Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-4-2010
Publication Title
History News Network
Publisher
George Mason University's History News Network
Abstract
The world’s first organization that has been specifically designated as a “Hall of Fame” was established in New York City in 1900. The Hall of Fame for Great Americans honors 102 Americans. It has served as a model for hundreds of other “halls of fame,” the most prominent being baseball’s Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, established in 1939. While the Hall of Fame for Great Americans remains the original icon in a history of popular culture museums visited by millions each year, the Hall today is little known, visited by scant few, and in a state of both physical and organizational decline. This article is a call to reawaken this institution from, depending on how you see it, comatosis or hibernation.
Keywords
Halls of fame; New York University. Hall of Fame for Great Americans; New York; Popular culture; Popularity; United States
Disciplines
Cultural History | History | Political History | Social History | United States History
Language
English
Repository Citation
Thompson, W. N.,
Joaquin, M. E.
(2010).
The Hall of Fame for Great Americans: Organizational comatosis or hibernation.
History News Network
George Mason University's History News Network.
https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/sea_fac_articles/109
Included in
Cultural History Commons, Political History Commons, Social History Commons, United States History Commons