The Italian American Museum in New York City
History and Culture Exhibits in a Landmark Building
Sep 13, 2009
In the summer of 2008, the Italian American Museum moved into an historic building in New York City’s Little Italy—the former Banca Stabile on the corner of Mulberry and Grand Streets. “It’s the ideal location,” said Dr. Joseph V. Scelsa, president and founding member of the museum. “This is where the immigrants who came from Italy most identify with.”
Italian Immigration to America
From the late 1800s to the early 1900s, hundreds of thousands of Italian immigrants made their home in the thriving Italian community in lower Manhattan; and although Little Italy is considerably smaller now, its Italian presence is still an important part of the neighborhood.
“The commercial and social life revolved around the community,” Dr. Scelsa states, and Banca Stabile had an integral role. The bank was established in 1882 and provided Italian immigrants with varied services including wiring money, steamship tickets, mortgages, loans, savings accounts, and notaries. The early twentieth century brought a decrease in Italian immigration and the bank ceased operating after the Depression; but the luxurious and stately building remained intact, and for quite some time, Dr. Scelsa has had his eye on it.
From a Small Room to the Banca Stabile Building
In 1999, after the close of the successful exhibit, “The Italians of New York,” which he oversaw, Dr. Scelsa realized the need for an Italian American Museum in the northeast. In 2001, the Museum received its charter and, in 2003, it became affiliated with the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute. The Museum was located in a 500-square foot room on the seventeenth floor of an office building in Manhattan. With exhibit space and accessibility extremely limited, Dr. Scelsa and members of the Museum began searching for a new home, focusing on the “historical district” of Little Italy.
“I inquired for many years and couldn’t get an answer. Finally through the community, I met with the son and told him what I wanted to do with the building.” Jerome Stabile III, the great-grandson of the founder of the bank, Francesco Stabile, was very receptive.
Dr. Scelsa notes, “It took two years to raise enough funds,” and—fortunately—the mortgage was secured before the credit crunch took hold. While the new location of the Museum is not part of a plan to revitalize Little Italy, “there is a new interest” in the area, and a desire to “revitalize [it] to the extent that it will become a cultural center.”
The Italian American Museum
The Museum is well on its way. In September 2008, the premier exhibit, “Banca Stabile, Cornerstone of Little Italy,” showcased the beautiful building—with its marble counters and floors, tin ceilings, and brass tellers’ cages with gilt lettering. The exhibit, now on permanent display, features the contents of the bank’s vault—Italian and American money, bankbooks with transactions written by hand, luggage tags, cablegrams, and even a small revolver.
With the purchase of the bank and two attached buildings, Dr. Scelsa and his staff will have plenty of room for exhibits. The building currently totals 10,000 square feet, but plans to add two more floors to the three-story building will double its space. “We’ll be in expansion mode for quite some time. We plan on having many more exhibits, simultaneous exhibits, a small theater, classrooms, a lecture hall, library, and a genealogical center.”
Italian American History Exhibits
Dr. Scelsa’s plans for the museum are “four exhibits a year, each lasting two to three months.” He added, “A lot of non-Italians are very interested” in our culture and heritage, and that it’s his “hope [that] this Museum will inspire other cultural centers throughout the United States.” Virtual tours of the Museum’s past exhibits are available online.
The Italian American Museum is open Wednesday through Sunday 11 AM to 6 PM, and Friday to 8 PM. It is closed Monday and Tuesdays, but will open by arrangement. For groups larger than 12, an appointment is required. The suggested donation is $5. For more information, call 212-965-9000 or visit the Museum online.
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