President of Centurion Holdings Joseph Grano on the cover of "Primo"

During the past six years, the Italian American Museum has been transitionally housed at the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute. For much of this time, Dr. Joseph V. Scelsa, President and CEO of the museum, and Mr. Joseph J. Grano, Jr., a major financial supporter of the museum, have been actively seeking a home for the collection. A strong possibility now exists for the Italian American Museum to be located in the heart of lower Manhattan at the South Street Seaport.  The collaboration between Dr. Scelsa and Mr. Grano began in 1999. Together, the two helped launch The Italians of New York:

Five Centuries of Struggle and Achievement exhibit at the New York Historical Society. During the brief span of four months, over 50,000 people visited the exhibit, making it one of the most attended in the Society’s history. Following the success of the exhibit, Dr. Scelsa, then Dean of the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute at Queens College, obtained a charter for the Italian American Museum.
A prominent figure within the Italian American community, Dr. Scelsa has authored and edited several books and has written various articles on ethnicity, pluralism, and education. He has received numerous awards, including the Ellis Island Medal of Honor and the rank of Cavaliere of the Order of Merit (knighted) from the Republic of Italy.
Dr. Scelsa points out that Mr. Grano has played a leading role in finding a permanent place for the museum. “A great partnership [exists] between myself and Mr. Grano,” says Dr. Scelsa. “It is a true combination of culture and commerce. I’m fueling the cultural and academic portions of this, while he is fueling the economic piece. Without that commercial piece, as well as Mr. Grano’s belief that this needs to be done, this would not happen.”
Mr. Grano is currently the President of Centurion Holdings, a business consulting firm, and is the former Chairman and CEO of UBS PaineWebber. Mr. Grano has long played a philanthropic role in preserving the heritage of Italian Americans. He has invested his personal time and money in this project because he deeply believes in the museum’s purpose. “We need a legacy for our children,” states Mr. Grano, also a former Captain in the U.S. Special Forces (Green Berets). “I see my generation as a product of my grandparents’ and parents’ hard work. It’s a shame that we don’t have a space to tell the story of the contributions of Italians and Italian Americans.”
Italian American history is rich and varied, spanning the past five hundred years. In the catalogue from the initial exhibit in 1999, historian Philip V. Cannistraro wrote, “The Italian American experience has frequently been distorted, and, perhaps even more remarkably, huge aspects of it have been left untold.”
In 2001, the museum’s charter inaugurated its mission: to highlight the struggles and achievements of Italian Americans by collecting, preserving, and interpreting tangible objects and reminiscences.
The museum currently has over one thousand pieces in its permanent collection. Family photographs lay side-by-side with Italian American theater company playbills from the 1920s; a one hundred year old wine press shares space with a shovel used to dig the subway system; and an early twentieth century wedding dress hangs alongside a baptismal gown from the same time period. It is objects such as these that, according to Dr. Cannistraro, “are emblematic of the full range of Italian American experience.” The museum is still in the process of cataloging all of its holdings. Italian Americans continue to donate family heirlooms; unfortunately, there is no room to publicly display them.
In 2004, Mr. Grano learned that there is 38,000 square feet of space available at the South Street Seaport. He and Dr. Scelsa believe this space would be ideal for the museum. This site consists of five buildings, four of which are owned by the Seaport Museum and have been secured, while a fifth remains in the hands of a private developer, General Growth. This fifth building is integral to the site, since it is the largest, covering roughly 20,000 square feet. Mr. Grano is currently negotiating with General Growth in an effort to lease the fifth building. He feels that talks have been positive and he expects a favorable resolution will soon be reached.
“The South Street Seaport is an epicenter for New York City,” observes Dr. Scelsa. “Many people can relate to having come through lower Manhattan. [The area would] lend itself to the type of historical interpretation that we think is necessary.” Mr. Grano cites the area as an economic development zone, the focus of lower Manhattan’s revitalization. The Seaport is already a major tourist destination and it is not far from other sites that are significant in Italian American history, such as Ellis Island and the lower Manhattan neighborhoods that became the initial home for countless hundreds of thousands of Italian immigrants.
The architectural firm of Beyer Blinder Belle has created conceptual renderings of the floor plan and streetscape. The entire complex would include twenty-two galleries for both permanent and new exhibits. It would also include an auditorium and a glass enclosed courtyard that could be used for presentations and receptions. A promenade along Water Street, in front of the museum, will evoke a European atmosphere. The architects have also planned a green space across from the museum, complete with a fountain and bandstand, and will feature a trattoria with outdoor seating.
After the leases are signed, the space will then need to be gutted and renovated, a process that will take an estimated two years. According to Mr. Grano, it will cost close to 25 million dollars to completely develop the site.
In addition to Mr. Grano, a number of prominent individuals are expected to lend their support, including Richard Grasso, former Chairman and CEO of the New York Stock Exchange; Lee Iacocca, former Chairman of the Chrysler Corporation; Kenneth G. Langone, investment banker; and Louis Ranieri, Chairman of Computer Associates. Both the city and the state are interested in working with the museum, as well. Other major donors are the Columbus Citizens Foundation and CUNY. Additional funding comes from the Coalition of Italo-American Associations, Italy-America Chamber of Commerce, National Italian American Foundation, Order Sons (and Daughters) of Italy in America, and UNICO National Foundation. Smaller organizations and individuals have also provided generous financial and personal support.
These prominent Italian Americans and Italian American organizations recognize that many aspects of the Italian American experience have yet to be fully understood and shared. During the past three years in its transitional location, the museum has presented nine exhibits that begin to tell the story. Some of these exhibits have included: The Italians of New York: The Immigrant Experience; Caruso: The Life and Work of an Opera Legend; The Art of Freedom: Onorio Ruotolo and the Leonardo Da Vinci Art School; and Something Old/Something New: Italian and Italian American Women in the Old and New Worlds.
These exhibits, along with the first one at the New York Historical Society, represent only the initial undertakings of the museum, yet they hint at the extraordinary depth of the Italian American experience and the great possibility for more detailed exploration. From unearthing the complex history of Italian immigrants during the time of the “Great Migration” between 1880 and 1920 to revealing the multifaceted identities of more recent female Italian immigrants, these exhibits honor both the past and present by telling a more nuanced story and drawing a more complete picture. Dr. Cannistraro writes, “Like all immigrants who settle in a strange new land, Italians were misunderstood and often found themselves the target of prejudice and discrimination. Moreover, immigrant populations by their very nature are preoccupied with the daily struggles for survival, and have limited opportunity to record or preserve their own history.” By preserving this history and presenting it to the public, the museum will be the only comprehensive Italian American public archive of its kind.
Interest in the Italian American Museum’s work has already spread beyond New York. Institutions have invited the museum to mount its historical displays across the country. In the summer of 2004, Prisoners in Our Own Home: The Italian American Experience as America’s Enemy Aliens was shown in Washington, DC and Evviva La Madonna Nera! traveled to San Diego. The former exhibit presents the little known experiences of Italian Americans during World War II, while the latter concerns the religious devotion of Italian Americans to the black Madonna.
“People are seeing it, interpreting it and sharing it,” remarks Dr. Scelsa. “This is a need whose time has come. We get to tell our story. We have our place in this multicultural society.” A prime Manhattan location, such as the one at the South Street Seaport, would “enable us to be on the cultural roundtable with the rest of the museums of major stature,” asserts Dr. Scelsa. “The museum is more than just a collection of artifacts; it’s a presentation of self, of who we are as a people, and of what we’ve contributed to this country,” Dr. Scelsa continues. “We need this as a community, so that people can see what Italian Americans are really all about. [It will allow us to] understand ourselves and then share it with others.”
Both Dr. Scelsa and Mr. Grano believe that the museum is the best medium to convey the history and experience of Italian immigrants and their descendants in America. Mr. Grano, however, wishes to impart an even larger cultural heritage at the museum, one that would include the accomplishments of Italians and the contributions of Italy to the world. “There’s a little bit of a different slant on it,” Dr. Scelsa comments, “But there’s room for both, and we will incorporate both.”
Once permanently housed, the Italian American Museum will be an important tool in educating Italian Americans about the history of their community, as well as a valuable means to presenting the Italian American experience to both mainstream Americans and other ethnic minorities. It will have the potential to spark personal reflection and inter-ethnic dialogue, bringing about new understanding and appreciation of self and others.
Dr. Scelsa and Mr. Grano are optimistic about the vitality and timeliness of the museum, as well as its ability to move into the South Street Seaport site. “I’m very confident,” Mr. Grano states, “through the collaborative effort of Joe Scelsa and myself that we’re going to get this done.”