A little over a century ago, the sound of a horse-drawn carriage driving along cobblestone streets was the soundtrack of a nation on the move. The age of carriages in America lasted from the late 17th century to the early 20th century, when they were mostly replaced by automobiles. The goal of the Carriage Museum—housed in the Long Island Museum in Stony Brook, New York, a Smithsonian Affiliate—is to bring a collection of 185 horse-drawn vehicles from the past to life in vivid detail and with historical significance.
Live from the Long Island Museum, curators share an overview of their collection and highlight some of the most interesting and important vehicles, including a horse-drawn streetcar used in Los Angeles and later as a prop in Hollywood films, including Hello, Dolly!; a Chariot D’Orsay once owned by the Vanderbilt family; a Grace Darling omnibus; a four-wheel chaise once owned by Revolutionary War hero Gen. Peter Gansevoort; and a Vardo used by a member of the Romani community in Massachusetts.
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