2020 Programs

JANUARY

Wednesday, January 1, 2 to 5 p.m.
New Year’s Day 2020 Celebration!
Paying social calls on friends and family on New Year’s Day was one of Old New York’s most cherished customs. Join us for good cheer for the New Year and learn how New Yorkers like the Tredwells celebrated the day in the 1850s.

Guided tours of the house throughout the afternoon, walking tours of the NoHo neighborhood, and hot cider and cookies in the cozy 19th century kitchen.

New this year! Gertrude Tredwell, portrayed by a costumed interpreter, will receive guests in the elegant parlors decorated with swags of evergreens, brilliant holly berries, white mistletoe, and red-leafed poinsettias – and a table-top tree festooned with ribbons and candles.

Exhibitions on view: Home for the Holidays: A Mid-19th Century Christmas;
Festoon, Feast & Frolic: 19th Century Christmas Festivities in Print,
 On loan from the Michael A. Russo Ephemera Collection; and Plaid Silk Dress, ca. 1848-1854, from the Tredwell Costume Collection.

FREE for MHM Members, $20 General Admission.

7th SMASH Year!
Final Performances! Closes January 5, 2020

A Christmas Carol at the Merchant’s House, Charles Dickens in New York, 1867
In December 1867, Charles Dickens arrived in New York for a month of sold-out performances of his beloved A Christmas Carol. Join Mr. Dickens, portrayed by John Kevin Jones, as he tells his timeless Christmas tale in the museum’s elegant double parlor. Surrounded by 19th century holiday decorations and flickering candles, you’ll be transported back 150 years in this captivating and critically acclaimed one-hour performance created from Dickens’ own script. Perfect for families.

Presented in association with Summoners Ensemble Theatre. Adapted and presented by John Kevin Jones and Rhonda Dodd. Click here for performance schedule, tickets, and more information.

“Masterful storytelling” and a “tour de force”

“The Christmas Carol becomes doubly enchanting when one hears it performed by Dickens.” New York Herald, 1867

“… a celebration of not only the holiday season, but of the value of everyday kindness.”
BroadwayWorld.com

Closes Monday, January 6
Exhibition –
Home for the Holidays: A Mid-19th Century Christmas
It’s 1855 and the Tredwell family is celebrating the season with holiday decorating, elaborate parties, festive food, and gift giving. New York had proclaimed Christmas a state holiday in 1849 and was leading the way in creating the joyous traditions we celebrate today.

Festive scenes are recreated throughout the house as the Tredwells make merry. Their elegant parlors are decorated with swags of evergreens, brilliant holly berries, white mistletoe, and red-leafed poinsettias; a table-top tree festooned with ribbons and candles takes center stage. Mrs. Tredwell is stuffing the children’s stockings and sending holiday greetings, and the Tredwell daughters are dressing in their finest silks.

In the kitchen, the Irish servants are preparing the plum pudding, shucking the oysters, and readying the punch bowl, using recipes from the latest holiday cookbooks.

Tour the house and discover how many of our modern holiday traditions, from Christmas trees and Christmas cards, to gifts and stockings, Christmas carols (and Santa Claus, too) originated in mid-19th century New York.

Closes Monday, January 6
Exhibition –
Festoon, Feast & Frolic: 19th Century Christmas Festivities in Print
On loan from the Michael A. Russo Ephemera Collection
Worth a thousand words, period illustrations from greeting cards, newspapers, trade cards, and even cookbooks reveal some of the most treasured and celebrated Yuletide traditions of the 19th century — and highlight the food, décor, and activities the Tredwell family may have enjoyed for their holiday merry making.

Michael A. Russo is a member of the Ephemera Society of America, Vice President of the National Valentine Association and the owner of Trout Lily Farm, a flower farm, in southern Connecticut, where he grows and creates unique floral designs for his clients.

The Museum will be OPEN on Martin Luther King Day, Monday, January 20, from 12 to 5 p.m.

Friday, January 24, 6:30 & 7 p.m. 
Dark Days of Winter Candlelight Ghost Tour of “Manhattan’s Most Haunted House” (The New York Times)
Doors slam, floorboards creak, voices call into the dead of night. Venture into the shadows of history to see the house where seven family members died and hear true tales of inexplicable occurrences from the people who actually experienced them.
“#1 Most Haunted Place in NYC” (TimeOut New York) 50-60 minutes. $30, $20 Members. Click here to purchase tickets.
Upcoming Ghost Tours: Friday, February 21, March 13, April 17, May 15, June 19, July 17.

Saturday, January 25, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Behind-the-Ropes: Insider’s Tours of the Merchant’s House
First in a Series – The Architecture of an 1832 Landmark (Manhattan’s First)
Next up:
Saturday, February 29:
 Changing Tastes in 19th Century Furniture
Saturday, March 28: 100 Years of Domestic Lighting
Join us for a series of “behind the ropes” tours of the Merchant’s House. From late Federal to Greek Revival, Duncan Phyfe to Rococo Revival, whale oil to gas to kerosene, you’ll gain new perspectives on these unique insider’s tours, learning about changing period styles and technologies and how they reflect the attitudes and values of the merchant class in mid-19th century New York City.

The Architecture of an 1832 Landmark. We’ll explore in detail the architecture of the 1832 Merchant’s House, one of only 120 buildings designated an interior and exterior landmark in New York. The tour begins in the 1850s kitchen (bring your own coffee) for an overview, and continues through the house, ending in the rarely seen 3rd floor rooms (now staff offices) and an up-close look at several important architectural fragments from the collection.

          Anthony Bellov: Bachelor’s in Architecture from Pratt Institute, Graduate in Museum Leadership from Bank Street College of Education, long-time volunteer and board member of the Merchant’s House Museum and an aficionado in 19th Century American Decorative Arts and Architecture.

$30, $25 Members. Limited to 20 participants. Click here to purchase tickets. Interested in attending all three “Behind the Ropes” Tours? Add tickets to all three tours to your shopping cart and enter code INSIDER at check-out for $15 off your order.

Through Thursday, January 30
Tredwell Costume Collection: Dress, 1848-54, silk, silk taffeta, cotton, metal, MHM 2002.0847
The Tredwell Costume Collection comprises more than 400 articles of clothing – primarily women’s dresses and their accompanying chemisettes, collars, undersleeves, and petticoats. The core of the collection consists of a remarkable 39 dresses documented to have been owned and worn by the women of the family. Many are outstanding examples of the 19th century dressmaker’s art, composed of fine and delicate fabrics and ornamentation.

On display, a one-piece, hand-sewn dress of cream, brown, and salmon pink plaid silk. The fitted bodice has wide pagoda sleeves, wide, bell-shaped sleeves that necessitate the use of detachable undersleeves to complete the look of the dress. A popular sleeve style around the time of the Civil War, it appears to have been a favorite of the Tredwell women (20 of the 39 dresses have them).

Thursday, January 30, 6:30 p.m.
A Spine-Tingling Birthday Celebration for Edgar Allan Poe
In 1845, Edgar Allan Poe lived on Amity Street (now West 3rd Street). Publication of his poem The Raven brought him great acclaim and invitations to the Village’s fashionable literary salons. In honor of Poe’s birthday, we’ll learn about Poe’s life in the Village and enjoy a performance of his writings.
Andrea Janes, founder of Boroughs of the Dead, will discuss Poe’s residence in the City, his rivals, and admirers, and his writing about antebellum New York’s architecture, literature, and current events.
The evening will conclude with John Kevin Jones (A Christmas Carol at the Merchant’s House) as the great master of horror performing bone-chilling tales of irrational revenge, obsession, and murder.

FREE. Reservations are required. Click here to register.

NOTE LOCATION: New York City Baha’i Center, 53 East 11th Street (Btw Broadway & University)
Co-sponsored by Village Preservation and Boroughs of the Dead.

JANUARY EXHIBITIONS

Exhibitions included with regular museum admission.

Thursday, January 30, through Monday, May 4
Sylvia:  A 19th Century Life Unveiled
In 2002, a small, timeworn leather trunk discarded on a sidewalk in Lower Manhattan was found replete with the cherished keepsakes of a 19th century woman.  Thus began visual artist Stacy Renee Morrison’s self-proclaimed love affair with Sylvia DeWolf Ostrander, whose early life parallels that of Gertrude Tredwell, who lived at 29 East 4th Street.

For almost two decades, Ms. Morrison has been on an obsessive quest to weave together Sylvia’s life in the 19th century through the personal belongings she left behind — and to re-imagine it in today’s world through art and fashion.

This is the first time Sylvia’s trunk and its treasured contents will be exhibited in public.  On display, an invitation in 1860 to a ball honoring the Prince of Wales, letters from the Civil War, Sylvia’s journals, mourning jewelry made of human hair, paper dolls, and other ephemera. Photographs and screen-printed clothing illustrate Sylvia’s life in the present as the artist’s muse.

Stacy Renee Morrison is a visual artist who often forgets what century it is.  She finds herself haunted by women who lived their lives well before her own and creates visual biographies of their pasts.  When Stacy is fully present in the 21st century she teaches in the BFA Photography and Video Department and MFA Visual Narrative Departments at School of Visual Arts in New York City.

“I imagine backwards; an apparition in her bygone era.
She visits me in the present as the girl of my dreams.”

FEBRUARY

Thursday Evenings, 5 to 8 p.m.
Special 2-for-1 admission
Museum open 12 to 8 p.m.
Guided tour 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday, February 12, 6:30 p.m.
Members-Only Exhibition Tour
Join visual artist Stacy Renee Morrison for an exclusive look at her new exhibition, Sylvia: A 19th Century Life Unveiled.
FREE for Members Only. Email nyc1832@merchantshouse.org to RSVP. Not a member? Click here to join.

Friday, February 14, 7 p.m.
Love in the Parlors — A Valentine in Concert
The Bond Street Euterpean Singing Society presents a gala concert of lush, romantic vocal music  performed in the Museum’s elegant Greek Revival double parlor. Singers Anthony Bellov, Amy Gluck, Jane Elizabeth Rady, and Dayle Vander Sande perform rarely heard gems by the world’s greatest 19th-century composers: Schumann, Rossini, Tchaikovsky, Amy Beach, Johann Strauss II, and others. Chosen by NBC Online and TimeOut NY as a top pick for Valentine’s Day.
90 minutes. Very limited capacity. Tickets $55, VIP Seating (first & second row) $65. MHM Members $35, VIP $45.

The Museum will be OPEN on President’s Day, Monday, February 17, 12 to 5 p.m.

The Museum will CLOSE at 5 p.m. on Thursday, February 20, for a private event.

Friday, February 21, 6:30 p.m. SOLD OUT!
Dark Days of Winter Candlelight Ghost Tour of “Manhattan’s Most Haunted House” (The New York Times)
Doors slam, floorboards creak, voices call into the dead of night. Venture into the shadows of history to see the house where seven family members died and hear true tales of inexplicable occurrences from the people who actually experienced them.
“#1 Most Haunted Place in NYC” (TimeOut New York)
50-60 minutes. $30, $20 Members.
Upcoming Ghost Tours: Friday, March 13, April 17, May 15, June 19, July 17.

Thursday, February 27, 6:30 p.m.
Bricks and Brownstone: The New York Row House
The classic book Bricks & Brownstone, originally written by Charles Lockwood and published in 1972, is the first and still the only volume to examine in depth the changing form and varied architectural styles of the much-loved New York City row house, or brownstone.  That edition helped pave the way for a brownstone revival that has transformed New York’s historic neighborhoods over the past half-century.

This revised and expanded edition, published by Rizzoli, revisits the classic comprehensively, with updated text and additional chapters, and an abundance of specially commissioned color photography.
Join author Patrick W. Ciccone for a lecture and celebration of the revised edition of this classic work featuring Federal, Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, Italianate, and Second Empire architectural styles and so much more.

Tickets: $15, or $65 including a copy of Bricks and Brownstone (retail: $85).
NOTE LOCATION: The Salmagundi Arts Club, 47 5th Avenue at 12th Street
This event is not fully accessible, as there are ten steps up to the front door.

Presented in partnership with the Salmagundi Arts Club and Village Preservation.

Patrick W. Ciccone is a New York City-based preservationist who has led major historic rehabilitation projects in Manhattan, Brooklyn, upstate New York, and Pennsylvania.

Saturday, February 29, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Behind-the-Ropes: Insider’s Tours of the Merchant’s House
Second in a Series – Changing Tastes in 19th Century Furniture
Next up: Saturday, March 28: 100 Years of Domestic Lighting
Join us for a series of “behind the ropes” tours of the Merchant’s House. From late Federal to Greek Revival, Duncan Phyfe to Rococo Revival, whale oil to gas to kerosene, you’ll gain new perspectives on these unique insider’s tours, learning about changing period styles and technologies and how they reflect the attitudes and values of the merchant class in mid-19th century New York City.

Changing Tastes in 19th Century Furniture. We’ll explore in detail the finer points of the original Tredwell family collection of furniture and what it tells us about both the tastes and values of Antebellum New Yorkers and how growing international connections made lasting impact on design, trade, and international relations.

Anthony Bellov: Bachelor’s in Architecture from Pratt Institute, Graduate in Museum Leadership from Bank Street College of Education, long-time volunteer and board member of the Merchant’s House Museum and an aficionado in 19th Century American Decorative Arts and Architecture.

$30, $25 Members. Limited to 20 participants. Click here to purchase tickets.

FEBRUARY EXHIBITIONS

Thursday, January 30, through Monday, May 4
Sylvia:  A 19th Century Life Unveiled
In 2002, a small, timeworn leather trunk was discarded for garbage on a sidewalk in Lower Manhattan; it was found replete with the cherished keepsakes of a 19th century New York City woman. Thus began visual artist Stacy Renee Morrison’s self-proclaimed love affair with Sylvia DeWolf Ostrander, whose early life parallels that of Gertrude Tredwell, who lived at 29 East 4th Street.

For almost two decades, Ms. Morrison has been on an obsessive quest to weave together Sylvia’s life in the 19th century through the personal belongings she left behind — and to re-imagine it in today’s world through art and fashion.

This is the first time Sylvia’s trunk and its treasured contents will be exhibited in public.  On display, an invitation to a ball honoring the Prince of Wales in 1860, letters from the Civil War, Sylvia’s journals, mourning jewelry made of human hair, paper dolls, and other ephemera. Photographs and screen-printed clothing illustrate Sylvia’s life in the present as the artist’s muse.

Stacy Renee Morrison is a visual artist who often forgets what century it is.  She finds herself haunted by women who lived their lives well before her own and creates visual biographies of their pasts.  When Stacy is fully present in the 21st century she teaches in the BFA Photography and Video Department and MFA Visual Narrative Departments at the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

“I imagine backwards; an apparition in her bygone era.
She visits me in the present as the girl of my dreams.”

MARCH EVENTS & EXHIBITIONS

Thursday Evenings, 5 to 8 p.m.
Special 2-for-1 admission
Museum open 12 to 8 p.m.
Guided tour 6:30 p.m.

Thursday-Monday, March 12-16
A Tribute to the Tredwells’ Irish Servants

Thursday, March 12, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
An Evening with Bridget Murphy
6 p.m. Join Tredwell servant Bridget Murphy in the kitchen for, what else, green beer.
6:30 p.m. Then take a “back-stairs” tour and experience what daily life was really like for the Irish servants through their eyes. You’ll visit four floors of period rooms, from the ground floor kitchen to the 4th floor servants’ quarters, where they lived and did some of their work.
This unparalleled tour tells the heroic story of the Irish women who worked in domestic service in 19th century New York, overcoming homesickness, culture shock, and prejudice to cultivate a new home and a new identity on foreign soil – and ultimately altering the face of New York City forever.

“Arguably the oldest intact site of Irish habitation in New York City.” (Time Out New York).
Included with museum admission.

Friday, March 13, 6:30 p.m. CANCELLED
“Spirit of the Irish” Candlelight Ghost Tour
Includes the 4th Floor Servants’ Quarters!
Doors slam, floorboards creak, voices call into the dead of night. Venture into the shadows of history to see the house where eight family members died and hear true tales of inexplicable occurrences from the people who actually experienced them. Many of the most peculiar occurrences have been related to the Tredwells’ Irish servants, and so this special tour will include the 4th floor Servants’ Quarters. 60 minutes. $40, $35 Members.

Saturday, March 14, Guided Tours 2 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. CANCELLED
A Tribute to the Tredwells’ Irish Servants with Bridget Murphy
This unparalleled “back stairs” tour tells the heroic story of the Irish women who flooded into New York City in the 19th century to escape famine and hardship in Ireland. In 1855, approximately 24,000 Irish immigrants worked as servants for wealthy families like the Tredwells. They overcame homesickness, culture shock, and prejudice to cultivate a new home and a new identity on foreign soil – ultimately altering the face of New York City forever.

You’ll visit four floors of period rooms, from the ground floor kitchen to the 4th floor servants’ quarters, experience what daily life was really like for the Irish servants through their eyes. where they lived and did some of their work.

“Arguably the oldest intact site of Irish habitation in New York City” (Time Out New York).

1 p.m. – 4 p.m. You’ll meet Tredwell servant Bridget Murphy, who will play traditional Irish airs on the harp and entertain guests with her singing. She’ll also tell you the many reasons why it would have been impossible to run a home like the Merchant’s House without her. Included with museum admission. No reservations.

Sunday, March 15, 12:30 p.m. CANCELLED
Walking Tour: In the Footsteps of Bridget Murphy
Meeting place: Old St. Patrick’s Church (Mott Street Entrance btw Prince and Houston Streets)
In this special walking tour, we’ll explore the world of Irish immigrants, who flooded into New York City in the 19th century to escape famine and hardship in Ireland; in 1855, approximately 24,000 Irish immigrants worked as servants for wealthy families like the Tredwells. We’ll explore the world of these immigrants and see sites associated with a servant’s life outside the walls of her employer’s home.
Tour is one hour and begins promptly at 12:30 p.m.
Promenaders will return to the Museum in time to take the
 2 p.m. Guided Tour if they wish.
$15; FREE for Members.

Sunday, March 15, and Monday, March 16, 2 p.m. CANCELLED
Guided Tour – Bridget Murphy: The Life of an Irish Servant

Thursday, March 19, 6 p.m. POSTPONED, new date TBA
Marching Towards Modernity: The Women of Greenwich Village and the Art and Politics of Social Change at the Turn of the Century

This lecture will focus on the extraordinary women who lived and worked in Greenwich Village at the turn of the 20th century when the neighborhood was transitioning from a tony enclave turned immigrant haven to a bohemian paradise. Marching into the new century as some of the nation’s foremost advocates for suffrage, labor reform and birth control, and exploding traditional forms of art and inquiry as founders and creators of some of the nation’s most avant-garde art and institutions, the women of Greenwich Village helped lead the city and the nation into the Modern World.
Co-hosted by the Village Alliance and Women’s History Month at Village Preservation

Sunday, March 22, 12:30 p.m. CANCELLED
A Walking Tour of Historic 19th Century Noho 
Join us for a journey back in time to the elite ‘Bond Street area,’ home to Astors, Vanderbilts, Delanos – and the Tredwells, who lived in the Merchant’s House. You’ll see how the neighborhood surrounding the Tredwells’ home evolved from a refined and tranquil residential enclave into a busy commercial center. Visit important 19th century landmark buildings on this tour through 21st century NoHo.
Tour is one hour and begins promptly at 12:30 p.m.
Promenaders will return to the Museum in time to take the
 2 p.m. Guided Tour if they wish.
$15; FREE for Members.
Next walking tours: April 12, 26; May 10, 24; June 7, 21; July 12, 26.

Thursday, March 26, 6:30 p.m. POSTPONED, new date TBA
Illustrated Talk –
Sylvia:  A 19th Century Life Unveiled

In 2002, a small, timeworn leather trunk discarded on a sidewalk in Lower Manhattan was found replete with the cherished keepsakes of a 19th century woman. Thus began visual artist Stacy Renee Morrison’s self-proclaimed love affair with Sylvia DeWolf Ostrander, whose early life parallels that of Gertrude Tredwell, who lived at 29 East 4th Street, now the Merchant’s House Museum.

Learn about Ms. Morrison’s almost two decades-long quest to weave together Sylvia’s life in the 19th century through the personal belongings she left behind — and to re-imagine it in today’s world through art and fashion.

This talk is presented in conjunction with an exhibition of the same name at the Merchant’s House. On display, an invitation in 1860 to a ball honoring the Prince of Wales, letters from the Civil War, Sylvia’s journals, mourning jewelry made of human hair, paper dolls, and other ephemera. Photographs and screen-printed clothing illustrate Sylvia’s life in the present as the artist’s muse. The exhibition is open January 30-May 4, 2020.

Stacy Renee Morrison is a visual artist who often forgets what century it is.  She finds herself haunted by women who lived their lives well before her own and creates visual biographies of their pasts. When Stacy is fully present in the 21st century, she teaches in the BFA Photography and Video Department and MFA Visual Narrative Departments at the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

Admission is FREE. Registration is required.

Co-hosted by Village Preservation and the Village Alliance

NOTE LOCATION: The Baha’i Center
53 East 11th Street (Btw University & Broadway)
This event is not fully accessible; there are three steps to the auditorium.

Saturday, March 28, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.  POSTPONED, new date TBA
Behind-the-Ropes: Insider’s Tours of the Merchant’s House
Third in a Series – 100 Years of Domestic Lighting
Join us for a series of “behind the ropes” tours of the Merchant’s House. From late Federal to Greek Revival, Duncan Phyfe to Rococo Revival, whale oil to gas to kerosene, you’ll gain new perspectives on these unique insider’s tours, learning about changing period styles and technologies and how they reflect the attitudes and values of the merchant class in mid-19th century New York City.

100 Years of Domestic Lighting. We’ll examine the finer points of the Tredwell Lighting collection, comprising 200-plus objects and spanning more than 100 years. The tour begins in the 1850s kitchen (bring your own coffee) for an overview, and continues through the house, ending in the rarely seen 3rd floor (now staff offices) for an up-close look at rare pieces from the Lighting Collection not currently on display.

Anthony Bellov: Bachelor’s in Architecture from Pratt Institute, Graduate in Museum Leadership from Bank Street College of Education, long-time volunteer and board member of the Merchant’s House Museum and an aficionado in 19th Century American Decorative Arts and Architecture.

$30, $25 Members. Limited to 20 participants. Click here to purchase tickets.

 

APRIL EVENTS

Sunday, April 12, 12:30 p.m. CANCELLED
A Walking Tour of Historic 19th Century Noho 

Thursday, April 16, 6 p.m.
ZOOM LECTURE: Marching Towards Modernity: The Women of Greenwich Village and the Art and Politics of Social Change at the Turn of the Century

Ida Rauh and her sister-in-law and Village neighbor Crystal Eastman both earned law degrees at NYU and went on to change the worlds of law, justice, women’s health, literature, theater, and more. Rauh and Eastman are just two of the extraordinary women who lived and worked in Greenwich Village at the turn of the 20th century when the neighborhood was transitioning from a tony enclave turned immigrant haven to a bohemian paradise.

This lecture by Lucie Levine will focus on this moment of becoming, focusing on the women who led that change. Marching into the new century as some of the nation’s foremost advocates, founders, and creators. Celebrate the women of Greenwich Village who helped lead the city and the nation into the Modern World. Co-hosted by Village Preservation and the Village Alliance.

Friday, April 17, 6:30 p.m. CANCELLED
“April Is the Cruellest Month” Candlelight Ghost Tour

Sunday, April 26, 12:30 p.m. CANCELLED
A Walking Tour of Historic 19th Century Noho 

Wednesday, April 29, 6:30 p.m. POSTPONED. NEW DATE TBA.
Illustrated Talk
Aegean Breezes: Greek Revival Architecture in America and New York, 1800-1840
Reception in the Garden Follows
Join us for a wide-ranging look at what we call the “Greek Revival” in American architecture, a phenomenon much more complex than the simplistic name suggests. We will look at the origins of “Neoclassicism” in 17th and 18th century European architecture and archaeology, and its migration across the Atlantic in the 18th and early 19th centuries, at the works of such architects in America as Latrobe, Mills, Strickland, Town, Davis, and Walter, and at Greek Revival New York, including the adaptation of the Greek temple to the humble row house.

In New York, we will discuss Sailors’ Snug Harbor, La Grange Terrace, the Custom House of 1833-42, 1-13 Washington Square North, and several other works, not least 29 East 4th St., the Merchant’s House Museum, an unrivaled resource for the study of Neoclassicism in urban domestic architecture in America. The lavishly illustrated lecture will help to place the Merchant’s House in its proper context in architectural history.

After the talk, join Francis Morrone for a reception in the Museum’s 19th century garden.

A collaboration with the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art.

MAY EVENTS

Thursday, May 21, 6 p.m.
ZOOM LECTURE: The Architecture of the Merchant’s House: A Virtual Tour
Co-sponsored by Village Preservation
Whether you’ve been to the Merchant’s House Museum before or not, this precious place will come alive as never before in this virtual tour led by Merchant’s House board member and expert Anthony Bellov. Bellov will delve into little-known or rarely noticed fine points of the architecture of the 1832 brick-and-marble rowhouse, an exterior and interior NYC landmark, shedding light on building techniques and the social expectations of New York before the Civil War.

The Merchant’s House Museum is one of the finest surviving examples of late-Federal and Greek Revival architecture. Built in 1832, the Merchant’s House was  Manhattan’s first designated landmark in New York City in 1965 and today one of only 120 buildings that is both an interior and exterior landmark. It is one of only six residences with interior and exterior landmark designation. The Museum tells the story of the domestic life of a wealthy merchant family – the Tredwells – and their four Irish servants, as well as the history of when the mercantile seaport of New York City emerged as a growing metropolis and the commercial emporium of America. It is also the only historic house museum in the Greenwich Village/Soho/NoHo neighborhoods, and of course, we love it.

Anthony Bellov holds a Bachelor’s in Architecture from Pratt Institute and a Graduate in Museum Leadership from Bank Street College of Education, and is owner of Anthony Bellov Video Productions, an award-winning boutique video production company based in NYC. He is a long-time volunteer and board member of the Merchant’s House Museum and an aficionado in 19th Century American Decorative Arts and Architecture.

JUNE EVENTS

Thursday, June 25, 6 p.m.
ZOOM LECTURE: Sylvia:  A 19th Century Life Unveiled

In 2002, a small, timeworn leather trunk discarded on a sidewalk in Lower Manhattan was found replete with the cherished keepsakes of a 19th century woman. Thus began visual artist Stacy Renee Morrison’s self-proclaimed love affair with Sylvia DeWolf Ostrander, whose early life parallels that of Gertrude Tredwell, who lived at 29 East 4th Street, now the Merchant’s House Museum.

Learn about Ms. Morrison’s almost two decades-long quest to weave together Sylvia’s life in the 19th century through the personal belongings she left behind — and to re-imagine it in today’s world through art and fashion.

This talk is presented in conjunction with our virtual exhibition of the same name. Click here to view.

Stacy Renee Morrison is a visual artist who often forgets what century it is.  She finds herself haunted by women who lived their lives well before her own and creates visual biographies of their pasts. When Stacy is fully present in the 21st century, she teaches in the BFA Photography and Video Department and MFA Visual Narrative Departments at the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

Co-hosted by Village Preservation and the Village Alliance.

JULY EVENTS

Wednesday, July 8, 6 p.m.
Tredwell Times: Life in 19th Century New York
The Tredwells’ Remarkable Relative: Samuel Seabury & His “War” with Hamilton
Haven’t seen the musical? Now you can see the movie: Disney’s film version of Hamilton debuts on July 3 on Disney+. In this illustrated talk, Museum Historian Ann Haddad will examine the life of Bishop Samuel Seabury, Seabury Tredwell’s uncle and the first Episcopal bishop in America. Bishop Seabury was a staunch Loyalist and went toe-to-toe with Alexander Hamilton in 1774.

Wednesday, July 29, 6 p.m.
Tredwell Times: Life in 19th Century New York
The Tredwells‘ World: New York City in 1835
Join Museum Historian Ann Haddad and explore the Tredwells‘ neighborhood and city as it was in 1835, the year that Seabury Tredwell purchased the Merchant’s House and moved in with his wife, Eliza, their seven children, and their Irish servants. From prestigious neighbors to local shops, churches, and schools, you’ll see the city as the Tredwells did as they began their residency on Fourth Street.

AUGUST EVENTS

Sunday, August 9, 12:30 p.m.
Historic Walking Tour of 19th Century Noho
Join us for a journey back in time to the elite ‘Bond Street area,’ home to the Tredwells, who lived in the Merchant’s House. You’ll see how the neighborhood surrounding the Tredwells’ home evolved from a refined and tranquil residential enclave into a busy commercial center. Visit important 19th century landmark buildings on this tour through 21st century NoHo.

The tour meets outside the Merchant’s House at 12:30 p.m. and lasts approximately one hour.

$15, FREE for Members.

Thursday, August 13, 6 p.m.
“Where Shadows Linger:” A Paranormal Exploration of the Merchant’s House
Join Paranormal Caught on Camera’s Dan Sturges on this Zoom presentation as he discusses ten-plus years of investigations of “Manhattan’s most haunted house” (The New York Times). This past spring, the house took a new direction toward finding explanations for the strange happenings that have been experienced in the house for decades. You’ll learn about the state-of-the-art technology (including the 24/7 webcams, pictured below) installed in the house and some of the ground-breaking evidence collected as recently as July. Free.

Dan Sturges is the founder of Sturges Paranormal and appears on the Travel Channel’s weekly series, Paranormal Caught on Camera. He has performed investigations at the Merchant’s House – and documented his spine-chilling findings – since 2007.

Wednesday, August 19, 6 p.m.
Tredwell Times: Life in 19th Century New York City
Flower Pressing and Water Cures: 19th Century Summer Pastimes
In the dog days of summer, learn how the Tredwell family and their peers spent the hot summer months. Museum Historian Ann Haddad delves into popular summer pastimes of the 19th century. Free.

SEPTEMBER EVENTS

Thursday, September 17, 6 p.m. — Gertrude’s 180th Birthday!
Gertrude Tredwell’s New York: A Virtual Walking tour of New York City, 1840-1933
An Illustrated Zoom Talk by Author and Historian James Nevius

What would it have been like to stand in the shadow of the Empire State Building on a summer day in 1932 and look back over the course of the previous century to see the changes in New York?

If you were Gertrude Tredwell, you could have done just that. Gertrude, born in 1840 at 29 East Fourth Street—today’s Merchant’s House Museum—lived her entire life in that 1832 rowhouse and observed New York grow from a city of 313,000 people to a megalopolis housing nearly 7 million. When Gertrude was born, the area surrounding her home was among the city’s most fashionable and Fifth Avenue north of 34th Street was still considered the countryside. By 1933, when Gertrude died, at the age of 93, the luxury apartment craze was gripping the city and nearly every trace of rural Manhattan had been wiped away.

Join historian and author James Nevius for Gertrude Tredwell’s New York: A Virtual Walking Tour of New York City, 1840-1933. Through archival photographs, maps, and contemporary illustrations, we’ll look at how New York grew and changed during Gertrude’s lifetime. We will look at the influence of various architectural styles over time and examine how the confluence of mass immigration, urban planning, and rapid industrialization forever changed the face of New York. $20.

James Nevius is the co-author (with his wife, Michelle) of three books about New York City: Frommer’s 24 Great Walks in New York, Footprints in New York, and Inside the Apple: A Streetwise History of New York City. Now in its twelfth printing, Inside the Apple has become a standard reference work for NYC history. Beloved by New Yorkers and visitors alike, the book is assigned in college classes and frequently used by guides to study for the New York City sightseeing exam. James is also a former contributor to Fodor’s 25 Best New York and writes frequently on New York City topics for Curbed and The New York Post.

Sunday, September 13 and 27, 12:30 p.m.
(Socially Distanced) Walking Tour of 19th Century NoHo: A Century of Change
Join us for a socially distanced journey back in time to the elite ‘Bond Street area,’ home to wealthy merchant families like the Tredwells. You’ll see how the neighborhood surrounding the Merchant’s House evolved from a refined and tranquil residential enclave into a busy commercial and cultural center during the 19th century.

Stops include Colonnade Row, home to the Astors, Delanos, and Vanderbilts; the Astor Library, now the Public Theater; Tompkins Market, where the Tredwells bought their food; and 31 Bond Street, the site of the gruesome (and still unsolved!) 1857 murder of Dr. Harvey Burdell, a sure sign of a changing neighborhood.

$20, Free for MHM Members. Reservations required. SOLD OUT!

For your safety: Capacity strictly limited to 6 participants; masks are required. If you have a cough, fever, or other symptoms of COVID-19, please stay home. We are happy to transfer your tickets to a future tour.

Wednesday, September 30, 6 to 7:30 p.m.
Behind-the-Ropes, Virtually: Insiders’ Tours of the Merchant’s House
First in a Series – The Architecture of an 1832 Landmark (Manhattan’s First)

Join us online from the comfort of your home for a series of unique, in-depth tours of the Merchant’s House, preserved intact from the 19th century with the Tredwell family’s original furnishings and personal possessions. It’s an extraordinary up-close and personal experience of the Tredwell home you won’t want to miss –– behind the ropes and no stairs to climb!

The Architecture of an 1832 Landmark (Manhattan’s First) explores the clues, quirks, and meanings of the house’s construction and architectural details, often found in nooks and crannies and spaces off-limits to the public. You’ll visit, virtually, all seven stories of this brick-and-marble rowhouse – from the cobble-stoned cellar to the crawl-space of the attic.

$15, $10 MHM Members, $20 Benefactor Tickets.

Anthony Bellov holds a Bachelor’s in Architecture from Pratt Institute, Graduate in Museum Leadership from Bank Street College of Education, and has been a long-time volunteer and board member of the Merchant’s House Museum. He is an aficionado of 19th century American decorative arts and architecture.

OCTOBER EVENTS

Thursday, October 1, 6 p.m.
The Ultimate Ghost Tour: East Village to Greenwich Village
All killer, no filler! This virtual tour presents the very best ghost stories of the East Village and Greenwich Village. With tales hand-picked by our expert guide, Andrea Janes, we will ring in the spookiest month by delving into the ghostly lore of these historic neighborhoods. These stories will be situated within the broader narrative of our neighborhoods, melding historical context, and ghostly legends. Bring your skepticism, morbid fascinations, and love of NYC history — and your respect for the unseen world that rests at the edge of our perceived reality.

Andrea Janes writes ghost stories and is the owner and founder of Boroughs of the Dead LLC, a boutique tour company dedicated to dark and unusual walking tours of New York City. Her obsessions include New York City history, slapstick comediennes, witches, ghosts, all things nautical, and beer.

Free. Co-hosted by Village PreservationBoroughs of the Dead, and the Village Alliance.

Facebook Live!
American Gothic: Spine-tingling Tales to Raise Your Spirits
Join us for Facebook Live storytelling of 19th-century American Gothic literature read by actor Dayle Vander Sande in the authentic period parlor of the Merchant’s House Museum. These tales by Washington Irving, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Mark Twain and Louisa May Alcott make your blood run cold with scenes of terror and woe. Dayle is a longtime museum volunteer and Director of the Bond Street Euterpean Singing Society, the vocal arts group-in-residence at the Merchant’s House.
Tune in at our Facebook page – no Facebook account required! 20 minutes each.

Thursday, October 1, 7:30 p.m. 
     “The Devil and Tom Walker” from Tales of a Traveller (1824), by Washington Irving — Click here for Part OneClick here for Part Two
Sunday, October 11, 5 p.m.
     “The White Old Maid” from Twice-Told Tales (1837), by Nathaniel Hawthorne — Click here for Part OneClick here for Part Two
Sunday, October 18, 7:00 p.m.
     “A Ghost Story” (1870), by Mark Twain — Click here for Part OneClick here for Part Two
Friday, October 23, 7:30 p.m.
     “Lost in a Pyramid, or The Mummy’s Curse” (1869), by Louisa May Alcott — Click here for Part OneClick here for Part Two

October 2 – 10, 2020
Open Arts LES celebrates the dynamic cultural life of the Lower East Side community!
Open Arts is an arts open house – ten days during which our local cultural organizations invite neighbors to visit and get to know what they do.  All programs are free and many offer unique opportunities to meet and get to know the folks making art in the LES. Click here for more information.

Sunday, October 11 and 25, 12:30 p.m.  SOLD OUT!
(Socially Distanced) Walking Tour of 19th Century NoHo: A Century of Change
Join us for a socially distanced journey back in time to the elite ‘Bond Street area,’ home to wealthy merchant families like the Tredwells. You’ll see how the neighborhood surrounding the Merchant’s House evolved from a refined and tranquil residential enclave into a busy commercial and cultural center during the 19th century.

Stops include Colonnade Row, home to the Astors, Delanos, and Vanderbilts; the Astor Library, now the Public Theater; Tompkins Market, where the Tredwells bought their food; and 31 Bond Street, the site of the gruesome (and still unsolved!) 1857 murder of Dr. Harvey Burdell, a sure sign of a changing neighborhood.

$20, Free for MHM Members. Reservations required. 

For your safety: Capacity strictly limited to 6 participants; masks are required. If you have a cough, fever, or other symptoms of COVID-19, please stay home. We are happy to transfer your tickets to a future tour.

Wednesday, October 14, 6 p.m.
‘Death Cannot Make Our Souls Afraid’: 19th Century Mourning Customs
Tredwell Times Zoom Lecture with Museum Historian Ann Haddad

Grief was more than just an emotion for Americans during the 19th century — it was a way of life. The moment Seabury Tredwell drew his last breath, in March 1865, his family put into motion an elaborate system of mourning customs that both announced their grief to the community and provided some measure of release from their suffering. Join Museum Historian Ann Haddad to explore the origins and significance of these somber yet comforting rituals, from widows weeds and crepe-draped mirrors to corpse coolers and funeral biscuits.
$15, $10 MHM Members.

Wednesday, October 21, 7 p.m.
Morris Jumel Mansion Virtual Parlor Chat: Historic House Museums and the Paranormal — A Conversation with Historic Richmond Town and the Merchant’s House
We join our friends at the Morris Jumel Mansion and Historic Richmond Town to discuss paranormal site activity and programming in this seasonal edition of Morris Jumel Mansion’s Virtual Parlor Chats. Free.

Due to COVID-19, we are unable to offer our ever-sold-out Candlelight Ghost Tours this year.
From the safety of your couch (or hiding behind it?), join us for …
Lingering in the Shadows: Spirits of the Merchant’s House, Past & Present
A Virtual (Otherworldy) Presentation via Zoom
Friday, October 23, 6 p.m.
Thursday, October 29, 7 p.m.
Friday, October 30, 7 p.m.

The occurrences, inexplicable and unsettling, began immediately after Gertrude, the last surviving member of the Tredwell family, died in the house, in 1933. They haven’t stopped.

We invite you to venture into the dark and ghostly shadows of history – virtually, from the safety of your home – to hear true stories of the strange and chilling happenings over the Museum’s eight decades; the methods and findings of past paranormal investigations; and the startling results of current research conducted during the six months the museum was closed due to COVID-19. The house was empty – or was it?

$10, $8 MHM Members; click here to purchase tickets.

TWO SHOWS ONLY!!
Lingering in the Shadows: A Virtual Presentation
Co-Hosted by Special Guest Dan Sturges of the Travel Channel’s weekly series
Paranormal Caught on
 Camera
Thursday, October 29, 9 p.m.
Friday, October 30, 9 p.m.

During the six months the Museum was closed due to COVID-19 and the house was empty (or was it?), paranormal investigator Dan Sturges, along with neuroscientist Dr. Lee, conducted extensive research using specialized equipment custom-built for the house. In this virtual presentation, hear their startling results and come with your questions for one of the most knowledgeable experts in the field! Dan has performed investigations at the house and documented his spine-chilling findings since 2007.

$15, $10 MHM Members;

Is the Merchant’s House – “Manhattan’s Most Haunted House,” according to The New York Times – really haunted? Come hear the evidence and decide for yourself.

All performances of Lingering in the Shadows are virtual events. You will receive a confirmation email from Zoom within 15 minutes of placing your order and reminder with the link to join one hour before the event.

Saturday, October 31, 8 p.m.
Happy Hauntings: A Virtual Halloween Party with “Manhattan’s Most Haunted House”
Don’t miss out on Halloween! Hightail it on your broomstick to party like it’s not 2020 and join us for fright and fun with a Zoom social! Come get spooked by ghastly ghost stories of actual Merchant’s House happenings and share your own paranormal experiences with fellow party-goers. Come in costume for a virtual parade, join in party games, show us your best zombie moves on the dance floor, and concoct a witch’s brew or two with our own mixmaster, Martyr Steward! Come get in the spirit!
$10, $8 MHM Members.

Happy Hauntings is a virtual event. You will receive a confirmation email from Zoom within 15 minutes of placing your order and a reminder with a link to join one hour before the event.

October 31 to November 9   POSTPONED due to COVID-19
Killing an Evening with Edgar Allan Poe: Murder at the Merchant’s House — At Home
It is with great disappointment and very heavy hearts that Summoners Ensemble and the Merchant’s House Museum announce the postponement of Killing an Evening with Edgar Allan Poe.

The unrelenting COVID crisis has created a number of production and safety hurdles that we are unable to overcome in time for our opening on October 31. Our first commitment is, of course, the health and well-being of our audience and our staff. We are now working hard to bring the show to you in January, to coincide with a celebration of Mr. Poe’s 202nd birthday.

Good news! And some much-needed holiday cheer. We will be able to offer virtual performances of A Christmas Carol at the Merchant’s House, to be enjoyed with friends and family from the comfort of your home.

NOVEMBER

Wednesday, November 4, 6 to 7:30 p.m.
Behind-the-Ropes, Virtually: Insiders’ Tours of the Merchant’s House
Second in a Series – Changing Tastes in 19th Century Furniture (1800-1860)
With Board member Anthony Bellov and American furniture expert Carswell Rush Berlin

Join us online from the comfort of your home for a series of unique, in-depth tours of the Merchant’s House, preserved intact from the 19th century with the Tredwell family’s original furnishings and personal possessions. It’s an extraordinary up-close and personal experience of the Tredwell home you won’t want to miss –– behind the ropes and no stairs to climb!

Changing Tastes in 19th Century Furniture (1800-1860) offers a close look at the Tredwell family furniture collection, examining pieces bought for this house, as well as those brought from their previous home. You’ll learn about both the tastes and values of mid-19th century New Yorkers and how growing international connections made lasting impact on design, trade, and international relations.

$15, $10 MHM Members.

Changing Tastes in 19th Century Furniture is a virtual event. You will receive a confirmation email from Zoom within 15 minutes of placing your order, and a reminder email one hour before the event.

Sunday, November 8 & 22, 12:30 p.m.
Last walking tours until March!

(Socially Distanced) Walking Tour of 19th Century NoHo: A Century of Change
Join us for a socially distanced journey back in time to the elite ‘Bond Street area,’ home to wealthy merchant families like the Tredwells. You’ll see how the neighborhood surrounding the Merchant’s House evolved from a refined and tranquil residential enclave into a busy commercial and cultural center during the 19th century.

Stops include Colonnade Row, home to the Astors, Delanos, and Vanderbilts; the Astor Library, now the Public Theater; Tompkins Market, where the Tredwells bought their food; and 31 Bond Street, the site of the gruesome (and still unsolved!) 1857 murder of Dr. Harvey Burdell, a sure sign of a changing neighborhood.

$20, Free for MHM Members.
Reservations required.

Walking Tours are in-person events. Masks are required for all participants, and capacity is strictly limited.


Wednesday, November 18, 6 p.m.
“Life at Home in Old New York” Virtual House Tour
Tredwell Times Zoom Presentation with Museum Historian Ann Haddad

Discover what daily life was really like for a wealthy merchant-class family and their Irish servants in the mid-19th century, when New York City evolved from a seaport to a thriving metropolis. This virtual presentation covers four floors in this landmark late-Federal and Greek Revival style rowhouse, its period rooms filled with the family’s original possessions. Free (suggested donation $15).

“Life at Home in Old New York” is a virtual event. You will receive a confirmation email from Zoom within 15 minutes of placing your order, and a reminder email one hour before the event.

Warmth from the Hearth – 19th Century Holiday Stories for the Season of Light
Streaming on Facebook Live and YouTube!

Back by popular demand! Join us for storytelling of 19th-century holiday literature read by actor Dayle Vander Sande in the authentic period parlor of the Merchant’s House Museum. These tales by Mark Twain, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Edward Payson Roe, Frank Stockton, and Helen Keller, among others, will be sure to get you in the mood at this most festive time of year. Dayle is a longtime museum volunteer and Director of the Bond Street Euterpean Singing Society, the vocal arts group-in-residence at the Merchant’s House.
Tune in at our Facebook page – no Facebook account required – or on our YouTube page! 30 minutes each.

Thursday, November 26, 7:30 p.m. (Thanksgiving evening)
      “Three Thanksgiving Kisses” (c.1883) by Edward Payson Roe

DECEMBER

Keeping Spirits High This Holiday Season!
All program times are EST.

Wednesday, December 2, 6 to 7:30 p.m.
Behind-the-Ropes, Virtually: Insiders’ Tours of the Merchant’s House
Third in a Series – 19th Century Domestic Lighting: 100 Years of Change

Join us online from the comfort of your home for a series of unique, in-depth tours of the Merchant’s House, preserved intact from the 19th century with the Tredwell family’s original furnishings and personal possessions. It’s an extraordinary up-close and personal experience of the Tredwell home you won’t want to miss –– behind the ropes and no stairs to climb!

19th Century Domestic Lighting: 100 Years of Change presents an in-depth examination of the Tredwells’ lighting fixtures and what they tell us about evolving technologies and the continuing quest to illuminate the darkness.

$15, $10 MHM Members.

Anthony Bellov holds a Bachelor’s in Architecture from Pratt Institute, Graduate in Museum Leadership from Bank Street College of Education, and has been a long-time volunteer and board member of the Merchant’s House Museum. He is an aficionado of 19th century American decorative arts and architecture.

19th Century Domestic Lighting: 100 Years of Change is a virtual event. You will receive a confirmation email from Zoom within 15 minutes of placing your order, and a reminder email one hour before the event.

Warmth from the Hearth – 19th Century Holiday Stories for the Season of Light
Streaming on Facebook Live and YouTube!

Back by popular demand! Join us for storytelling of 19th-century holiday literature read by actor Dayle Vander Sande in the authentic period parlor of the Merchant’s House Museum. These tales by Mark Twain, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Edward Payson Roe, Frank Stockton, and Helen Keller, among others, will be sure to get you in the mood at this most festive time of year. Dayle is a longtime museum volunteer and Director of the Bond Street Euterpean Singing Society, the vocal arts group-in-residence at the Merchant’s House.
Tune in at our Facebook page – no Facebook account required – or on our YouTube page

Friday, December 4, 7:30 p.m.
      “Christmas, or The Good Fairy” (1850) by Harriet Beecher Stowe
Thursday, December 10, 6 p.m.
     
Reflections on Hanukkah and 19th Century America, featuring the Bond Street Euterpean Singing Society
Sunday, December 13, 5 p.m.
     “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” (1863) by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and “Christmas Eve in War
.     Times”
 (c.1883) by Edward Payson Roe
Wednesday, December 16, 7:30 p.m.
     “The Frost Fairies” from Birdie and his Fairy Friends (1874) by Mrs. Margaret T. Canby
.    and “The Frost King” (1891) by Helen Keller
Saturday, December 19, 7:30 p.m.

     “Captain Eli’s Best Ear” and “A Christmas Wreck” by Frank Stockton
Wednesday, December 23, 6:30 p.m.
     A Letter from Santa Claus (1875) by Mark Twain, “Mollie’s Best Christmas Gift” (1882) by Mary E. Lee, “Christmas
.    Every Day”
 (1892) by William Dean Howells, and “Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus” (1897) by Francis P. Church

Wednesday, December 9, 6 p.m.
From the Cratchits’ Kitchen: A Celebration of Holiday Food in A Christmas Carol
Published just a week before Christmas in 1843, Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol was an instant and overwhelming success – in both England and America. New Yorkers eagerly molded their own holiday foods to mirror those described in the book, including the Cratchit family dinner with its roasted goose (though more likely a turkey in America) and the now-iconic plum pudding. Join writer and food historian Carl Raymond for a celebration of holiday food and drink featured in A Christmas Carol. Mr. Dickens himself, in the person of Kevin Jones, will follow with a special preview of A Christmas Carol at the Merchant’s House. The evening concludes with conversation and Q&A with Mr. Raymond and Mr. Dickens. Free (suggested donation $15).

From the Cratchits’ Kitchen: A Celebration of Holiday Food in A Christmas Carol is a virtual event. You will receive a confirmation email from Zoom within 15 minutes of placing your order, and a reminder email one hour before the event.

Limited virtual engagement December 18 to 24
A Christmas Carol at the Merchant’s House
Charles Dickens in New York, 1867
This December, one like no other, A Christmas Carol at the Merchant’s House returns for its 8th holiday season, virtually. Be transported back 150 years from the comfort of your home for this captivating one-hour performance filmed in the museum’s elegant intact Greek Revival double parlor dressed for the joyous season with a table-top tree, boughs of holly, and flickering candles.

In December 1867, Charles Dickens arrived in New York for a month of sold-out performances of his beloved holiday classic. Join Mr. Dickens, portrayed by John Kevin Jones, as he tells his timeless Christmas tale of compassion, generosity, and goodwill, from Dickens’ own touring script.

Performances are free, but reservations are required to access this digital event.
A donation of $30 per viewer is suggested for those who can afford to give.

Presented in association with Summoners Ensemble Theatre.
Click here for performance schedule, registration, and more information.