Written by Meghan Gattignolo, Visitor Services Coordinator A future visit to the Customs House Museum & Cultural Center may include the playful plinks of piano music resonating through the galleries. We recently accepted a donation to our permanent collection by Patricia Eisenmann Donahue; an original 1910 Wurlitzer Nickelodeon Player Piano.   Built in Cincinnati, Ohio…

Written by Maegan Collins, Media & Communications Coordinator Destined to a life of immobility, a child who suffered from severe illnesses grew up to become the fastest woman in the world, a civil rights activist, educator and an inspiration to a world of admirers. Now, 60 years after winning three gold medals at the 1960…

Written by Meghan Gattignolo, Visitor Services Coordinator Every awesome museum has a gift shop, and the Customs House Museum & Cultural Center is no exception. Since the early days, when the entirety of the Museum was contained within the 1898 Post Office and Customs House building, it had a gift shop. Granted, the shop was…

Written by Meghan Gattignolo, Visitor Services Coordinator “Oh, we were suffering until suffrage….” Schoolhouse Rock songs taught me many things, not the least of which was the difference between the words suffer and suffrage. As a kid, I never grasped the importance of my ability to vote one day, even with the aid of a…

Written by Meghan Gattignolo, Visitor Services Coordinator After finally watching the musical Hamilton earlier this month, my interest in the American Revolution has been renewed. I’m sure I’m not the only one. I have bought a copy of the Federalist Papers – which I swear I will finally read – and the biography that inspired…

Written by Meghan Gattignolo, Visitor Services Coordinator A trip to visit the 1898 building of the Museum involves seeing Mr. Bailey, our Postmaster. He stands in the historic Post Office and Customs House of the Museum’s original building quietly sorting mail. When Bailey’s real-life counterpart started work at our Customs House and Post Office, it…