Mendelssohn on the Hudson is a self-guided historical and musical walking tour that follows the footsteps of the German Jews and others who fled 1930s Nazi Germany to settle in Washington Heights, also referred to at the time as "Frankfurt on the Hudson." The self-directed historical tour route – offering autonomy, fresh air, and social distancing – includes West 181 Street to the Heather Garden in Fort Tryon Park, and points in between.
The musical stories presented at their specific locations offer a rare, multi-layered connection between storyteller and listener. It's an unusual, accessible, and free musical experience via smartphone or another internet-enabled device. During the tour, visitors will hear via podcast twelve episodes with songs based on true field-collected stories from neighborhood residents set to Felix Mendelssohn's Songs without Words. Each song offers and retains a snapshot of German Jewish life from the 1930s to the near-present. Mendelssohn on the Hudson is unique in combining oral history, musical theatre, classical music, and local landmarks into a compelling record of the German Jewish culture of Northern Manhattan.
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Mendelssohn on the Hudson is a self-guided historical and musical walking tour that follows the footsteps of the German Jews and others who fled 1930s Nazi Germany to settle in Washington Heights, also referred to at the time as "Frankfurt on the Hudson." The self-directed historical tour route – offering autonomy, fresh air, and social distancing – includes West 181 Street to the Heather Garden in Fort Tryon Park, and points in between.
The musical stories presented at their specific locations offer a rare, multi-layered connection between storyteller and listener. It's an unusual, accessible, and free musical experience via smartphone or another internet-enabled device. During the tour, visitors will hear via podcast twelve episodes with songs based on true field-collected stories from neighborhood residents set to Felix Mendelssohn's Songs without Words. Each song offers and retains a snapshot of German Jewish life from the 1930s to the near-present. Mendelssohn on the Hudson is unique in combining oral history, musical theatre, classical music, and local landmarks into a compelling record of the German Jewish culture of Northern Manhattan.
Fort Tryon Park, near the Heather Garden, at the upper stone wall overlooking Billings LawnWe’re in Fort Tryon Park (https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/fort-tryon-park), near the Heather Garden, at the upper stone wall overlooking Billings Lawn (https://www.forttryonparktrust.org/sites/billings-lawn/), the Hudson River, and the New Jersey Palisades. You can see how panoramas like this one inspired the area’s nickname, “Frankfurt on the Hudson.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankfurt-on-the-Hudson)John D. Rockefeller Jr. was instrumental in shaping this Park’s history by donating the old Billings Estate to the Park, as well as the new site for the Cloisters Museum (https://www.metmuseum.org/press/news/2006/the-cloisters-a-history).The photogenic 67-acre park, completed in 1935, is a place for everyone in and outside the neighborhood to meet and celebrate. Many German Jewish families would enjoy walking and socializing on the park’s main thoroughfare on the Sabbath and holidays. Some of the more observant Jews would carry bread to cast into the Hudson River during the Jewish New Year of Rosh Hashanah. This Park is full of memories for the German Jews who made their home in Washington Heights. Here is one from a widower as he takes his stroll through the park.
Mendelssohn on the Hudson
Mendelssohn on the Hudson is a self-guided historical and musical walking tour that follows the footsteps of the German Jews and others who fled 1930s Nazi Germany to settle in Washington Heights, also referred to at the time as "Frankfurt on the Hudson." The self-directed historical tour route – offering autonomy, fresh air, and social distancing – includes West 181 Street to the Heather Garden in Fort Tryon Park, and points in between.
The musical stories presented at their specific locations offer a rare, multi-layered connection between storyteller and listener. It's an unusual, accessible, and free musical experience via smartphone or another internet-enabled device. During the tour, visitors will hear via podcast twelve episodes with songs based on true field-collected stories from neighborhood residents set to Felix Mendelssohn's Songs without Words. Each song offers and retains a snapshot of German Jewish life from the 1930s to the near-present. Mendelssohn on the Hudson is unique in combining oral history, musical theatre, classical music, and local landmarks into a compelling record of the German Jewish culture of Northern Manhattan.
