| Edification value |  |
|---|---|
| Entertainment value | |
| Should you go? |  |
| Time spent | 57 minutes |
| Best thing I saw or learned | A grave stela for a “lovable pig, victim of a traffic accident” from Edessa in Macedonia from the 2nd or 3rd century AD. That was some pig. He was radiant. And humble. |
CLOSED. The Onassis Center no longer has an exhibit space in New York City. (Updated June, 2025.)
The Onassis Center is a medium-sized subterranean gallery space accessed via the public atrium in the lobby of the Olympic Center. It’s the Greek answer to the various cultural forums and societies that dot the city, and thanks to its benefactors, it has the resources to put on really interesting shows of high-end art from the Hellenic world.
The current show has pieces from Greece, along with things borrowed from other notable museums around the world (including thet Met), so the Center clearly has some standing among the bigger guys. Always a good sign in terms of whether it’d be worth randomly dropping by.
Without a doubt the Onassis Center was good for my vocabulary (which is very good to begin with). I picked up six new-to-me words, at least five of which I am sure I will find opportunities to use in the near future.
- apotropaic: having the power to avert evil influences or bad luck
- nympholepsy: the condition of believing one has cavorted with nymphs
- phimosis: a medical condition involving an overly tight foreskin
- prothesis: in this case lying in repose/viewing a body, part of ancient Greek funeral rites
And the last two terms distinguish between kinds of desire.
- pothos: longing for something lost or distant
- himeros: desire for something new or unexpected
I bet we discussed those at some point in my liberal arts, great-books based college education, but if so I’d forgotten about them. It’s a great distinction. Whereas I’d say equally I’m “in the mood” for my college-era pizza place or to try a well-regarded Laotian restaurant in Jamaica, in reality I’m feeling pothos for one and himeros for the other. I think.
The Onassis Center is beautifully designed, filtering a lot of natural light down into the basement level space, and features a fancy glass staircase and a small water feature, architectural details for which I have a weakness.
The show didn’t allow photography, so I don’t have any of the inside of the gallery itself. But the current exhibit was interesting, on how the ancient Greeks processed and depicted emotions. It features sculpture and painted vases and masks, but also tablets inscribed with curses and requests for the gods, and other humbler, day-to-day items. It explores emotions not in the obvious “happiness, sadness, anger” way but rather through the lens of location: emotions in the home/private, emotions in public, emotions in the graveyard and on the battlefield.
The one exception was around wrath, where there was a corner of the exhibit devoted specifically to depictions of Medea, who of course pretty much cornered the market on the topic. The one non-classical work on display was a large-scale projection of a still photo of Maria Callas as Medea in a La Scala production from 1961. Not at all classically Greek, but very very wrathful.
The Onassis Center has been under my radar right up until I started this project. I’m glad it’s not anymore. You still need to visit to the Met if you want an encyclopedic grand tour of Greek art, but I trust them to do amazing shows scaled right for their impressive space. I highly recommend it.
Finally, a planning note, the Olympic Tower is right across 52nd Street from the Austrian Cultural Forum, so those two spots form an easy (and free, and uncrowded) art-filled couple of hours in midtown.
For Reference:
| Former Address | Olympic Tower, 645 5th Avenue, Manhattan (PERMANENTLY CLOSED) |
|---|---|
| Website | onassisusa.org |
| Cost | Free |
| Other Relevant Links |
|
All the front windows of the house have neat, scary terra cotta faces centered above them. This was apparently a Dutch thing to ward off bad spirits. Reproductions are available at the gift shop!
The Van Cortlandts in the early days were super-wealthy, and the house showed it. They were also super-Dutch, proud of their heritage as New Amsterdammers, and many of the details of the house (including a blue and orange color scheme for the china cabinets in the parlor) reflect that as well. Little that’s in the house today remains from the Van Cortlandts, but most of the publicly accessible rooms are filled with period furniture and knick-knacks that give a sense of what the lives of the earlier generations of the family might have been like.
When it opened as a museum, one room was redone to depict a modest city house, simulating how a much less successful Dutch family would have lived down in Manhattan. They’ve kept that to this day and while I would’ve liked the place to be as close as possible to how the family lived in it, the contrast is informative.
The Van Cortlandts lived a very different kind of life than the 
The Museum of the City of New York is an absolute treasure. It occupies a really lovely Georgian/Federal-style building at the northern end of Museum Mile on Fifth Avenue. The Museum started out its life in 
For all that it’s merely fake old, it’s got one of the best staircases of any museum in the city, a super-elegant curve leading up from the ground floor. Nowadays complemented by a terrific light sculpture. 
on a rotating basis. Interact with a character and you get more, potentially much more, about them and their contribution. And it’s not just human characters, you can find out about players like beavers and oysters, too. I’m often skeptical of the value of these kinds of things. Too often they are more sizzle than steak. But this impressed me a lot.
And finally, as I do wherever I can, I will mention Alexander Hamilton, who is present, larger than life size, on the facade.
The National Lighthouse Museum is a museum in its infancy. Located a short stroll from the ferry terminal in St. George, Staten Island, the museum describes the history, technology, and design of lighthouses. 
The building’s stained glass is a treasure of nautical and celestial themes.
This incredible 1872 punch bowl and goblets, 36 pieces and 800 ounces worth (that’s 50 pounds! 22.68kg!) of sterling silver. A gift to Isaac Newton Marks, president of the New Orleans Fireman’s Charitable Association. It’s hard to see in the picture but the stem of each goblet is a fire fighter.
The Fire Museum is like the attic of the New York City Fire Department. It’s where all the old interesting stuff is, and exploring it is very much like sifting through a collection of fire-related artifacts that someone at some point considered worth keeping. 
In addition to coins, the Numismatic Society has some paper money, including this 1855 Bank of NY note. It’s been a while since I heard the phrase “queer as a three dollar bill” but I never thought I’d actually see one.
The American Numismatic Society is the center for all things related to the world of coins and coin collecting. Their offices in Tribeca are literally a vault, with a heavily secured air lock-style entry way. There’s a noticeable difference in air pressure when you go in, too. 
The New York Public Library’s branch at Lincoln Center is easy to overlook, tucked in between the Met and the Vivian Beaumont Theater. It puts on a number of free exhibitions throughout the year, and has a fairly large space for doing so. I saw a great show celebrating the 45th anniversary of Sesame Street there a few years back.