By Kristen Duca
 
Teaching children about the history of the teddy bear, reconnecting
parents with the dolls they coveted all those years ago—it’s all in a
day’s work at The Toy Museum of New York.
Stepping into the cozy one-room exhibit hall inside St. Ann and the
Holy Trinity Church in Brooklyn Heights—the new home of the “traveling
museum”—is akin to entering a toy lover’s utopia. Rows of beautifully
curated antique dolls with delicate features line the shelves, along
with displays tracking the evolution of toys through the decades. 

Founded in 1999 as The Doll and Toy Museum of New York City by
Marlene Hochman—mother of three, toy enthusiast and author of several
books on dolls—the museum was recently renamed The Toy Museum of New
York. The non-profit educates visitors about art, history and cultural
studies through encounters with antique dolls, toys and collectibles.
The museum has over 5,000 objects in its collection, including trains,
dollhouses, toy soldiers, GI Joes, Barbie dolls and more. To date, the
museum’s touring exhibits have been on view at the New York Transit
Museum, the South Street Seaport Museum, the American Museum of
National History, various NYC libraries and in museums across the
country. Now that it occupies a space of its own, the museum plans to
offer after-school classes, field trips and birthday parties.

Hochman sees the museum as a “safe keeper of dolls and toys for
eternity”—her goal is to build “a world-class toy collection in the
city of New York.” “The city deserves it,” she says, “and the toy
industry is here.” Although the museum’s board of directors is looking
for a permanent home in Brooklyn and plans to build a museum branch in
Southampton, Hochman intends to keep the “traveling” aspect of the
museum alive through touring exhibits and educational initiatives. At
the end of the day, Hochman hopes that families will walk away from the
museum’s exhibits with a stronger appreciation of the role of toys and
dolls in history, culture and the arts. 

The Toy Museum of New York, 157 Montague Street, 2nd Floor, Brooklyn, 718-243-0820, toymuseumny.org.