“Hundreds of people would come”
A Conversation with: Lee Grice and Michael Sanabria, two employees who still work for the Goethe-Institut in their new location 30 Irving Place in many different roles – setting up exhibitions, preparing for events, and making sure things run smoothly.
When did you start working at 1014 Fifth Avenue? Can you tell me a bit about your time working there?
Lee Grice: I started to work at 1014 Fifth Ave. as a security guard in 1987. In the 1990s, after they renovated the Goethe House, a media technician was needed. I applied for the job and luckily I got it and became the media technician on the second floor. Together with the superintendent, I set up the rooms and exhibitions.
Mike Sanabria: I was also hired as a security guard in 1987. With people coming in and out of the institute, the job was really about focusing on guests who were coming into the library. It was also about organizing the installation of any exhibitions and after-hours there.
What were the types of people you would typically meet during your time at 1014 Fifth Avenue?
Mike Sanabria: The majority of the people we met were artists coming from Germany. Many of them came to show their works at our gallery. I met so many different people, especially since we were in a townhouse across from the Metropolitan Museum, which was part of the Uptown Arts and Exhibition scene at the time. There was a big German American population in the Upper East Side, especially in the 1980s.
What did your day-to-day roles entail?
Mike Sanabria: Our job was to make sure that packages were being delivered, that guests were invited to events and exhibitions, and that they were on the guest list. We also set up the exhibitions that were delivered.
The majority of my time was spent hanging a lot of artworks on the walls: paintings, architectural drawings, freestanding sculptures… Back then, our movie nights were one of the main attractions. We would have maybe 120 -130 people there; we had to make sure that it wasn’t overcrowded and that everyone was well-behaved.
Our job titles really changed throughout the years, because of the way that the institute was changing. We were hired as guards, but things evolved, and we had to do a little bit of everything.
Lee Grice: It really was a bit of everything. The eccentric crowd was probably the beginning of it. This was the place to go to, especially for the older German-American population. Back then, we did 16mm film screenings.
And everything changed over the decades: the 1980s were different, the 1990s were different, and so on. We saw the changes and how the institute evolved. It also depended on who was in charge at the time and what direction they were taking the institute in, whether they wanted more films or exhibitions, and so on.
Were there any events or programs in particular that you remember during your time there?
Mike Sanabria: We used to have the Museum Mile Festival once a year, where all the museums would open their doors for free. The streets would be closed, the Mayor would come and a lot of times stop by 1014 Fith Ave. Hundreds of people would come.
The Steuben Day Parade was another great memory. 200 - 300 people would come from the German Consulate, which used to have their parties at 1014 Fifth Ave. for this parade. We got to meet one of the Chancellors who came there once. In the 1990s, the movies weren’t so big anymore, the exhibitions were changing to be more contemporary.