Merchant's House Museum New York City.com : Profile

Arts & Attractions Merchant's House Museum

Built in 1832, the Merchant's House Museum is a unique survivor of old New York. It is New York City's only family home preserved intact - inside and out - from the 19th century. Home to a prosperous merchant family for almost 100 years, it is complete with its original furniture, decorative arts, clothing, and personal memorabilia.

Architecturally, the Merchant's House is considered one of the finest surviving examples of the period. The exterior façade is late-Federal, with dormer windows and a fanlight above the front door. Inside, one of the most exquisite Greek Revival interiors can be found. The formal parlors feature identical black-and-gold marble mantelpieces, a stunning Ionic double-column screen, and mahogany pocket doors separating the rooms. The matching plaster ceiling medallions are among the finest such designs extant. When built in 1832, the house included all of the modern technological conveniences of the era, including piping for illuminating gas, a 4000-gallon cistern, and a bell system that summoned the four live-in servants. Three floors of the house are available for viewing.

The importance of the Merchant's House has been recognized by numerous landmark designations. In 1936, it was documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey; in 1964, it was designated as a National Historic Landmark ; on October 14, 1965, it was designated as a New York City Landmark; on December 22, 1981, it was designated as a New York City interior landmark; and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The interior is filled with the family's furniture and belongings, including pieces from New York's finest cabinetmakers, such as Duncan Phyfe and Joseph Meeks, along with opulent decorative accessories. Personal possessions - unfinished needlework, family photographs, a shaving mirror, and sewing boxes - leave the impression that the family has just stepped out for a minute. Costumes belonging to the Tredwell women along with gloves, hats, shoes, parasols, shawls, and undergarments are displayed on a rotating basis.

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NoHo Description

Merchant's House Museum is located in the NoHo neighborhood of Manhattan. NoHo—the small neighborhood north of Houston (hence "NoHo")—serves as a buffer zone between Greenwich Village on the west and the East Village on the east. Compared to its southern neighbor SoHo, NoHo is a relatively quiet area, despite its proximity to (and some would say its overlapping borders with) New York University. The exact boundaries of NoHo are debatable and seemingly moveable (like many New York City neighborhoods), but it is generally understood to be bounded by Astor Place and Houston Street (on the north and south) and Broadway and The Bowery (on the west and east).

Far from the farmland it used to be, NoHo is now a fashionable and hip piece of New York’s most vibrant real estate. The former warehouse and retail district is a bona fide historic district, with over a hundred buildings ranging from the early nineteenth century to recent years. The neighborhood is home to majestic structures like Colonnade Row, the Cable Building, and the Schermerhorn Building, as well as the Joseph Papp Public Theater and Joe’s Pub. NoHo's history as a retail center is on display at the Merchant's House Museum, a family home kept intact that dates back to the 1800s.

Not that NoHo's days as a retail mecca are over, by any means. On Broadway, you'll find a massive American Apparel store, as well as local favorite Andy's Chee-Pees and every other type of store imaginable, rivaling nearby SoHo's offerings. NoHo's loft-heavy residential offerings have long been home to artists and writers, so it's hardly surprising to find great bookstores like Mercer Street Books, not to mention art house theaters like the Angelika Film Center and the stage venues like Astor Place Theatre, home of the Blue Man Group.

As for the overlapping parts of the NYU campus, two of the most renowned departments of the university—the Gallatin School Of Individualized Study and the Tisch School Of The Arts--are both located on Broadway in Noho. In August, NoHo is involved (along with much of Manhattan) in Summer Streets where huge swaths of city streets are turned into pedestrian walkways, bereft of cars and trucks. The annual NoHo Art Walk showcases emerging artists and the many wonderful art galleries in the neighborhood.

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What Life Was Really Like in 19th-Century NYC

The Merchant's House Museum is New York City's only family home preserved intact — inside and out — from the 19th century.

Built in 1832 just steps from Washington Square, this elegant red-brick and white-marble row house on East Fourth Street was home to a prosperous merchant family for almost 1... [ + ]00 years.

Complete with the family's original furnishings and personal possessions, the house offers a rare and intimate glimpse of domestic life during the pivotal era of the 19th century when New York City was transformed from a colonial seaport into a thriving metropolis and the center of U.S. commerce.

02/02/2023 12:00 PM

Thu, February 02

12:00PM