On March 22, 1933, not even three weeks after President Franklin D. Roosevelt (Law 1907) took the oath of office, he signed the Cullen-Harrison Act, authorizing the sale of low-alcohol beer and wine. This was the first step on the path to ending Prohibition. And Columbia College students rejoiced! […]
Tag: Columbia University
Charles Henry Alston at Columbia
Sam Pollard’s documentary “Black Art: In the Absence of Light” (2021) was inspired by David C. Driskell’s 1976 exhibition “Two Centuries of Black American Art.” The traveling exhibition was the first large-scale survey of African American artists, both well-known and not-so-well-known. The film discusses how this show’s legacy has influenced generations of Black artists, curators, […]
Harold Jacoby and the Stars above Grand Central
The new skylight ceiling of the recently opened Moynihan Train Hall, the expansion of Penn Station, recalls the 1913 opening of Grand Central Terminal and its own celestial ceiling. Above the main concourse, the vaulted ceiling features an expansive mural of stars and constellations, thanks to the expertise of Columbia astronomy professor Harold Jacoby. […]
Mamie’s “Lovely Pink Gown”
In 1963, former University President Dwight D. Eisenhower was invited back to Columbia to receive the Alexander Hamilton Medal. For the dinner event held at Low Library, Mamie Eisenhower chose to wear the pink gown she posed in 1950 for her Columbia portrait. This gown is currently held at the University Archives. […]
Pierre Toussaint’s Portrait at Columbia
One of the most frequently reproduced images from the University Archives is an early 1850s portrait of Pierre Toussaint taken by former University President and enthusiastic amateur photographer Nathaniel Fish Moore. This photograph, long held by the Moore family, arrived at the Archives in 1944. It was initially incorrectly credited and its subject misidentified, but […]