American Institute of the City of New York

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American Institute of the City of New York, also known as The American Institute for the Encouragement of Science and Invention, was a civic group of inventors in Manhattan. It organized exhibitions, lectures, and radio broadcasts to promote new technologies and help inventors. It was founded in the late 1820s and chartered on May 2, 1829. The Institute ran the American Institute Fairs from 1829 to 1897 and published Science Observer from 1939 to 1941. Its medals—Gold, Silver, and Bronze—were awarded for more than 150 years. The group was headquartered at American Institute Hall, 1079 Third Avenue, New York City. In the 1980s it merged with the New York Academy of Sciences. After the merger, the New-York Historical Society kept many of its materials (about 105 boxes were preserved in the 1940s; more items were donated by trustee Kenneth Weissman). The Institute also built a statistical library beginning in 1833, growing to about 4,000 titles by 1839.