I see names and perceptions are changing:
But spare a thought for the word “society” as it is abandoned by yet another organization. Last fall, the venerable New-York Historical Society dumped not only “society” but also that charming hyphen.
When the museum was founded in 1804, the city’s name was spelled “New-York”; preserving the punctuation across more than two centuries, until October, had seemed a deft way of honoring both the city’s history and the museum’s own. Now visitors to the “society”-less building on Central Park West encounter an institution that fashions itself “The New York Historical.” And that’s it.
“The shorthand can be, ‘Hey, I’ll see you at the Historical,’” said the museum’s “chief content officer,” who may soon be curating an exhibition on wishful thinking. [WaPo]
If the New Yorkers are smart, they’ll call it “The Dash,” instead.
