How folk music history came to be "Blowin' in the Wind".

• Position: "Folk City: New York and the Folk Music Revival" exhibition - USA Yesterday

The exhibition examines, among other things "the boom years in the late 1950s to the mid 1960s, when Greenwich Village was the focal point of the revival and culture due to the concentration of performance venues."

"Folk City: New York and the Folk Music Revival" is a celebration of NYC's role as the center of the folk music revival, from its beginnings in the 1930s and 1940s to its heyday in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as its continuing legacy. With a wide array of memorabilia--including photos, video, and sound recordings--the exhibition documents the music and movement that helped transform Greenwich Village and spread as a major cultural phenomenon.

"New York, which has been the source of so much creativity throughout its history, was central to the folk music revival that swept the country and became one of the remarkable phenemona of the 20th century," says Susan Henshaw Jones, director of the Museum of the City of New York. "Folk music spawned a whole culture, and the legacy continues today in New York and far beyond. This exhibition and our related public programs explore the revival and will let visitors experience it in a fascinating and joyous way."

"Folk City" features listening stations where visitors can hear a range of folk songs along with videos showcasing historic footage that capture the bohemian spirit of Greenwich Village in the 1950s and the national hootenanny craze of the 1960s. The exhibition also includes rare archival photographs, concert posters, and original instruments, including the handwritten manuscript of Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind"; Lead Belly's 12-string guitar; Odetta's iconic guitar "Baby," along with one of her colorful kaftan dresses; the napkin on which Eric Andersen wrote his "Thirsty Boots" lyrics; a trademark felt cap worn by Phil Ochs; and handwritten letters by Woody Guthrie and Peter Seeger.

The exhibition looks at the folk movement in four sections:

* The revival's roots in the 1930s and 1940s, when singers such as Woody Guthrie, Josh White, and Burl Ives moved to New York, drawn by performance opportunities and the progressive political climate.

* The expansion of folk music culture...