Societies have developed many mechanisms to honor their most illustrious members. Some get recognized during their lifetimes, through titles such as knighthood or awards like the Nobel Prize. Others get put to rest in special places, such as Arlington National Cemetery or the Pantheon in Paris. Saints are canonized and so are baseball players – in their respective Halls of Fame.

Over the next two chapters, we will study the process of historical canonization by analyzing two long-standing New York institutions: the Hall of Fame for Great Americans in the Bronx and the Baseball Hall of Fame in the tiny village of Cooperstown. Both have held elections for more than 70 years, enough time to observe changes in each member's reputation in the years following selection. These institutions provide a natural laboratory to study how time erodes fame, and the limits to which knowledgeable observers can separate the gold from the dross of history.

The Hall of Fame for Great Americans

New York institutions rise and fall around real estate. The history of the city properly began when Peter Minuit (1580–1638) [3248] bought Manhattan from the Indians on May 24, 1626 for goods worth 60 Dutch guilders. Traditionally converted to $24, it was a steal: likely in more ways than one.

The Hall of Fame for Great Americans also began with a real estate transaction. Toward the end of the nineteenth century, New York University acquired land in the Bronx to serve as a new undergraduate campus.