Photo © Paul Calhoun, Museum of Chinese in America

site of the Day

1982 NYC's Chinatown Garment Workers' Strike - 1982 - The 1982 Chinatown Garment Workers’ Strike in New York City was a landmark moment in U.S. labor history—especially for Asian American women. At the time, Chinatown was home to around 500 garment factories employing roughly 20,000 workers, most of whom were immigrant women from Hong Kong and southern China. These women endured long hours, unsafe conditions, and were paid by the piece—often earning far below minimum wage.The strike was sparked when Chinatown contractors rejected a union contract negotiated by the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union (ILGWU). The contractors demanded changes that would have weakened worker protections, such as shifting responsibility for holiday pay to the union and allowing business with non-union manufacturers.In response, nearly 20,000 workers—many of whom had never participated in a protest before—rallied in Columbus Park on June 24, 1982. They carried bilingual signs and wore union caps, declaring solidarity with the ILGWU. Organizers like Katie Quan and Lily Moy played key roles in mobilizing the community.The strike was a resounding success. Within days, nearly all contractors agreed to sign the union contract, preserving critical benefits like health care, pensions, and fair wages. It also shattered stereotypes about Asian American women being passive or apolitical, showing their collective power and resilience.

site of the Day

1966 NYC Transit Workers Strike - 1966 - The twelve-day strike began on New Year's Day; the last trains rolled at 8:02 am. An injunction to end the strike was issued later that day, under the 1947 Condon-Wadlin Act. On January 2, the union reduced its economic demands, but the TA responded only by getting a judge's order for the arrest of Quill and eight other union leaders. The arrests were set for 1 a.m. on January 4.The strike started January 1, the day of Mayor John Lindsay's inauguration. "It is an act of defiance against 8 million people," Lindsay said at the time.On January 10, 15,000 workers picketed City Hall. Negotiations moved forward through mediators, with movement from both sides. At 1:37 A.M. on January 13, MacMahon announced that the union was recommending settlement.The package, worth over $60 million, included wages increases from $3.18 to $4.14 an hour, an additional paid holiday, increased pension benefits, and other gains. Gains averaged nine percent for the next eight years. The leader and instigator - Transport Workers Union Local 100 Chief Mike Quill , already in ill health at the time of the arrest, died on January 28.And other workers looked at this realized ir kind of works. This strike promoted unionization and was followed by a number of other very big strikes.

Photo © WNYC Radio

site of the Day

The 1962–1963 New York City newspaper strike - 1962 - The 1962–1963 New York City newspaper strike was a strike action within the newspaper industry of New York City which ran from December 8, 1962, until March 31, 1963, lasting for a total of 114 days. Besides protesting low wages, the unions were resisting automation of the printing presses.Rooted in fears about new "cold type" printing technology, the strike ended up devastating the city's newspaper culture and launching the careers of a new generation of writers including Tom Wolfe, Gay Talese, and Nora Ephron.

Photo © Paul Calhoun, Museum of Chinese in America

site of the Day

1982 NYC's Chinatown Garment Workers' Strike - 1982 - The 1982 Chinatown Garment Workers’ Strike in New York City was a landmark moment in U.S. labor history—especially for Asian American women. At the time, Chinatown was home to around 500 garment factories employing roughly 20,000 workers, most of whom were immigrant women from Hong Kong and southern China. These women endured long hours, unsafe conditions, and were paid by the piece—often earning far below minimum wage.The strike was sparked when Chinatown contractors rejected a union contract negotiated by the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union (ILGWU). The contractors demanded changes that would have weakened worker protections, such as shifting responsibility for holiday pay to the union and allowing business with non-union manufacturers.In response, nearly 20,000 workers—many of whom had never participated in a protest before—rallied in Columbus Park on June 24, 1982. They carried bilingual signs and wore union caps, declaring solidarity with the ILGWU. Organizers like Katie Quan and Lily Moy played key roles in mobilizing the community.The strike was a resounding success. Within days, nearly all contractors agreed to sign the union contract, preserving critical benefits like health care, pensions, and fair wages. It also shattered stereotypes about Asian American women being passive or apolitical, showing their collective power and resilience.

site of the Day

1966 NYC Transit Workers Strike - 1966 - The twelve-day strike began on New Year's Day; the last trains rolled at 8:02 am. An injunction to end the strike was issued later that day, under the 1947 Condon-Wadlin Act. On January 2, the union reduced its economic demands, but the TA responded only by getting a judge's order for the arrest of Quill and eight other union leaders. The arrests were set for 1 a.m. on January 4.The strike started January 1, the day of Mayor John Lindsay's inauguration. "It is an act of defiance against 8 million people," Lindsay said at the time.On January 10, 15,000 workers picketed City Hall. Negotiations moved forward through mediators, with movement from both sides. At 1:37 A.M. on January 13, MacMahon announced that the union was recommending settlement.The package, worth over $60 million, included wages increases from $3.18 to $4.14 an hour, an additional paid holiday, increased pension benefits, and other gains. Gains averaged nine percent for the next eight years. The leader and instigator - Transport Workers Union Local 100 Chief Mike Quill , already in ill health at the time of the arrest, died on January 28.And other workers looked at this realized ir kind of works. This strike promoted unionization and was followed by a number of other very big strikes.

Photo © WNYC Radio

site of the Day

The 1962–1963 New York City newspaper strike - 1962 - The 1962–1963 New York City newspaper strike was a strike action within the newspaper industry of New York City which ran from December 8, 1962, until March 31, 1963, lasting for a total of 114 days. Besides protesting low wages, the unions were resisting automation of the printing presses.Rooted in fears about new "cold type" printing technology, the strike ended up devastating the city's newspaper culture and launching the careers of a new generation of writers including Tom Wolfe, Gay Talese, and Nora Ephron.

June 24th,2025

Consider the world outside a museum. Imagine that the world that we live in is really another kind of museum where the works of art exist in the landscape itself. What if you could have a gallery guide which would tell you about the buildings and artworks you find around you. It would show you what the place used to look like and introduce you to some of the people who shaped it.

Our growing virtual collection of photographs and drawings, maps and documents, podcasts and videos tell the stories of how some of the more iconic places in our cities got to be the way they are and what they might become.

Explore buildings of the past, present and future. Look at the vast selection of artwork that graces the public realm. And discover how places have evolved over time. Deconstruct the layers of history that form the fabric of our urban landscape. Meet people who have made their mark on our cities and country who have lived in the past or are living now. Listen to their voices. Take (or make) a tour. And join us at an event either virtual or real.

Our curators are the artists, architects, photographers and historians who created the images, podcasts and videos to share their knowledge and insights. Our collaborators are museums, universities, cities, and civic organizations who are the stewards of our shared cultural history.

Use the guide online or take it with you on your phone…..

Like the cities we live in, this is a work in progress….. Enjoy!

Photo © New York Public Library

June 24th, 1803 - Died - Matthew Thornton

Photo © Charles Willson Peale, Smithsonian Institution

June 24th, 1817 - Died - Thomas McKean

Photo © National Archives and Records Administration

June 24th, 1908 - Died - Stephen Grover Cleveland

Photo © Museum of Chinese in America

June 24th, 1982 - Strike Begins - 1982 NYC's Chinatown Garment Workers' Strike

Photo © Museum of the City of New York

June 24th, 1997 - New York City Landmark - American Bank Note Company Building

What Happened Here

1835 Wall Street Fire Beginning in a 5 story warehouse on Dec 16th at 25 Merchant (Beaver) street, the fire was so bright that people 90 miles away in Philadelphia could...

What Happened Here

1857 Toilet Paper Joseph C. Gayetty, sold flat sheets of commercially produced "Medicated Paper for the WC" for the fairly expensive price of 1,000 sheets for a dollar out of his shop which becomes

What Happened Here

1865 Abraham Lincoln Lying in State in City Hall's Rotunda The funeral cortege stopped in New York for 23 hours, long enough for 500,000 people to pass at the rate of 80 people per minute to view Abraham Lincoln's corpse.

What Happened Here

1889 Nellie Bly With 2 days notice, Nellie Bly packed an overnight bag and set off to best Phineas Fogg's 80 day trip around the world. She made it in a well publicized 72 with a final cross country sprint in a single car train chartered by Joseph Pulitzer.

What Happened Here

1897 Pneumatic Tubes The Post office began using a pneumatic tube system which shot enormous canisters of mail around the city at 35 miles an hour At its peak, the system carried 95,000 letters a day -- about 30 percent of all New York's mail.

What Happened Here

1897 Yes Virginia There is a Santa Claus On Sept 21, an editorial in the NY Sun assures letter writer 8-year old Virginia O'Hanlon that

What Happened Here

1918 Charlie Chaplin at Federal HallDouglas Fairbanks and Chaplin hold a Liberty Bond Rally on Wall St - 20,000 people come out.

What Happened Here

1957 Atlas Shrugged Ayn Rand wrote the Fountainhead from a desk in Ely Jacque Kahn's (2 Park Ave / Seagram) architectural firm; in Atlas Shrugged, the Helmsley Building became Taggert Transcontinental and Grand Central was transformed into the Taggert station.

What Happened Here

2006 350,000 stale crackers While performing routine maintenance under Brooklyn Bridge's main entrance ramp, workers found a cavernous room with a stockpile of water drums, medical supplies and 350,000 stale crackers.

test aniket image 29 mar 2

test aniket image 29 mar 2

Mar 2, 1111 - Test tour 1 Consider the world outside a museum. Imagine that the world that we live in is really another kind of museum where the works of art exist in the landscape itself. What if you could have a gallery guide which would tell you about the buildings and artworks you find around you. It would show you what the place used to look like and introduce you to some of the people who shaped it.

Atomic Explosion Test Test

test image aniket 22 Jan

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