General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen of the City of New York
Encyclopedia
Founding History
The General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen of the City of New York, was founded on November 17, 1785, by 22 men who gathered in Walter Heyer's public-house on Pine Street in Lower Manhattan. The aims of the General Society were to provide cultural, educational and social services to families of skilled craftsmen. The General Society during this early period celebrated the mutuality and centrality of the craft community. Besides its charitable activities, the society played a prominent part in the festivities that marked patriotic holidays, carrying banners emblazoned with its slogan 'by hammer and hand all arts do stand.'The city of New York and the Society both benefited from the decision to make New York the seat of the Federal Government. In 1789, legislators and their assistants and families began to pour into the city. Business prospects brightened considerably. In 1792, the Society attained a membership of 413, and received a charter of incorporation. Old documents reveal that the Society was quite active in the last years of the 18th century, corresponding with other business related associations, and petitioning the state legislature in the interests of industrial progress.
Educational Programing
In 1820, The General Society opened one of the city's first free schools. During the early 1800's, New York had no public school system. Only two free schools were to be found in the whole city - one in the almshouse, and the other open only to the children of freed slaves. The school opened with 70 students. Children of members were admitted free of charge, and a small fee was required from all others. Later that same year the Society added a separate school for girls. The school, which became the Mechanics Institute in 1858, continues to provide tuition-free evening instruction in trades-related education. Currently, it is the oldest privately-endowed tuition-free technical school in the city of New York, with more than 180,000 alumni.Library
Also founded in 1820, the General Society Library is the second oldest in New York City. The Library's main reading room -- which houses The Crouse Library for Publishing Arts -- soars to a height of three stories topped by a magnificent skylight. The establishment of the Apprentices' Library put the Society well in the forefront of social reform. Later in the century there would be a great boom in libraries, and much thought would be directed toward public education, but in 1820 such ideas were still new, and the Apprentices' Library was one of the first public libraries in the city of New York. Its aim was to provide good and instructive reading for apprentice boys who worked all day, and had no other access to books and therefore kept evening hours.In 1833, by amendment to its charter, the Society was authorized to increase its usefulness by reserving a portion of its income for the purposes of "promoting and disseminating literary and scientific knowledge," which was determined could be best done by means of lectures, and more recently, through the cultural and educational activities of the New York Center for Independent Publishing
New York Center for Independent Publishing
The New York Center for Independent Publishing is located on New York's "Literary Row" at 20 West 44th Street in Midtown Manhattan. Formerly the Small Press Center, the Center was founded by Whitney North Seymour, Jr. in 1984...
http://www.nycip.org. The lecture series, which began in 1837 -- and continues today -- featured such illuminaries as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Ward Beecher, Horace Greeley, Wendell Phillips, and Rear - Admiral Robert E. Peary. Known today as the Labor, Landmarks and Literature Lecture Series, the series continues the Society's long tradition of public lectures.
Individual Society members must have been prospering during these years, too. It was during the 1830's that the French observer Chevalier made this comment about the American mechanic and tradesmen: "He dresses like a member of Congress, and his women-folk dress the same as those of a wealthy New York merchant. His house is warm, neat, and comfortable; his table almost as plentifully provided as that of the wealthiest fellow-citizen."
College Scholarships
During the 1840's the Society also provided college scholarships. It was decided that each year two students from Mechanics Institute would attend the University of the City of New York, free of charge. In addition, the society paid to send certain students to other schools.The library continued to be well patronized during these years, and in 1845, Benjamin DeMilt a watchmaker and former president of the Society, bequeathed his entire personal library to the Society, adding 1,800 volumes to the collection.
Social Reform
The Society continued in its role as a pioneer in social reform by maintaining separate courses for women. In 1887, these classes for young women included stenography and typewriting - a very innovative idea at a time when few women were integrated into the office work force.In 1861, when the Civil War broke out, the Society placed itself firmly behind the government of Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
. About $8,000 in government bonds were purchased and many Society members enlisted in the Volunteer Engineer Regiment.
Current Location
In 1885, the Society celebrated a landmark 100th birthday. A banquet was held at Delmonico's RestaurantDelmonico's Restaurant
Delmonico's is the name of series of restaurants of varying duration, quality, and fame located in New York City. The original and most famous was operated by the Delmonico family during the 19th and early 20th centuries, closing due to a Prohibition-era slowdown in 1923...
and it was well attended both by Society members and by public officials. The Society's growth continued, and in 1899 the organization moved to the current home at 20 West 44th Street.
Between 1898 and 1903, Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, and entrepreneur who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century...
, a Society member, contributed over half a million dollars to the Society. Generous gifts came in from other members as well, and by 1913 attendance at Mechanics Institute had reached 2,300. The curriculum now included such "mechanical age" courses as automobile drafting and industrial electricity.
Located today at 20 West 44th Street, across from the Harvard Club of New York
Harvard Club of New York
The Harvard Club of New York is a private club in Midtown Manhattan, New York, New York, USA. Anyone who has attended Harvard University may apply to become a member. Incorporated in 1887, it is housed in adjoining lots at 27 West 44th Street and 35 West 44th Street...
, the building is the fifth home of the General Society and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Originally designed by Lamb and Rich
Lamb and Rich
Hugh Lamb and Charles Alonzo Rich were partners in the New York City architecture firm of Lamb & Rich. There firm was established just after 1880 and operated to 1899.The firm was preceded by the firm of Lamb & Wheeler and succeeded by the firms of Charles A...
and constructed as the Berkeley School for Boys, the building was acquired by The General Society in 1899. Member and steel magnate Andrew Carnegie provided the funds to significantly expand the building in 1903. In order to accommodate more students, two wings were added to the rear and three new upper stories replaced an original fourth-floor gymnasium. The expansion was designed by Ralph S. Townsend and blends monumental Beaux Arts classicism with Renaissance elements.
Museum
The Society is also home to the John M. Mossman Lock MuseumJohn M. Mossman Lock Museum
The Mossman Lock Museum is housed at the General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen of the City of New York building, located at 20 West 44th Street in midtown Manhattan which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places...
. The Mossman collection represents one of the most complete anthologies of bank and vault locks in the world, with more than 370 locks, keys and tools dating from 4000 BC to the modern 20th-century. The museum is open to the public.
Notable Members
Notable General Society members include Duncan PhyfeDuncan Phyfe
Duncan Phyfe was one of nineteenth-century America’s leading furniture makers.Born Duncan Fife near Loch Fannich, Scotland, he emigrated to Albany, New York, at age 16 and served as a cabinetmaker’s apprentice...
(furniture maker), Stephen Allen
Stephen Allen
Stephen Allen was the Mayor of New York for three terms from December 1821 through 1824.Under the new constitution the Mayor was appointed by the Common Council, as opposed to the governor, leading to Allen being the first elected Mayor.Feb 1824 Allen declined a directorship on New York and Sharon...
(sailmaker, 55th mayor of NYC), Gideon Lee
Gideon Lee
Gideon Lee was an American politician who was Mayor of New York and United States Representative from New York.-Life:...
(shoemaker, 61st mayor of NYC), James Harper
James Harper
James Harper may refer to:* James Harper , mayor of New York City* James Harper * James Harper * James Harper , US congressman from Pennsylvania* James C...
(publisher, 66th mayor of NYC), Peter Cooper
Peter Cooper
Peter Cooper was an American industrialist, inventor, philanthropist, and candidate for President of the United States...
(inventor, industrialist), Nathaniel Currier
Nathaniel Currier
Nathaniel Currier was an American lithographer, who headed the company Currier & Ives with James Ives.-Early years:...
(lithographer), John Bishop Putnam
John Bishop Putnam
John Bishop Putnam was treasurer and a director of the venerable book publishing firm founded by his father, G.P. Putnam & Sons. He was born in Staten Island, New York on July 17, 1849 to George Palmer and Mrs. Victorine Haven Putnam, a year after his father founded the firm...
(printer and publisher), Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, and entrepreneur who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century...
(industrialist and philanthropist) and a former president of the society: Jacob Aaron Westervelt (shipbuilder, 72nd mayor of NYC).