Gilded Age Tea & Talk Series

Staatsburgh's ever-popular Tea & Talk series and afternoon tea returns for 2024!

Enjoy tea and refreshments in the formal dining room while listening to five different talks about aspects of Gilded Age history (see presentation topics and dates below). The programs feature scones, tea sandwiches, sweets and the site’s Staatsburgh Blend tea, a custom blend created for the site by renowned tea purveyors, Harney & Sons.

Please see our "Frequently Asked Questions" section for information on event cancellations, seating requests, and more.

January 28 & April 21 - "The Gilded Age in a Glass"

Snow date for January event: February 4

The Gilded Age gave us some of our most famous drinks - the Martini, the Daiquiri, the Old Fashioned, and others. Cocktails -- their ingredients, their stories, their pageantry -- can reveal more than expected about American society at the time. The drinks served at the Astoria Hotel or 5th Avenue dinner parties demonstrate how New York's elite spent their days, whose legacy they commemorated, and the wider prejudices of the era. Imbibing cocktails became simultaneously a signal of inclusion to some groups or an act of defiance for others.

While sipping tea (not cocktails!), hear Staatsburgh Historic Site Assistant Zachary Veith explore technological innovations, social scandals, women’s suffrage, American imperialism, and the familiar haunts of New York's elites behind the popular mixed drinks of yesterday and today.

February 10 & 11 - "Gilded Age Love Stories"

Snow dates: February 17 & 18

Enjoy a Valentine’s Day-themed Tea & Talk, while listening to the REAL stories that inspired the relationships on HBO’s The Gilded Age. From courtship to love & marriage (with a bit of heartbreak dashed in for good measure), Staatsburgh Curator Maria Reynolds will share stories about love and relationships in the Gilded Age.

Treat yourself (and your friends and loved ones) to the perfect Valentine's Day experience!

February 25 & April 14 - “Belle da Costa Greene: Black Female Excellence Surmounting the Limits of Early 20th-Century America”

Snow date for February event: March 3

At just 26 years old, Belle da Costa Greene became librarian for one of the most powerful men in the world, J.P. Morgan … while hiding her true identity. Guiding the creation of Morgan’s renowned private collection of rare books and manuscripts, Greene spent the next 43 years negotiating purchases for the collection (now known as The Morgan Library) while competing against other collectors worldwide. Her position opened countless doors to befriend the elite of America and Europe and to attend the most exclusive parties and cultural events. Besides her extraordinary professional gifts and acumen, another key to Greene’s success: she hid her African American heritage from Morgan and everyone else.

Staatsburgh Site Manager Pam Malcolm will explore some of Greene’s extraordinary accomplishments within the context of the period and the phenomenon of racial passing.

March 10 - "Spilling the Tea: A History of Tea Drinking in New York State”

Snow date: March 17

How did a beverage developed in Asia make its way to the shores of the Hudson River? Why do Americans sweeten their tea? How did tea drinking affect culture and commerce?

Learn about the history of tea in colonial New York, from its introduction in Dutch New Netherland to the Tea Act boycotts of the American Revolution and beyond. Sarah Wassberg-Johnson, Program & Event Manager at Philipse Manor Hall State Historic Site in Yonkers, NY, will lead us on a journey through the global and local history of tea and sugar, all the accoutrements necessary to consume it, and New York’s unique role in American tea culture.

March 24 - "The Beautiful Architecture and Tragic Life of Arnout Cannon Jr."

Snow date: April 7

Some of the most glorious buildings of Poughkeepsie and its surrounding communities were the work of one man, Arnout Cannon Jr. His vision gave us such masterpieces as the Masonic Temple on Cannon Street and Rhinecliff's Wilderstein. Many of the homes he designed are still cherished today. However, even with all of the beauty he created, his life was full of tragedy and it would come to a quick end.

Shannon Butler, the Historian for the Poughkeepsie Public Library, shares the work and life of Arnout Cannon Jr.