DAVID SEPULVEDA PHOTOS
Regicides players Ian Alderman, left, Ruben Ortiz, right, Dana Astmann, background.
“There are spirits in this structure, and they are celebrating right now.”
So said an emotion-filled Robert Greenberg as he thanked an audience of friends and supporters who attended a special comedy performance this past Thursday of The Regicides to “help rescue New Haven’s tangible treasures.”
Greenberg with a photo of his grandfather.
The treasures refer to Greenberg’s museum-quality collection of New Haven artifacts and memorabilia, which he has been amassing for decades on an upper floor of the Acme Office Furniture building on Crown Street, a family-owned business run by his father with Greenberg’s help.
Greenberg was recently served with an eviction notice by his family as they ready the building for sale and an unknown future, forcing him to pack the large collection and begin a frantic search for an appropriate storage facility. It is a detour for his long-held vision of transitioning the collection to an expanded museum format embodying the history and the spirit of a city he has long cherished.
The Regicides — an improv group and spin-off of A Broken Umbrella Theatre, known for its original New Haven, site-specific, theatrical productions — takes its name from the 17th-century fugitive judges that hid in a cave (Judge’s Cave) on the sprawling West Rock Ridge to avoid capture by a vengeful British monarchy.
“They were always on the run and making things up as they went along,” said Regicide performer and ABUT co-founder Ian Alderman.
In an interview before the Regicides show, Alderman discussed the reasons for the group’s support of Greenberg and his mission to raise funds and help protect his historic collection.
“We at ABUT are interested in bringing focus to the history of New Haven and letting people know just how cool our city is, and we feel that Robert Greenberg and his collection of awesome New Haven artifacts and his pursuit to keep New Haven and its past relevant to its future, is something we are interested in with our mission,” he said. “We are here to help Robert preserve New Haven history and keep it available for the city and for us.”
Sweet Mary’s and other New Haven businesses lent support.
The announced performance and cocktail party supporting the bittersweet occasion was networked through social media channels among supporters. Area businesses donated food, dessert, and drinks, which were placed among furnishings and artifacts in the museum studio. 116 Crown Street served specialty drinks and whitefish dip, and near their makeshift vintage bar, a pyramid of cupcakes prepared by Sweet Mary’s of Court Street began to disappear early. Geronimo Tequila Bar and Southwest Grill also provided drinks and a batch of their award-winning chili and guacamole.
Greenberg in one area of his New Haven collection.
Before and after the performance, attendees perused the packed shelves and showcases of some of Greenberg’s collection in situ before it is packed for a short-term move to a Fair Haven warehouse. Funds raised through the performance event and a dedicated GoFundMe site will go toward expenses related to packing, moving, and securing a suitable storage facility until a permanent home is found for the museum collection.
Greenberg said he hopes the city will see the educational and destination-creating potential of his museum collection and lend a hand in securing a site somewhere in the city’s Ninth Square — within walking distance of educational facilities and parking — to serve as a hub of New Haven history that will also extend to historically significant points throughout city environs through guided tours. He is hoping other curators will emerge to help with the collection in the future, but also foresees having a role, not only as curator, but as a tour guide of a city he knows from its subsurface to its highest points.
Matthew Nemerson, New Haven’s economic development administrator, who has his own collection of New Haven books and artifacts, said he counts himself as both a friend and fan of Greenberg and his work. Nemerson described Greenberg’s collection as “archival” in nature, distinct from museum collections “that tell a great story.” Nemerson said he has had conversations with Greenberg and others about finding an interim space until a long-term concept is developed. According to Nemerson, Greenberg’s collection may be appropriate in helping to augment an existing museum’s collection, or may be incorporated into a more advanced visitor and information center at some point, but also cautioned that “we have to be realistic.”
Greenberg said that his collection is archival at present, but will later unfold into a full-blown, relatable living museum with displays, many interactive elements, and marketing that will highlight products created in New Haven’s past and present.
Around 40 mid-century office chairs — an Acme store specialty — were arranged in the studio area before The Regicides began their performance revelry. The improv performances centered on a series of short “games,” including “One-Word Story,” in which a prompt (“The most mundane thing I did today”) and theme suggestions from the audience (“I buttoned my shirt”) began a one-word sequence of storytelling among the players that was as unpredictable as it was hilarious.
A Regicide Minute game.
Asking for ketchup at the famed Louis’ Lunch was one of the suggestions for “A Regicide Minute” game, vignettes that suggested myriad ways a person might die in New Haven in one minute. “Sit, Stand, Lay” drew out physical slapstick as performers traded among the three positions with rapid-fire quips and sequences. “Sex With Me (Is Like)” was more funny than raunchy, as players riffed on artifacts one might find in a New Haven Museum — items like say, a clam rake…
Greenberg with a 2015 award from the Daughters of the American Revolution for preserving New Haven history.
Over the years, Greenberg, who is known to many for his humorous and history-related “Croc illustrations,” has not only been a collector of all things New Haven, but one of the city’s most ardent defenders of preservation, a sentinel and activist presiding over New Haven’s historic past even as he uncovers historic treasures that may have been otherwise lost. Throughout his unofficial tenure as New Haven historian, Greenberg has gone through extraordinary measures to highlight and discover the city’s hidden and sometimes obvious treasures.
Though he may have not yet written a book, or taught a classes on New Haven history, there are arguably few that deserve the job of promoting New Haven’s legacy more. His visionary museum is long overdue.
I wish I had been there. If Mr. Greenberg charged admission for people like me to see his collection then perhaps he could raise a goodly sum. I had told his dad, Alan, I would pay to look at it and this was 2 months ago. It is a shame it has to hidden in a warehouse and when is that going to be??
Is Alan's building still for sale??