Reported for the Flatiron Hot! News by Eric Shapiro

In addition to being one of the most vibrant, trendy spots in New York City, the Flatiron District boasts a rich and compelling history. The iconic building from which it derives its name and inspires countless Instagram posts is an architectural wonder and the neighborhood that surrounds it has inspired books about its history, from its industrial beginnings to its present status as a cultural haven and technological hub.  The NYC Seminar and Conference Center has been proud to call the Flatiron District home since 2000 and often serves as a forum for cultural events that reflect the spirit of the neighborhood.  Thus, it is altogether fitting that the well-known tech conference center often serves as a venue for events on historical topics.  On April 18th, one such event will feature perhaps our greatest president – Abraham Lincoln!  Noted Lincoln scholar Nicholas Pistor will lecture on the subject of photographing the president, and the competition among the leading photographers of that time to, one-up each other in the then-nascent field and gain the advantage.

NYCSCC is itself located at a historic site, the Masonic Hall at 71 West 23rd Street between 5th and 6th Avenues. The building is host to a series of stunning portraits of some of the nation’s most beloved and influential presidents involved with the Masons, as well as the famous Washington Library, and the Masonic archive, the Livingstone Library. The April 18th Lincoln event, including a reception, dinner and presentation (see below for details), will be hosted by the Lincoln Group of New York, the latest in a long line of clients to take advantage of all NYCSCC has to offer, from value pricing, to versatile event space, to a varied array of catering options and, of course, comprehensive technical and A/V support.

The event will focus on the infamous assassination of the 16th president at the conclusion of the Civil War. While the shocking and enormously consequential event has been thoroughly explored in a seemingly infinite number of Lincoln biographies and contemporary histories, Pistor’s book, Shooting Lincoln: Mathew Brady, Alexander Gardner, and the Race to Photograph the Story of the Century, approaches it from a decidedly fresh perspective. It chronicles the rivalry between media pioneers Mathew Brady and Alexander Gardner, whose photographs of the Civil War seized the attention of a divided nation and fed its growing appetite for tabloid-style sensationalism in the news. Their efforts at outdoing each other culminated in their documenting of Lincoln’s assassination and its aftermath, including the death of the assassin, John Wilkes Booth and the hanging of his co-conspirators. Brady and Gardner’s grizzly photographs seared themselves into the minds of a traumatized nation, provoking the hybrid feeling of revulsion and fascination that is characteristic of so much modern media. NYCSCC is honored to host Nicholas Pistor as he discusses the lives and accomplishments of these tremendously important, but oft-neglected visionaries, who transformed for better and our worse our expectations of what journalism should provide even in the darkest times.

About The Speaker:

Nicholas J. C. Pistor is an author, historian, and media consultant. Over more than a decade in news, he was a reporter at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and a consultant for CBS News’s 48 Hours. He has appeared on nearly every major television news network, including NBC’s Today Show, CBS, ABC, MSNBC, and was a guest reporter for CNN’s Nancy Grace. The Ax Murders of Saxtown, his first book, was released in 2014. It almost immediately went to a second printing. The Kansas City Star named it one of the “100 best books of 2014.” He lives in downtown St. Louis, Missouri. His most recent book, Shooting Lincoln, was released by Hachette in September 2017.

The Lincoln Group requests that you please reserve by April 11th, if possible, to guarantee admittance to the to event. Refunds may not be possible after that date

Register for the event by clicking here.

Other important event info:

LOCATION:
NYC Seminar and Conference Center
71 West 23rd Street, New York, NY 10010

TIME:
5:30 Reception
6:30 Dinner
7:30 Program

COST:
$55.00 per member
$75.00 per non-member