LUNAR STEAMPUNK EXHIBIT | Hudson River Museum in Yonkers, NY

During a beautiful Sunday in March, we direct our steps to the “Hudson River Museum”; a fascinating place that brings together art, science, and history in Yonkers. It is not only located next to the beautiful Hudson River, but also a connects to a stunning old Victorian mansion from 1877, called “Glenview.”

Among the charming architecture we see a peculiar group of people walking around, dressed with different outfits, very beautifully decorated with gadgets, gears, and elegance from time periods that reflects a curious vintage futurism. It is “Steampunk Sunday” at the museum with this year’s theme of “lunar tendencies” and a schedule full of fun themed activities for children and adults. We were sad to have missed the “tea dueling battle” by Dolly and Birdie of the Hudson Valley Steampunk but were warmly welcomed by them as the co-hosts of the event.

As we walk inside we are met by a mini museum inside this big museum, it’s “Denny Daniel’s traveling Museum of Interesting Things”. We are amused by his whimsical objects like quirky toys from bygone eras to objects that you can’t even guess what they are supposed to be until they are being cleverly explained and suddenly make perfect sense.

The set up of this “Steampunk gathering” is very nice. A fun musical act called “The Eternal Frontier” is performing a selection of songs and is the perfect soundtrack to admire the Hudson river and moon themed art exhibit. That “glowing cheese” up there, painted by artists’ brushes through the decades from the early 1800s to the late 1960s. It is fascinating to see how the moon’s mysticism passed through generations of artists that with their own color and technique tells their part of the never ending moon-legend.  

A moment later we are attending a lunar lecture, by the international explorer and cultural detective, Justin Fornal. He is talking about the history of “Moon-lore” sharing mixed selection of history, myths and legends from the whole world. We don’t find out if the moon is made of cheese, but have a better understanding of why we feel like lunatics.

We feel we fit right in with other lunar lovers that have built a paper moon and Planetarium here at the museum. We hope to return for a celestial showing such as “The Victorian’s Guide to the Galaxy” but enjoy the vintage photos of astronomers from the Hudson Valley.

We move on to go inside the old mansion “Glenview” before they close. As other historic buildings, I always wish the walls could talk, but this place is richly decorated enough to tell the story of the previous owners that once spend their daily lives here. We stroll from room to room admire the interior, such as very old books with the most stunning decorations printed. They sure seemed to like to read here, and there is corners that drag my imagination to picture myself as a Victorian gentleman taking the afternoon off with a steaming cup of tea and an exciting novel.

As the man in the moon starts to make his appearance over the Hudson river, we are heading home after a lovely afternoon in Yonkers. We say goodbye to the narrow window back in time, to the history that once was, that we, this “Steampunk Sunday” was fortunate to experience. A Sunday well spent with a now growing concern in my mind, what tea will taste best during the next full moon? Maybe some of you might know the answer!

Bye for now & Hej då allihopa!

-Jonas & Lindsay

P.S. The Victorian way to put a bow on the afternoon refreshment is with a cup of tea. You can support “It’s a Charming Life” with a cup of tea (or coffee), it is a very easy step, just click the button below, and does not require anything more than the cost of a cup of tea or coffee. We really appreciate your support. Thank you so much!