Following the conference, the Junior League of Chicago produced a national tour of The Blue Bird by Maurice Maeterlinck, which

805-459: A four-month run (100 Years, 57). As children’s theater grew into a national movement, it eventually evolved into other mediums like radio and television as well. The popular children’s television show Kukla, Fran and Ollie originated from puppet shows staged in Chicago by Burr Tillstrom and the Junior League in the 1940s (100 Years, 59). Fred Rogers’ daily television program The Children’s Corner

920-551: A group of 80 young women to volunteer for the College Settlement on Rivington Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Every week, League members would teach classes, hand out library books and engage in other enriching activities for children at the settlement house. Eleanor Roosevelt , who joined the Junior League in 1903 and served as League secretary in 1904, also taught dance and calisthenic classes at

1035-543: A lecture on settlement movements that chronicled the works of social reformers such as Lillian Wald and Jane Addams , Harriman Rumsey organized others to become involved in settlement work. The organization's first project was working at the College Settlement on Rivington Street on Manhattan 's Lower East Side . These were the early days of privileged young girls and women leaving their sheltered lives in wealthy neighborhoods to volunteer their time with those who lived in crowded, poverty-stricken areas of cities. This started

1150-564: A leg up on reading before entering school (100 Years, 144). In 1914, the St. Louis Junior League mobilized to support women’s suffrage. They staged a demonstration – what the St. Louis women referred to as a “walkless, talkless parade” - at the 1916 Democratic National Convention , which ultimately resulted in the Democrats voting to include a plank for women's suffrage. The St. Louis League expressed their support in various ways, including reforming

1265-490: A legacy of volunteering and social activism that would continue for many decades. For many years the NYJL's clubhouse was located at 221 East 71st Street in Manhattan. Designed by architect John Russell Pope and opened in 1929, the building contained a swimming pool on the top floor, bedrooms for volunteers, a ballroom, a hairdressing salon, and a shelter for up to 20 abandoned babies. Marymount Manhattan College currently owns

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1380-516: A local school teacher from financial ruin. The League staged a fashion show, barbershop quartet, and follies to raise funds, eventually securing enough resources to take over an abandoned day nursery for a nature center. By 1951, the League pitched in to help the museum move into a larger, $ 68,000 building (100 Years, 103). In 1959, the Junior League of the Palm Beaches founded and incorporated

1495-593: A model for Junior Leagues in other cities, many of which sponsored their own residential hotels and services for working women (100 Years, 21). As Junior Leagues began to crop up in cities across the United States during the 1910s, the organization restated its mission with a focus on bolstering “an interest in all kinds of charitable and social effort” among its members, as well as supporting “already organized philanthropies” (100 Years, 27). This wide-ranging agenda would go on to encompass volunteering efforts around

1610-523: A part of the colony of New York . It became a center of slavery , with 42% of households enslaving Africans by 1730. Most were domestic slaves ; others were hired out as labor. Slavery became integrally tied to New York's economy through the labor of slaves throughout the port, and the banking and shipping industries trading with the American South . During construction in Foley Square in

1725-749: A plan for organizing community volunteer initiatives entitled “A Central Volunteer Bureau in Defense," a plan for coordinating community volunteer efforts (100 Years, 80). The Junior League of the Palm Beaches grew out of the World War II effort when 15 women established a Junior Welfare League in 1941, focused on supporting the WWII training bases that had opened in Palm Beach County. The women hosted canteen events for soldiers and worked with

1840-500: A reminder of the large Jewish immigrant population that once inhabited the Lower East Side. The synagogue of the First Roumanian-American Congregation existed from about 1860 until 2006. The Rivington Street municipal bath was located on Rivington Street from 1900 to 1975. In the early 1980s, Rivington Street between Essex and Bowery earned notoriety as a "drug supermarket" famous for "having

1955-519: A reputation as a despotic leader. He instituted regulations on liquor sales, attempted to assert control over the Dutch Reformed Church , and blocked other religious groups from establishing houses of worship. In 1664, unable to summon any significant resistance, Stuyvesant surrendered New Amsterdam to English troops, led by Colonel Richard Nicolls , without bloodshed. The terms of the surrender permitted Dutch residents to remain in

2070-531: A result of Sandy, and the economic losses in New York City were estimated to be roughly $ 19 billion. The disaster spawned long-term efforts towards infrastructural projects to counter climate change and rising seas, with $ 15 billion in federal funding received through 2022 towards those resiliency efforts. In March 2020, the first case of COVID-19 in the city was confirmed. With its population density and its extensive exposure to global travelers,

2185-485: A shaky agreement evolved where Leagues could act on public issues locally (Volunteer, 100), however, this would continue to cause debate at League Annual Conferences. Early on Leagues began to form State Public Affairs Committees (SPAC) where Leagues within a state would cooperate on PACs (Public Affairs Committees), SPACs (State Public Affairs Committees) and LICs (Legislative Issues Committees) are individual, apolitical Junior Leagues or coalitions of Junior Leagues within

2300-490: A shortage of teachers, League members volunteered in diagnostic programs and those for gifted and challenged children. By the mid-1950s, over 100 Leagues established public play areas for children (100 Years, 104). In the 1980s, the Junior League participated in and led several campaigns for literacy. Along with other national organizations, the League joined in PLUS (Project Literacy US), a coordinated effort to expand literacy as

2415-485: A speech denying the request, which was paraphrased on the front page of the New York Daily News as "FORD TO CITY: DROP DEAD." The Municipal Assistance Corporation was formed and granted oversight authority over the city's finances. While a resurgence in the financial industry greatly improved the city's economic health in the 1980s, New York's crime rate continued to increase through that decade and into

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2530-412: A state that form to educate and take action on public policy issues relevant to The Junior League Mission. Having begun to take shape in the 1930s, they are collectively governed by their member Leagues and the methods by which they operate vary by state, as do the issues chosen for study and action. Junior Leagues played an important role in spreading children’s theater across the United States, both as

2645-599: A trustee at Teachers College, Columbia University (100 Years, 24). When a League was organized in Brooklyn in 1910, the members petitioned the Board of Education to provide free lunches in public schools and transform vacant lots into playgrounds (100 Years, 26). This advocacy work continued after World War II, when the Baby Boom created an additional need for resources to support schools, playgrounds, and teachers. With

2760-493: A tuberculosis clinic and treatment center known as the Pine Health Preventorium, through which it provided assistance to 150 children between 1933-34 (100 Years, 65). In the wake of the 1952 polio epidemic, the Junior League played a critical role in promoting the use of the polio vaccine, discovered by Dr. Jonas Salk, and for advocating for the rehabilitation of polio patients. In recognition for its efforts,

2875-472: A way of preventing against the spread of homelessness (100 Years, 140). Later that decade, First Ladies of the United States and Junior League members Barbara Bush and Laura Bush founded The Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. The Foundation granted over $ 6 million to more than 200 Family Literacy Programs across the country in its first decade of operations. Laura Bush spearheaded an initiative in early childhood development to help infants and children get

2990-483: Is a global center of finance and commerce , culture , technology , entertainment and media , academics and scientific output , the arts and fashion , and, as home to the headquarters of the United Nations , international diplomacy . With an estimated population in 2023 of 8,258,035 distributed over 300.46 square miles (778.2 km ), the city is the most densely populated major city in

3105-467: Is an established safe haven for global investors. As of 2023 , New York City is the most expensive city in the world for expatriates and has by a wide margin the highest U.S. city residential rents; and Fifth Avenue is the most expensive shopping street in the world. New York City is home by a significant margin to the highest number of billionaires , individuals of ultra-high net worth (greater than US$ 30 million), and millionaires of any city in

3220-547: Is an organization of women whose mission is to advance women's leadership for meaningful community impact through volunteer action, collaboration, and training. Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable." As of 2023 there are 296 Leagues of 140,000 women in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the UK, and Kenya. including but not limited to: Arizona California Canada Florida Georgia New York City New York , often called New York City or NYC ,

3335-552: Is the most populous city in the United States , located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors . The city comprises five boroughs , each coextensive with a respective county . The city is the geographical and demographic center of both the Northeast megalopolis and the New York metropolitan area , the largest metropolitan area in the U.S. by both population and urban area . New York

3450-445: The 120th Anniversary Cookbook (2021). The Junior League of Augusta's cookbooks include the three volume, The Masters golf tournament themed Tea-Time at the Masters series: Tea-Time at the Masters (1977), Second Round: Tea-Time at the Masters (1988), and Par 3: Tea-Time at the Masters (2005). Some book collectors have taken to collecting cookbooks from various chapters of the Junior League. The Masters golf tournament features

3565-866: The Atlantic port to the agricultural markets and commodities of the North American interior via the Hudson River and the Great Lakes . Local politics became dominated by Tammany Hall , a political machine supported by Irish and German immigrants . In 1831, New York University was founded. Several prominent American literary figures lived in New York during the 1830s and 1840s, including William Cullen Bryant , Washington Irving , Herman Melville , Rufus Wilmot Griswold , John Keese , Nathaniel Parker Willis , and Edgar Allan Poe . Members of

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3680-513: The Bowery and Pitt Street , with a break between Chrystie and Forsyth for Sara D. Roosevelt Park . Vehicular traffic runs west on this one-way street . It is named after James Rivington , who under cover of writing one of the most infamous Loyalist newspapers in the American colonies , secretly ran a spy ring that supplied George Washington with information. Early in the 20th century,

3795-909: The Crown , with as many as 10,000 escaped slaves crowded into the city during the British occupation, the largest such community on the continent. When the British forces evacuated New York at the close of the war in 1783, they transported thousands of freedmen for resettlement in Nova Scotia , England, and the Caribbean . The attempt at a peaceful solution to the war took place at the Conference House on Staten Island between American delegates, including Benjamin Franklin , and British general Lord Howe on September 11, 1776. Shortly after

3910-742: The New York City Fire Department and 71 law enforcement officers. The area was rebuilt with a new World Trade Center , the National September 11 Memorial and Museum , and other new buildings and infrastructure, including the World Trade Center Transportation Hub , the city's third-largest hub. The new One World Trade Center is the tallest skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere and the seventh-tallest building in

4025-1000: The Northwest Passage to the Orient for the Dutch East India Company . He sailed up what the Dutch called North River (now the Hudson River), named first by Hudson as the Mauritius after Maurice, Prince of Orange . Hudson claimed the region for the Dutch East India Company. In 1614, the area between Cape Cod and Delaware Bay was claimed by the Netherlands and called Nieuw-Nederland (' New Netherland '). The first non–Native American inhabitant of what became New York City

4140-576: The Statue of Liberty , a gift from France , was dedicated in New York Harbor. The statue welcomed 14 million immigrants as they came to the U.S. via Ellis Island by ship in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and is a symbol of the United States and American ideals of liberty and peace. In 1898, the City of New York was formed with the consolidation of Brooklyn (until then a separate city),

4255-709: The Stonewall riots were a series of violent protests by members of the gay community against a police raid that took place in the early morning of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village . They are widely considered to be the single most important event leading to the gay liberation movement and the modern fight for LGBT rights . Wayne R. Dynes , author of the Encyclopedia of Homosexuality , wrote that drag queens were

4370-612: The steamship General Slocum caught fire in the East River , killing 1,021 people. In 1911, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire , the city's worst industrial disaster, killed 146 garment workers and spurred the growth of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union and major improvements in factory safety standards. New York's non-White population was 36,620 in 1890. New York City

4485-571: The waterfronts since Dutch colonial times; reclamation is most prominent in Lower Manhattan, with developments such as Battery Park City in the 1970s and 1980s. Some of the natural relief in topography has been evened out, especially in Manhattan. Rivington Street [REDACTED] Rivington Street is a street in the New York City borough of Manhattan , which runs across the Lower East Side neighborhood, between

4600-552: The 1990s, the African Burying Ground was discovered; the cemetery included 10,000 to 20,000 graves of colonial-era Africans, some enslaved and some free. The 1735 trial and acquittal in Manhattan of John Peter Zenger , who had been accused of seditious libel after criticizing colonial governor William Cosby , helped to establish freedom of the press in North America . In 1754, Columbia University

4715-538: The 19th century, the city was transformed by both commercial and residential development relating to its status as a national and international trading center , as well as by European immigration, respectively. The city adopted the Commissioners' Plan of 1811 , which expanded the city street grid to encompass almost all of Manhattan. The 1825 completion of the Erie Canal through central New York connected

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4830-518: The Association was to focus League energies towards their purpose of fostering interest among their members in the social, economic, educational, cultural and civic conditions of their own communities and to make efficient their volunteer service (this is quoted in Volunteering, 97 but is cited from AJLA Yearbooks https://archives.lib.umn.edu/repositories/11/archival_objects/490625 ). The 1930s were rife with disagreements on this issue and eventually

4945-700: The British occupation began, the Great Fire of New York destroyed nearly 500 buildings, about a quarter of the structures in the city, including Trinity Church . In January 1785, the assembly of the Congress of the Confederation made New York City the national capital. New York was the last capital of the U.S. under the Articles of Confederation and the first capital under the Constitution of

5060-530: The Bronx , and Staten Island . Anchored by Wall Street in the Financial District, Manhattan , New York City has been called both the world's premier financial and fintech center and the most economically powerful city in the world. As of 2022 , the New York metropolitan area is the largest metropolitan economy in the world , with a gross metropolitan product of over US$ 2.16 trillion. If

5175-575: The County of New York (which then included parts of the Bronx), the County of Richmond, and the western portion of the County of Queens. The opening of the New York City Subway in 1904, first built as separate private systems, helped bind the new city together. Throughout the first half of the 20th century, the city became a world center for industry, commerce, and communication. In 1904,

5290-636: The Denver Children’s Museum. In 1950, the Junior League of Miami opened the Junior Museum of Miami, a small house that brought in more 2,000 children in its first three months and eventually evolved into the Miami Museum of Science. League members also mobilized to secure funds and necessary resources for children’s museums. In 1946, the Junior League of Charlotte stepped in to save a small but popular Children’s Nature Museum thought up by

5405-560: The Don’t Wait campaign garnered wide-spread attention – President George Bush called the program “a point of light” (100 Years, 166). Despite the Women’s Suffrage movement fueling the establishment of a number of Junior Leagues, the official stance on engaging in public policy efforts for the Association in the early 20th century was to avoid any partisan issues and stay away from public arena (Volunteering, 97-98). The official position of

5520-603: The Dutch West India Company relinquished its monopoly over the fur trade, leading to growth in the production and trade of food, timber, tobacco, and slaves (particularly with the Dutch West Indies ). In 1647, Peter Stuyvesant began his tenure as the last Director-General of New Netherland. During his tenure, the population of New Netherland grew from 2,000 to 8,000. Stuyvesant has been credited with improving law and order; however, he earned

5635-413: The Dutch colonial Director-General Peter Minuit , as charged by the Dutch West India Company , purchased the island of Manhattan from the Canarsie , a small Lenape band, for "the value of 60 guilders " (about $ 900 in 2018). A frequently told but disproved legend claims that Manhattan was purchased for $ 24 worth of glass beads. Following the purchase, New Amsterdam grew slowly. To attract settlers,

5750-478: The Dutch instituted the patroon system in 1628, whereby wealthy Dutchmen ( patroons , or patrons) who brought 50 colonists to New Netherland would be awarded land, local political autonomy, and rights to participate in the lucrative fur trade. This program had little success. Since 1621, the Dutch West India Company had operated as a monopoly in New Netherland, on authority granted by the Dutch States General . In 1639–1640, in an effort to bolster economic growth,

5865-433: The Junior League of Montreal was the first to spring into action, initially by raising money for refugees. Almost all Leagues in the U.S. became involved by 1916, despite the nation’s stated neutrality which lasted until April 1917 (timeline). In addition to fundraising efforts, Leagues organized classes, including those focused on home nursing, as well as “preparedness” initiatives that were often organized in coordination with

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5980-410: The League received the March of Dimes Service Award in 1957 (100 Years, 101). In the 1990s, the Junior League played a pivotal role in advocating for children to have greater access to health care. In 1991, the League launched Don’t Wait to Vaccinate, a public awareness campaign focused on encouraging early childhood immunization (100 Years, 11). All 276 Leagues joined in to distribute information about

6095-492: The League was supplying schools with visiting teachers and volunteer tutors (100 Years, 23). School and Home Visitors, which began as a pilot project, was ultimately so successful that in 1910, New York state absorbed responsibility for the program and expanded its funding and reach. Nathalie Henderson, a League co-founder and chair of the organization’s Committee on Visiting Teachers of the Public Education Society, went on to chair New York’s joint Committee for Education and serve as

6210-450: The Lower East Side in the early twentieth century. In Moyshe Nadir 's 1932 Yiddish poem, "Rivington Strit" (Rivington Street), the poet meets an old Jewish peddler who extemporizes a poetic history of the area. In the movie A Hatful of Rain (1957), the main characters live in an apartment at 967 Rivington (apartment 3H). In the novel What Makes Sammy Run? , the protagonist Sammy Glick turns out to have lived on Rivington Street at

6325-436: The Museum of the City of New York, which was staffed by volunteers and financed by the League (100 Years, 103). Beyond the 1950s, the Leagues continued to meet the needs of communities around the country by opening children’s museums. In 1976, the Junior League of Pittsburgh contributed to the founding of the Pittsburgh Children’s Museum, and in 1982, the Junior League of Chicago organized around fighting cutbacks in funding for

6440-420: The Native Americans and epidemics brought on by contact with the Europeans caused sizeable population losses for the Lenape between 1660 and 1670. By 1700, the Lenape population had diminished to 200. New York experienced several yellow fever epidemics in the 18th century, losing ten percent of its population in 1702 alone. In the early 18th century, New York grew in importance as a trading port while as

6555-439: The New York City Jammed my Brain, all I get from this city is heat and my heaters don't care". D.W. Griffith 's 1910 film In the Ghetto begins in Rivington Street. There are authentic sequences of the Rivington Street markets in that film, corresponding with the photography of George Grantham Bain in the inset above. The novel Rivington Street by Meredith Tax tells the story of a Jewish immigrant family from Russia's life on

6670-486: The New York League organized the first network of volunteers in an outpatient department in New York City through the Children’s Clinic at Bellevue Hospital (100 Years, 38). During the Great Depression, Junior Leagues ramped up efforts to care for infants, children and families in need. Junior Leagues established and operated milk stations and nurseries for the children of working women, and also ran soup kitchens (100 Years, 65). The Tampa Junior League supported and built out

6785-405: The New York metropolitan area were its own country , it would have the tenth-largest economy in the world . Despite having a 24/7 rapid transit system , New York also leads the world in urban automobile traffic congestion . The city is home to the world's two largest stock exchanges by market capitalization of their listed companies: the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq . New York City

6900-496: The Red Cross (100 Years, 39). Perhaps even more so than the first world war, World War II galvanized Junior Leagues into action. In July 1940, as awareness spread that the United States would join the war, the AJLA called a special meeting to mobilize all Leagues in the United States to form central volunteer bureaus. This movement built off of capabilities already developed during the Depression that matched volunteers with agencies in need of help. In August 1941, all Leagues were sent

7015-462: The Red Cross. In the United States and Canada, volunteer efforts for the war took on many different forms. Junior League members organized blood drives, worked for the Red Cross, volunteered in daycare centers, sold US Treasury War Bonds and Stamps, and performed for servicemen at the USO and other venues (100 Years, 86). Overseas, League Members volunteered with various organizations, including an 125-person unit of Junior League Members who served with

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7130-578: The Revolutionary War and escaped slaves, a significant free-Black population gradually developed in Manhattan. The New York Manumission Society worked for abolition and established the African Free School to educate Black children. It was not until 1827 that slavery was completely abolished in the state . Free Blacks struggled with discrimination and interracial abolitionist activism continued. New York City's population jumped from 123,706 in 1820 (10,886 of whom were Black and of which 518 were enslaved) to 312,710 by 1840 (16,358 of whom were Black). Also in

7245-581: The Rivington Street Settlement House (100 Years, 21). The Junior League House for Working Girls (Junior League Hotel) grew out of the organization’s early volunteer work with settlement movements. Dorothy Payne Whitney , president of the New York League from 1907 to 1909, and League members began to engage in conversations around how they might best support working women in the city. There was an interest in creating affordable, sanitary and comfortable accommodations solely for women – an alternative to tenement housing that would also protect against discrimination on

7360-403: The South Florida Science Museum, today known as the Cox Science Center and Aquarium . The museum opened in 1961, and in 1964 added a new wing housing the planetarium which was dedicated by and named after astronaut Buzz Aldrin . In addition to opening new museums, Leagues also worked with existing museums to support children-friendly sections. This was the case for the “Please Touch” Gallery at

7475-415: The United States . As the U.S. capital, New York City hosted the inauguration of the first President, George Washington , and the first Congress , at Federal Hall on Wall Street . Congress drafted the Bill of Rights there. The Supreme Court held its first organizational sessions in New York in 1790. In 1790, for the first time, New York City surpassed Philadelphia as the nation's largest city. At

7590-436: The United States . As many as 800 languages are spoken in New York City, making it the most linguistically diverse city in the world. In 2021, the city was home to nearly 3.1 million residents born outside the U.S., the largest foreign-born population of any city in the world. New York City traces its origins to Fort Amsterdam and a trading post founded on Manhattan Island by Dutch colonists around 1624. The settlement

7705-416: The United States. New York City has more than double the population of Los Angeles , the nation's second-most populous city. With more than 20.1 million people in its metropolitan statistical area and 23.5 million in its combined statistical area as of 2020, New York City is one of the world's most populous megacities . The city and its metropolitan area are the premier gateway for legal immigration to

7820-411: The WAAC, Hobby was promoted to Major Hobby. As director, Major Hobby was charged with mobilizing and training women to be soldiers, and, “making available to the national defense the knowledge, skill, and special training of the women of the nation" (100 Years, 84). The WAACs under Major Hobby’s charge initially took on roles ranging from clerks and secretaries to aircraft warning observers. However, as

7935-417: The YMCA in France (100 Years, 80). As volunteerism flourished, Junior League members also took on more official responsibilities in war efforts. It was through the work of Oveta Culp Hobby, member of the Houston Junior League and Director of the Women’s Interest Section of the War Department, that the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC) was formed in 1941. After President Roosevelt signed the bill establishing

8050-432: The area for France and named it Nouvelle Angoulême (New Angoulême ). A Spanish expedition, led by the Portuguese captain Estêvão Gomes sailing for Emperor Charles V , arrived in New York Harbor in January 1525 and charted the mouth of the Hudson River , which he named Río de San Antonio ('Saint Anthony's River'). In 1609, the English explorer Henry Hudson rediscovered New York Harbor while searching for

8165-448: The art center and hardcore punk music venue ABC No Rio , and the Clemente Soto Velez Cultural and Educational Center, and the newly constructed 21-story Hotel on Rivington. Rivington Street was used for the cover to the Beastie Boys ' album Paul's Boutique . The intersection of Rivington and Ludlow Street , where the cover photo was taken, was renamed " Beastie Boys Square " on September 9, 2023. The Rivington School art movement

8280-472: The basis of nationality or religion. In 1909, the Junior League erected a six-story building on the corner of 78th street and East End Avenue, which would serve as the Junior League Hotel until its closure in 1931. At a rate of $ 4 to $ 7 a week, residents were provided a range of amenities including a library, roof garden, laundry, and tennis and basketball courts. The Junior League Hotel served as

8395-462: The beginning of his career, then named "Samuel Glickstein", when he is hired as a copy boy by The New York Record . The street is described by the narrator as one of a conglomerate of "jumbled ghetto streets" into which millions of Jews are crowded. Lady Gaga makes mention of The Rivington Rebels, a group of local area partiers, in her 2011 studio album Born This Way . The lyrics, from the track "Heavy Metal Lover", are as follows, "Dirty pearls and

8510-548: The beginning of the 1990s. By the mid-1990s, crime rates started to drop dramatically due to revised police strategies, improving economic opportunities, gentrification , and new residents, both American transplants and new immigrants from Asia and Latin America. New York City's population exceeded 8 million for the first time in the 2000 United States census ; further records were set in 2010 , and 2020 U.S. censuses. Important new sectors, such as Silicon Alley , emerged in

8625-661: The best drugs in the city." Rivington Street is a cross street to the Lower East Side's main thoroughfares. It has, in recent years, become part of an area known as "Hell Square"; there is a high saturation of restaurants and bars along the street. Notable establishments on Rivington Street include the University Settlement House (the first settlement house in New York), the Rivington Street Settlement house (established 1889),

8740-426: The building. In 1950 the NYJL clubhouse moved to the former Vincent Astor townhouse (Astor House) at 130 East 80th Street, where it remains as of 2020. The League quickly branched out and in 1907 became the Junior League for the Promotion of Neighborhood Work. Under President Dorothy Whitney, the League introduced formal training on “social problems” and expanded the scope of their work to include civic issues such as

8855-587: The business elite lobbied for the establishment of Central Park , which in 1857 became the first landscaped park in an American city. The Great Irish Famine brought a large influx of Irish immigrants, of whom more than 200,000 were living in New York by 1860, representing over a quarter of the city's population. Extensive immigration from the German provinces meant that Germans comprised another 25% of New York's population by 1860. Democratic Party candidates were consistently elected to local office, increasing

8970-561: The city from New Jersey. The East River—a tidal strait —flows from Long Island Sound and separates the Bronx and Manhattan from Long Island. The Harlem River , another tidal strait between the East and Hudson rivers, separates most of Manhattan from the Bronx. The Bronx River , which flows through the Bronx and Westchester County , is the only entirely freshwater river in the city. The city's land has been altered substantially by human intervention, with considerable land reclamation along

9085-439: The city rapidly replaced Wuhan , China as the global epicenter of the pandemic during the early phase, straining the city's healthcare infrastructure. Through March 2023, New York City recorded more than 80,000 deaths from COVID-19-related complications. New York City is situated in the northeastern United States , in southeastern New York State, approximately halfway between Washington, D.C. and Boston . Its location at

9200-632: The city's economy. The advent of Y2K was celebrated with fanfare in Times Square . New York City suffered the bulk of the economic damage and largest loss of human life in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks . Two of the four airliners hijacked that day were flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center, resulting in the collapse of both buildings and the deaths of 2,753 people, including 343 first responders from

9315-794: The city's ties to the South and its dominant party. In 1861, Mayor Fernando Wood called on the aldermen to declare independence from Albany and the United States after the South seceded, but his proposal was not acted on. Anger at new military conscription laws during the American Civil War (1861–1865), which spared wealthier men who could afford to hire a substitute, led to the Draft Riots of 1863 , whose most visible participants were ethnic Irish working class. The draft riots deteriorated into attacks on New York's elite, followed by attacks on Black New Yorkers after fierce competition for

9430-734: The city’s public schools by helping to establish the Chicago Children’s Museum. In 1961, the Junior League of Chicago co-founded the Art Institute 's volunteer Docent Program to revitalize and expand "programming for children." In 2017, the Association of Children’s Museums granted the 2017 ACM Great Friend to Kids Award to the Junior League in recognition of the organization’s contributions to advocating for children and their education and for their work developing children’s museums. When World War I broke out in Europe in 1914,

9545-512: The civic role for women, police, and immigration (100 Years, 25-26). During this time, a number of sister leagues formed in cities including Brooklyn, New York and Portland, Oregon although there was no formal affiliation with the first New York league. A number of other debutante circles, like the Sewing Circle League of Boston began to emulate the League in New York and focus on local social issues (100 Years, 26). Eleanor Roosevelt

9660-688: The colony and allowed for religious freedom. In 1667, during negotiations leading to the Treaty of Breda after the Second Anglo-Dutch War , the victorious Dutch decided to keep the nascent plantation colony of what is now Suriname , which they had gained from the English, and in return the English kept New Amsterdam. The settlement was promptly renamed "New York" after the Duke of York (the future King James II and VII). The duke gave part of

9775-622: The colony to proprietors George Carteret and John Berkeley . On August 24, 1673, during the Third Anglo-Dutch War , Anthony Colve of the Dutch navy seized New York at the behest of Cornelis Evertsen the Youngest and rechristened it "New Orange" after William III , the Prince of Orange . The Dutch soon returned the island to England under the Treaty of Westminster of November 1674. Several intertribal wars among

9890-526: The country related to education, voting rights, child welfare and historic preservation, among other areas. Over the early years of the League’s development, education emerged as a central aspect of the organization’s efforts to advance social causes. Through the School and Home Visitors program, the League sponsored teachers to assist with bolstering communication between schools and immigrant parents, and by 1909,

10005-417: The development of large housing tracts in eastern Queens and Nassau County , with Wall Street leading America's place as the world's dominant economic power. The United Nations headquarters was completed in 1952, solidifying New York's global geopolitical influence, and the rise of abstract expressionism in the city precipitated New York's displacement of Paris as the center of the art world. In 1969,

10120-406: The end of 1790, the national capital was moved to Philadelphia . During the 19th century, New York City's population grew from 60,000 to 3.43 million. Under New York State's gradual emancipation act of 1799, children of slave mothers were to be eventually liberated but to be held in indentured servitude until their mid-to-late twenties. Together with slaves freed by their masters after

10235-457: The founding of a Dutch fur trading settlement on Governors Island . In 1625, construction was started on a citadel and Fort Amsterdam , later called Nieuw Amsterdam (New Amsterdam), on present-day Manhattan Island. The colony of New Amsterdam extended from the southern tip of Manhattan to modern-day Wall Street , where a 12-foot (3.7 m) wooden stockade was built in 1653 to protect against Native American and English raids. In 1626,

10350-473: The ice (and its subsequent retreat) contributed to the separation of what is now Long Island and Staten Island. That action left bedrock at a relatively shallow depth, providing a solid foundation for most of Manhattan's skyscrapers. The Hudson River flows through the Hudson Valley into New York Bay . Between New York City and Troy, New York , the river is an estuary . The Hudson River separates

10465-686: The importance of vaccination, utilizing multilingual radio announcements, billboards, and handouts to spread the message. Along with these efforts, the Leagues tackled problem areas such as the lack of health clinics, insurance and language barriers that they recognized as factors in preventing wider-spread immunization (100 Years, 101). To eliminate these barriers, Leagues identified the issues that were most relevant to their own local populations and then deployed educational materials and collaborated with health agencies and other Leagues to create effective children’s health programs (100 Years, 161). The success of

10580-554: The last American stronghold in Manhattan, causing George Washington and his forces to retreat across the Hudson River to New Jersey , pursued by British forces. After the battle, in which the Americans were defeated, the British made the city their military and political base of operations in North America. The city was a haven for Loyalist refugees and escaped slaves who joined the British lines for freedom promised by

10695-524: The last year of the second World War, Leagues staged 36 live radio programs for children (100 Years, 87). As was the case of children’s theatre, Junior Leagues were also instrumental in opening children’s museums to help expose children to science and technology, art and nature. By the end of the 1950s, Leagues across the country – from San Francisco to Jacksonville, Florida – established or entered into partnerships to open up museums for children in their own communities (100 Years, 102). The Denver Junior League

10810-419: The most populous urbanized area in the world in the early 1920s, overtaking London . The metropolitan area surpassed 10 million in the early 1930s, becoming the first megacity . The Great Depression saw the election of reformer Fiorello La Guardia as mayor and the fall of Tammany Hall after eighty years of political dominance. Returning World War II veterans created a post-war economic boom and

10925-616: The mouth of the Hudson River , which feeds into a naturally sheltered harbor and then into the Atlantic Ocean , has helped the city grow in significance as a trading port. Most of the city is built on the three islands of Long Island, Manhattan, and Staten Island. During the Wisconsin glaciation , 75,000 to 11,000 years ago, the New York City area was situated at the edge of a large ice sheet . The erosive forward movement of

11040-496: The only " transgender folks around" during the June 1969 Stonewall riots. The transgender community in New York City played a significant role in fighting for LGBT equality. In the 1970s, job losses due to industrial restructuring caused New York City to suffer from economic problems and rising crime rates. Growing fiscal deficits in 1975 led the city to appeal to the federal government for financial aid; President Gerald Ford gave

11155-569: The organization as The League of Women Voters, a new group (100 Years, 36). One year after Congress passed the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution , the Junior League held its annual conference in St. Louis. With discussions swirling around women’s suffrage at the conference, the League decided to form Legislative committees that would focus on “city or state laws, especially those affecting

11270-530: The social welfare of women and children” (100 Years, 37). Junior Leagues have historically advanced causes related to the well-being of women and children in various ways. Leagues across the country pioneered these efforts. Tucson, Arizona established the city’s first day nursery, and Cincinnati established the Junior League Welfare Station, a clinic created to care for the children of indigent families (100 Years, 50). In 1917, members of

11385-506: The street was the home of many Italian and Jewish immigrants, hence the birthplace of many second generation Italian and Jewish Americans. George Burns lived there for a time. The site of the second African burial ground in New York lies between Rivington and Stanton Streets , now a playground in the Sara D. Roosevelt Park. The M'Finda Kalunga community garden is also at this location. Several functioning synagogues remain on Rivington Street,

11500-461: The time of the incorporation (100 Years, 61). AJLA continued to expand in the number of Leagues and in programming. By the middle of the 20th century there were over 150 Junior Leagues located in the United States, Canada, and Mexico (100 Years, 10). There was also a noticeable demographic shift in League members. More and more league members were young, working women or were older, suburban housewives as opposed to debutantes (100 Years, 94). In 1985,

11615-528: The war progressed, WAACs assumed a broader range of primarily communication and clerical responsibilities overseas. By 1943, the initiative had garnered such success that the WAAC was elevated to Regular Army and afforded pay and privileges equal to what was granted to male soldiers (100 Years, 85). Junior League chapters have produced a number of cookbooks. The New York Junior League's cookbooks include New York Entertains (1974), I'll Taste Manhattan (1994), and

11730-529: The world by pinnacle height, with its spire reaching a symbolic 1,776 feet (541.3 m), a reference to the year of U.S. independence . The Occupy Wall Street protests in Zuccotti Park in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan began on September 17, 2011, receiving global attention and popularizing the Occupy movement against social and economic inequality worldwide. New York City

11845-513: The world. In 1664, New York was named in honor of the Duke of York (later King James II of England ). James's elder brother, King Charles II , appointed the Duke as proprietor of the former territory of New Netherland , including the city of New Amsterdam , when the Kingdom of England seized it from Dutch control. In the pre-Columbian era , the area of present-day New York City

11960-422: Was Juan Rodriguez , a merchant from Santo Domingo who arrived in Manhattan during the winter of 1613–14, trapping for pelts and trading with the local population as a representative of the Dutch colonists. A permanent European presence near New York Harbor was established in 1624, making New York the 12th-oldest continuously occupied European-established settlement in the continental United States , with

12075-566: Was heavily affected by Hurricane Sandy in late October 2012. Sandy's impacts included flooding that led to the days-long shutdown of the subway system and flooding of all East River subway tunnels and of all road tunnels entering Manhattan except the Lincoln Tunnel . The New York Stock Exchange closed for two days due to weather for the first time since the Great Blizzard of 1888 . At least 43 people died in New York City as

12190-539: Was a prime destination in the early 20th century for Blacks during the Great Migration from the American South, and by 1916, New York City had the largest urban African diaspora in North America. The Harlem Renaissance of literary and cultural life flourished during the era of Prohibition . The larger economic boom generated construction of skyscrapers competing in height. New York City became

12305-429: Was an early member of the NYJL, joining in 1903 when she was 19 years old. In 1921, thirty Leagues joined to form a national association. Until this point, Leagues were only connected by a Bulletin, containing updates about various leagues, and an annual conference. The national association was named the Association of Junior Leagues of America, Inc. and acted as an umbrella organization (Volunteer, 61). A new Constitution

12420-646: Was developed with help from the League, and Margaret Hamilton, who would go on to play the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz, got her start in children’s theater as a member of the Junior League (100 Years, 60). In addition to providing enriching entertainment, Leagues were also cognizant of the comfort that theater could bring to children during times of uncertainty. From 1944-45, Leagues put on 783 theater performances for nearly 370,000 children. And in

12535-862: Was founded. The Stamp Act Congress met in New York in October 1765, as the Sons of Liberty organization emerged in the city and skirmished over the next ten years with British troops stationed there. The Battle of Long Island , the largest battle of the American Revolutionary War , was fought in August 1776 within modern-day Brooklyn. A British rout of the Continental Army at the Battle of Fort Washington in November 1776 eliminated

12650-534: Was inhabited by Algonquians , including the Lenape . Their homeland, known as Lenapehoking , included the present-day areas of Staten Island , Manhattan , the Bronx , the western portion of Long Island (including Brooklyn and Queens ), and the Lower Hudson Valley . The first documented visit into New York Harbor by a European was in 1524 by explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano . He claimed

12765-468: Was named New Amsterdam in 1626 and was chartered as a city in 1653. The city came under English control in 1664 and was temporarily renamed New York after King Charles II granted the lands to his brother, the Duke of York , before being permanently renamed New York in November 1674. New York City was the U.S. capital from 1785 until 1790. The modern city was formed by the 1898 consolidation of its five boroughs : Manhattan , Brooklyn , Queens ,

12880-636: Was named after an abandoned public school building located on Rivington Street. In 1979, Genya Ravan wrote and recorded her autobiographical song "202 Rivington Street", the address being where her family settled after their escape from the Holocaust in 1947. Like much of her work, including "Jerry's Pigeons" from her 1978 album Urban Desire , the ballad contains numerous references to neighborhood landmarks, including Pitt Street Park. "Laundry on strings hanging from iron bars with nowhere to escape" - From "202 Rivington Street" by Genya Ravan (1979): "Oh darlin,

12995-491: Was staged in 15 cities and seen by 35,000 children. While children’s theater started in Chicago, it quickly spread to Leagues across the country. By 1931, children’s plays were staged by 80 Leagues, and almost all of the 148 Leagues put on some form of children’s theater, marionette or puppet shows by 1938. The Junior League of Chicago even had a presence at the Chicago’s World Fair where they presented weekly shows over

13110-561: Was the first to open a children’s museum in 1945. Co-sponsored by the Denver Art Museum, the Denver Children’s Museum was such a success that its opening weekend brought in 10,000 visitors. Ultimately the museum served as a pilot project, both for the nation and for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) (100 Years, 103). Many other Leagues followed the example set by

13225-480: Was written, and the Board was tasked with acting as an information bureau for the leagues, as well as continuing to publish the Bulletin and coordinating the annual meeting (100 Years, 47.) After serving as New York City's Junior League president from 1907 to 1910, Dorothy Payne Whitney was nominated as the first president of AJLA. Despite the name, there was membership of Leagues located both in America and Canada at

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