The City Reliquary
The New York Historical Society was established in 1844 by companies of volunteers who donated their time and services in commemoration of the historical events that took place within their walls over the past century and a half. The society’s initial mandate was to collect, preserve, and make available for public exhibition documents connected with the history of New York City. Over time, however, as its collections grew and diversified, so too did its mission. Today, the City Reliquary is one of the oldest repositories of New York City history outside Manhattan. It is located at 370 Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211. The reliquary houses more than 250 relics, mementos and monuments from throughout New York’s history — dating back to 1664 — which can be viewed free-of-charge on Mondays through Fridays between 10am and 4pm. There are also weekly guided tours on Saturdays at 1pm where you can explore exhibits and other parts of the reliquary that are open to the public.
The City Reliquary is located at 2 unrelated locations in Brooklyn. The Eastern Queens Reliquary is located at the Queens Museum in Flushing, while the Western Queens Reliquary is located at the Brooklyn Museum.
The Eastern Queens Reliquary is located at the Queens Museum in Flushing. The Western Queens Reliquary is located at the Brooklyn Museum in Brooklyn.
The Eastern Queens Reliquary houses more than 50 ancient relics, including pieces from the Holy Stigmata and the Stigmata Charms; the Western Queens Reliquary includes items associated with the martyrdom of St. John the Baptist and the Last Supper; and the Brooklyn Museum includes works by Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian, Van Gogh, Caravaggio and others.
Many of the items in the City Reliquary are on display in their reliquary cases. However, some relics are displayed in an outdoor niche so that you can touch and feel the relic directly. You can also view some of the relics in a kiosk at the Eastern Queens Reliquary or the Western Queens Reliquary where you can interact with the relics and learn more about them.
The Eastern Queens Reliquary currently houses the largest collection of relics, including St. John’s Cross (dated to 12th or 13th century) and the True Cross (dated to the 15th century). The Western Queens Reliquary has a collection of more than 100 items, including reliquaries made of boxwood, an urn with a sponge inside that holds the remains of St. John the Baptist and an array of other items.
The City Reliquary is the result of a century of dedicated work by people who loved New York City history. The City Reliquary collection came about due to the generous support of the citizens of the city who donated their time and artifacts to help build a permanent home for the relics and documents of New York’s past.
The Curators of the City Reliquary, James B. Jacobs, Ph.D., and Royal T. Foster, Ph.D., along with the staff of the Brooklyn Museum, have been working to establish the institutional memory of New York City. The Curators have created a rich and diverse collection of documents, artifacts, photographs and other materials, held in the City Reliquary, which help tell the story of New York’s past. The staff has spent the last decade and a half bringing the collection to light, cataloguing and making the objects available to the public.
The mission of The City Reliquary is to collect, conserve, and make available for public exhibition documents connected with the history of New York City. By making these items accessible to the public, The City Reliquary aims to foster a deeper understanding of the city’s development and its place in world history. Go to this link next
