Hudson 400

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HUDSON 400!
Celebrating the Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Quadricentennial in 2009

HUDSON RIVER PANORAMA
400 Years of History, Art and Culture
February 7, 2009 – January 3, 2010

Flowing south for 315 miles, from the Adirondack wilderness to the Verazzano Narrows, the Hudson River is more than a waterway; it has become a symbol of a nation. As part of the Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Quadracentennial Celebration in 2009, the Albany Institute is preparing a major exhibition, catalogue, and website to commemorate the history and culture of the Hudson River and the people who have used and lived along its renowned watercourse. Woven throughout the exhibition, historical artifacts, works of art, and written records will give voice to those diverse people. Their stories and the material objects that filled their world reveal how the Hudson River has aided trade and commerce, provided leisure opportunities and tourist attractions, transported people and opened a nation to settlement and growth. What they tell is a story about a river and a history of a nation.

The exhibition will encompass four major themes: The River and the Natural Environment, Settlement and Community, Transportation, Trade and Industry, Culture and Symbol.

Woven throughout the sections will be topics that contribute to an understanding of the Hudson River’s significance in the formation of the United States, its national identity and its future. Highlights include:

The Age of Exploration: In 1609, the Dutch East India Company hired Englishman Henry Hudson to find the elusive Northwest Passage, a fabled all-water route to Asia. Instead Hudson’s voyage led to the first European settlements of Hudson River Valley and contact with Native cultures.

Military and Strategic Prominence: The Hudson River’s strategic location at the “crossroads of empire” was a vital connector for the control and flow of military forces from the 17^{th -}19^th centuries.

Transportation and Commerce: The Hudson River has facilitated trade and commerce for more than 400 years. A symbol of prosperity it has epitomized the commercial spirit that became a signifying characteristic of the United States by the early nineteenth century.

Tourism and Cultural Symbol: The scenic delights of the Hudson River valley, including 19^th century landscapes by Hudson River School artists, have offered visual and cultural commodities to tourists who have traveled the river into upstate New York from the late eighteenth century to the present. Eco-tourism, cultural attractions, outdoor sports, contemporary art and a nostalgic quest for simplicity and communion with nature still entice tourists into the Hudson River valley today.

Recreation, Sport, and Leisure: The waters of the Hudson River have offered all spectrums of society the opportunity for pleasure, physical exercise, and competitive challenges for more than 400 years.

The River and the Natural Environment: Naturalists, scientists, and industrialists have long been drawn to the Hudson River valley for its abundant and unusual botanical, ecological, and environmental treasures. Today, scientists, lawmakers, and an educated public respect the Hudson River and celebrate its natural abundance.

Nostalgia and the River: The 2009 Celebration reflects the 1909 Hudson-Fulton commemoration. The 1909 celebration included pomp, pageantry, and innovative technologies related to the history of the United States.

The Hudson River Valley Today: The Hudson River of the 21^st century unites a region of technological innovation, development, and research. Tech Valley, as the Hudson River Valley is frequently called, has received national and international attention for the explosion of technology-based industries all along the length of the river, from New York to Albany. This last section of the exhibit will unveil the revolutionary new world that is developing throughout the Hudson River Valley and which is defining the new character of American ingenuity.

Postcard, "Henry Hudson and The Half Moon"; unidentified artist, unidentified publisher; ca. 1909; inscribed, back "HENRY HUDSON Having set out to find a short passage to India, he left Gravesend for Nova Zembia in April 1608, and, halted by Icebergs, drifted for months and finally entered New York Harbor in September 1609. He was turned adrift in an open shallop by his mutinous crew in 1611, and never was heard of again."; MG 157, Postcard Collection, Box 1, AIHA Library

Landing Place, Albany, John E. Regan, 1862, Watercolor on paper, ht. 11 7/8 in., w. 17 ¾ in. AIHA Collection, Gift of Ledyard Cogswell: u1977.321

To date, support for this project has been provided by the Bender Family Foundation, Equinox Foundation, the Lucille A. Herold Charitable Trust, the New York State Council on the Arts, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation/Hudson River Estuary Program, the Hudson River Foundation, Teaching the Hudson Valley ,the New York Council for the Humanities, and MetLife Foundation.

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