Lincoln Square Oral History Project

The project was founded in Summer 2023 with the goal of recording the oral histories of people who grew up in the Lincoln Square neighborhood (or know the history of the neighborhood) before the construction of Fordham at Lincoln Center and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. The project was conceived by Professor Catalina Alvarez, head of the Visual Arts program’s Art and Engagement area of study at Fordham University and further developed and carried out by her research assistant, Fordham Journalism student, Matthias Lai. This creative oral history project was part of the inaugural “Archival Reenactments” class, and it produced materials that may serve as valuable documents for future research in the field.

Included in this collection are four digital recordings of full-length unedited original interviews conducted by trained Fordham students interviewing elderly members of the Lincoln Square community. These interviews follow their personal lives and intersections with moments in history, including the Lincoln Square Urban Renewal projects in the late 1950s and early 60s that destroyed 6 city blocks for the construction of the Fordham Lincoln Center campus and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

If you wish to contact us, please send an email to Professor Catalina Alvarez at cjordan40@fordham.edu.