The exhibition, Long Island in the ’70s, will be on view at The Long Island Museum’s History Museum, located at 1200 Route 25A in Stony Brook until October 18^th.

Long Island in the ’70s exhibition here at The Long Island Museum — which captures the energy, excitement, and challenges of this transformative (and very “groovy”) era here on Long Island! 

The exhibition, which follows previous exhibitions in past decades here at LIM exploring Long Island in the ’50s and Long Island in the ’60s, truly brings the 1970s to life here on Long Island.  The exhibition features a number of immersive displays (including two vignettes featuring a fully realized suburban family living room and a front house facade, yard, and driveway, complete with a 1973 AMC Matador Station Wagon ) –  and more than 100 artifacts showcasing this layered and complex decade here on Long Island.

Do not miss your chance to see the grooviest decade on display for visitors of all ages to enjoy. The museum has a fun family guide that helps spark conversation with kids of all ages and helps everyone enjoy all the nostalgia on display. There is even a scavenger hunt for the little ones like my daughter to enjoy. Will you find all the items on the list?

We had the best time walking through the exhibit with Lisa Unander who is the director of education at the museum.

Wait till you see the two vignettes in person featuring a fully realized suburban family living room and a front house facade, yard, and driveway, complete with a 1973 AMC Matador Station Wagon. These displays are so well done, and the color scheme is 70s perfection. 

“Across the United States, the 1970s were a time of change, unrest, and individualism, and were filled with events that made the decade one of the most transformative and visually interesting time periods in American history,” said Joshua Ruff, Co-Executive Director, Collections and Programming at The Long Island Museum.  “Like other regions throughout the country, Long Island in the 1970s was a time of great contradictions, and we’re excited to have brought together this unique collection of art, artifacts and so much more that explore this important decade to the community.”    

Specific artifacts within the exhibition include fashions from LIM’s collection, a 1973 AMC Matador Station Wagon on loan from its original owner’s family, a 1970 Polaroid Instamatic camera and Super 8 video camera, milestone toys and sports memorabilia, and artwork and photography reflecting the decade’s changes, including photography by Rick Kopstein, Meryl Meisler, and Joanne Mulberg.  The exhibition also features a section on Long Island’s role in the United States Bicentennial, which includes photos from bicentennial events held in towns throughout Long Island.  The Vietnam War, and its impact on Long Islanders, is also explored within a special section of the exhibition.  Military uniforms, photographs, and shared stories highlight how the sacrifice of service was felt in every hamlet and village across Long Island during this pivotal time in history, as well as showcase how the war grew increasingly unpopular after 1968 on Long Island and across the nation. 

Long Island in the ’70s chronicles a decade of many layers – with items on view showcasing an era of political pessimism with the end of the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal, as well as an era of exuberance and fun, characterized by free-flowing clothing and the rise of pop culture giants.  The exhibition explores Long Island’s changes throughout the decade, as the postwar boom in Levittown and Nassau County slowed and suburban growth moved east.  The decade saw Suffolk County’s rapid rise in population, and the pressures of eastward-moving growth, spurring on new environmental activism, with legislative actions such as the Suffolk County Farmland Preservation Act of 1974 and the popular movement protesting construction of the Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant in 1979.

The exhibition also highlights Long Island’s development of a stronger regional identity during the decade, marked by the arrival of the New York Islanders in 1972 at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (in addition to hockey, the Coliseum hosted rock stars like Led Zeppelin, the Grateful Dead, David Bowie, and Paul McCartney and Wings) and a growing influx of artists east of the Shinnecock Canal.  Artifacts, photos and materials on display throughout the exhibition reflect this layered time in history, and include Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant protest march photos/posters, original seats from Nassau Coliseum arena, and artwork from East End artists Fairfield Porter, Howard Kanovitz, and Chuck Close underscoring the region’s continuing significance to the nation’s visual arts.

 “The ’70s were unlike any other time period both in our country as well as here on Long Island, and we’re excited to be offering visitors the opportunity to step back in time and revisit this transformative decade here at the Museum,” said Nina Sangimino, Curator at The Long Island Museum.  “Whether you lived through the ’70s yourself, or want to learn more about the cultural, political, and economic events of this pivotal decade, this exhibition truly brings the 1970s to life for visitors of all ages.”

Exhibition viewing hours at The Long Island Museum are Thursdays from 11:30 p.m. –  7 p.m., and Fridays through Sundays from noon until 5 p.m.  For more information about Long Island in the ’70s, and for a complete listing of current and upcoming exhibitions and programs at The Long Island Museum, visit www.longislandmuseum.org.

They have so many wonderful upcoming programs and events happening and we encourage you to follow their social media and check out their website to see all they have to offer. There is something for visitors of all ages to enjoy. 

 About The Long Island Museum

Founded in 1939 and accredited by AAM since 1973, The Long Island Museum is home to more than 60,000 artifacts and is the only Smithsonian Affiliate in the region. The Long Island Museum inspires and engages visitors of diverse ages, backgrounds, and abilities by connecting them with the region’s art and history, a world-class carriage collection, and energizing programs that foster a creative and inclusive community. For more about LIM’s exhibitions and programming, visit longislandmuseum.org.