8 Henderson Place Foundation

Within the walls of 8 Henderson Place lived cartoonists Hilda Terry and Gregory d’Alessio. Legendary in her field, Terry had been summoned by the cartoon magnate William Randolph Hearst, to create the first strip of the bobby sox generation, Teena, debuting on Pearl Harbor Day, December 7, 1941. It was the spirited Terry who singlehandedly broke the barrier to females at the National Cartoonists Society. In her later years Terry, the pioneering force, created the first digitally animated scoreboards at Major League Baseball stadiums. Her husband Gregory, a master of whimsy, distinguished himself as chairman of the Committee on War Cartoons during WWII, spearheading a collection of morale boosting Cartoons against the Axis on exhibit in 1942 at the Art Students League and Metropolitan Museum of Art. Greg and Terry created a documentary on the history of cartooning as a weapon, featuring the legendary illustrators and cartoonists who had contributed to the collection. Gregory and his friend, artist composer Vladimir Bobri founded the Society of Classic Guitar in 1946 and later that year Bobri and d’Alessio gave birth to the award winning magazine Guitar Review, with their beloved friend Andres Segovia as honorary president. The creative atmosphere of Henderson Place flourished with their world of friends congregating within these walls over the years with Carl Sandburg and Andres Segovia as residents of the house from time to time. Luminaries gathering at number 8 included  composer Otto Harbach (No, No, Nanette), Irwin Hasen (creator of Dondi), Rose and Albert Augustine (creator of the nylon guitar string), photographer Edward Steichen, Gene Raskin (Those were the Days), legendary flamenco dancer Carmen Amaya, singer guitarist Olga Coelho, opera star Delores Wilson, organist Ethel Smith among others.

The foundation celebrates the legacy of our founders Gregory d’Alessio and Hilda Terry with the commitment to protect, preserve and perpetuate the invaluable treasures within the walls of Henderson Place: the drawings, the paintings, the ideas, the journals, the sketch books, the recordings; including the laughter, the memories, the music, the creative ambience. The foundation strives to actively promote through exhibitions, publications, education and research with every intent to resurrect this most historically significant collection, so charmingly housed in 8 Henderson Place, a Queen Anne dwelling nestled within landmarked Henderson Place Historical District, entrenched in the cultural and social history of New York City. 8 Henderson Place extends our resources to visiting scholars, musicians and artists introducing works, the vast collection of correspondence, photographs and rare documents never before in the public domain. Preservation of the archives and drawings is ongoing with plans to restore the building in all its essence, in accordance with museum and architecturally historic standards.