Tour: Van Cortlandt Connections to the Caribbean and Latin America

What does the Van Cortlandt House, built in rural New York in 1748, have to do with the Caribbean and Latin America? It turns out quite a lot.

Join VCHM Site Historian Nick Dembowski and artist in residence Samantha Box for a special one-hour tour connected to Overlapping Empires, Box’s site-wide contemporary art exhibition at Van Cortlandt House Museum.

This tour will explore an often overlooked aspect of New York’s history that was crucial to its development, including the Van Cortlandt family’s connections to the Caribbean and Latin America, early New York’s role in Atlantic trade, and the family’s ties to slavery and the slave trade.

Along the way, Dembowski and Box will consider how Overlapping Empires responds to these histories through still-life photography, installation, and the visual language of empire, trade, migration, and memory.

FREE; Registration is suggested as space is limited.

This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

Van Cortlandt House Museum's programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

Details:

Please arrive at the museum to check in for the tour by 12:50 PM.

For questions or more information, please email: information@vchm.org or call 718.543.3344.

Language

This tour will be delivered in English.

Accessibility:

This program is a guided, one-hour tour of Van Cortlandt House Museum which includes some walking on the lawn outdoors and ascending and descending several flights of stairs. A general (not specialized) 360 -degree tour of the museum is available at the Welcome Center. The Welcome Center is wheelchair/ mobility device accessible. The exhibition will be available for online viewing in the coming weeks.

Getting there:

Address for GPS: 6036 Broadway, Bronx, NY

Van Cortlandt House Museum is located inside Van Cortlandt Park at Broadway and West 246th Street in The Bronx. There is a paved tree-lined pedestrian path leading from Broadway to the museum.

Public Transportation:

• Subway: #1 to 242nd Street Station, then walk north on Broadway to the tree-lined pedestrian path leading into the park.
• Bus: Bx9 to West 246th Street and Broadway, then walk into the park on the tree-lined pedestrian path leading into the park.
• BxM3 Express Bus to 246th Street and Broadway, then walk into the park on the tree-lined pedestrian path leading into the park.
• Metro-North Hudson River Line to Marble Hill Station, transfer to the Bx9 bus or #1 subway as above.
  

By Car/ Parking:
You can park in Van Cortlandt Park's free parking lot, which is a 5 minute walk on park trails from the museum (GPS Link). or you can pay for metered street-parking on Broadway (GPS Link). Metered spots may be limited.

From Queens and Long Island:
Take the Tri-Boro Bridge to the Major Deegan Expressway North (87). Take the 230th St. Exit. Make a right at the top of the exit, followed by a quick left onto Bailey Avenue. Take Bailey Avenue to the end. Follow the Major Deegan North/VanCortlandt Golf Course signs. Bear to your left and go underneath the overpass. After the overpass take a sharp left into the public parking lot.

From Manhattan:
East Side: Take FDR Drive to Willis Avenue Bridge. Go over bridge and bear left for the Major Deegan Expressway North (87). Get off at the 230th Street Exit. Make a right at the top of the exit, followed by a quick left onto Bailey Avenue. Take Bailey Avenue to the end. Follow the Major Deegan North/Van Cortlandt Golf Course signs. Bear to your left and go underneath the overpass. After the overpass take a sharp left into the public parking lot.

West Side: Take West Side Highway North to Cross Bronx Expressway East.
Take Cross Bronx Expressway to Major Deegan North (87). Take the 230th St. Exit. Make a right at the top of the exit, followed by a quick left onto Bailey Avenue. Take Bailey Avenue to the end. Follow the Major Deegan North/Van Cortlandt Golf Course signs. Bear to your left and go underneath the overpass. After the overpass take a sharp left into the public parking lot.

From New Jersey:
Take the G.W. Bridge to Major Deegan Expressway North (87). Take the 230th St. Exit. Make a right at the top of the exit, followed by a quick left onto Bailey Avenue. Take Bailey Avenue to the end. Follow the Major Deegan North/Van Cortlandt Golf Course signs. Bear to your left and go underneath the overpass. After the overpass take a sharp left into the public parking lot.

From Westchester County & Points North:
Take 87 South to Van Cortlandt Park South Exit. At top of the exit, make a left. At next light, make another left and follow the signs to golf course, bear to your left and go underneath the overpass. After the overpass take a sharp left into the public parking lot.