The City Reliquary

Williamsburg

Brooklyn

It is quite easy to walk past The City Reliquary without noticing the tiny storefront museum and civic center. This is despite the bright yellow and red awning that proclaims “Museum.” You are, after all, in Williamsburg where random hip things that signify nothing abound. Intrepid pedestrians who cross the threshold will discover that the small space does indeed contain a most unusual collection.

The City Reliquary bills itself as a “Community Museum and Civic Organization.” These seem like lofty titles for a place that has an entire display case devoted to Statue of Liberty figurines. Pompous titles aside, the Reliquary is a labor of love and a rather charming one at that. The whole thing began in 2002 when Dave Herman turned his ground-floor apartment window into a display that contained items like two-and-a-half links of a city hall window chain, a set of dentures found in Dead Horse Bay, and painted directions pointing toward nearby landmarks. If viewers pushed a button they received a guided tour recorded by Herman. Seven years ago the apartment window display moved into its current storefront location which contains three tiny rooms.

The first room is serves as a visitor’s center and gift shop. For such a small space, it has some pretty cool items on offer, from handmade coin purses to NYC borough necklaces to French stickers. Though, one does wonder what French stickers are doing in the gift shop of a rather NYC-specific museum. An old subway turnstile marks the entranceway to the museum proper. Admission is a suggested donation of $5, which, after you see the size of the actual exhibition space and some of its contents, seems a bit high. But it’s for a good cause, right?

The second room houses the Reliquary’s permanent collection. This consists of several fun-filled cases that proudly display postcards from the New York World’s Fair, subway handrails, and various containers for water. The New Yorker’s Geology case contains stones from the Flatiron Building, Plaza Hotel, and Waldsdorf Astoria, as well as a wooden brick from the last wooden sidewalk in Brooklyn. The walls are covered with photographs of the Williamsburg Bridge, Brooklyn seltzer bottles (your guess is as good as mine), and many images of Jackie Robinson, including one very proud painting. A community collection case displays donations from locals. You might get to enjoy such curious delights as one woman’s personal unicorn collection or a man's assortment of tensor lights.

The permanent collection also contains a window looking into a barbershop and a closet decorated with flowers that is dedicated to the life of Little Egypt, the woman who is credited with bringing burlesque to New York. She scandalized the public with her hoochie coochie (from the French “hochqueue,” to shake ones tail) dance at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. Sadly, none of the many interactive features appear to work. I pushed every button I saw to no avail.

The third and final room (rather grandiosely labeled the “Exhibition Hall) is saved for rotating exhibitions as well as a stereo that appears to play only recordings of Enrico Caruso. Currently this space contains a show on the Santa Claus Association, which existed from 1913 to 1928. Much like the City Reliquary, the Santa Claus Association was the work of one dedicated, driven man. John Duvall Gluck, Jr., started the association as a NYC-based philanthropic group dedicated to answering poor children’s letter to Santa Claus. Prior to his efforts, letters to Santa wound up at the Dead Letter Office. Gluck made it his mission to respond to needy letters with gifts and charity.

The exhibition is rather text heavy. Yet, despite this, I’m still not entirely clear what the fund-raising scandal was that caused the Santa Claus Association to close up shop. Something about Gluck playing too large a role in running the organization. It’s a little confusing. The show is made up largely of artifacts and research collected by Gluck’s great grandnephew, Alex Palmer. Some of the best items in the show are copies of children’s letters written to Santa. Though, I have to admit the idea of the exhibition is more interesting than the actual exhibition itself. If you want to judge it for yourself, it’s on display through February 10^th.

Along with exhibitions, the City Reliquary hosts block parties, film events, and backyard concerts. It also works with a local public elementary school to create shows of student work. If you visit it soon, you might be able to catch a public art display that was being created under the BQE overpass on Manhattan Avenue—two weeks ago a man had salvaged thrown out Christmas trees and was hanging them upside down. Some still had tinsel.

http://www.cityreliquary.org/