2019 Programs
2019 PAST PROGRAMS
JANUARY
NEW YEAR’S DAY, Tuesday, January 1, 2 to 5 p.m.
‘Come Calling’ on New Year’s Day
Paying calls on friends and family on New Year’s Day was one of Old New York’s most cherished customs. The Tredwells’ elegant parlors are decorated with swags of evergreens, brilliant holly berries, white mistletoe, and red-leafed poinsettias – and a table top tree festooned with ribbons and candles.
Join us for tours of the house, walking tours of the NoHo neighborhood, 19th century readings about New Year’s Day celebrations, and hot cider and cookies, as we continue the 19th century tradition of renewing, reviving, and reaffirming friendships. Exhibition on view: At Home with the Tredwells: A 19th Century Christmas.
“New York seemed to enjoy a general carnival. Broadway, from one end to the other, was alive with private carriages, omnibuses, cabs, and curricles, and lines of pedestrians fringed the carriageways.” From the Diary of Philip Hone, 1844.
$20, FREE for MHM Members.
HOLIDAY RAFFLE drawing at 4:30 p.m. Win Two Tickets to HAMILTON on Broadway, and lots and lots more! All proceeds go to our Legal Fund to defeat the developers.
Exhibition Open Friday, November 23, through Monday, January 7
At Home with the Tredwells: A 19th Century Christmas
Step back in time to the 1850s and join Seabury and Eliza Tredwell as they celebrate the season with elaborate holiday parties, festive food, and gift giving. Their elegant parlors are decorated with swags of evergreens, brilliant holly berries, white mistletoe, and red-leafed poinsettias – and a table top tree festooned with ribbons and candles. In the kitchen, the Irish servants are preparing the plum pudding, shucking the oysters, and readying the punch bowl. Upstairs in the bedrooms, the gifts for relatives and friends are set out and the Tredwell daughters are dressing in their finest silks.
Discover how many of our modern holiday traditions, from table-top Christmas trees, to presents and stockings, Christmas carols and songs (and Santa Claus, too) originated in mid-19th century New York. Included with regular admission.
Exhibition Open Friday, November 23, through Monday, January 7
Charles Dickens Performs ‘A Christmas Carol’ in New York, December 1867
In December 1867, Charles Dickens arrived in New York City for a month of sold-out performances of his beloved 1843 holiday classic, A Christmas Carol. Dickens performed at the 2,500 seat Steinway Hall on 14th Street, the center of cultural life in the city, and just a few blocks from the Tredwell home. And the critics raved: “The Christmas Carol becomes doubly enchanting when one hears it performed by Dickens.” (New York Herald, 1867)
Wednesday, January 9, 6:30 p.m.
The NEW New York: Immigration, 1820s-1880s – An Overview
Cooper Union’s Frederick P. Rose Auditorium
41 Cooper Square at 7th Street
Immigration in the 19th century brought diverse cultures together, illuminating global struggles, triumphs, and movements, and made our neighborhoods what they are today. This talk will focus on the microcosm of Bond Street, an exclusive area east of Washington Square, developed in the 1820s by John Jacob Astor, a German immigrant. The neighborhood was a residential enclave for wealthy merchant families, notably the Tredwells on East 4th Street, whose roots ran deep in English soil. Their lifestyle was assured only by the existence of domestic servants, many of whom were Irish immigrants.
SJ Costello will explore the motivating push-pull factors that led Irish, Germans, Chinese, Eastern Europeans, and Italians to emigrate. In the coming months, each of these immigrant groups will be explored in depth.
SJ Costello is a Senior Educator at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, illustrator, and general story-teller. SJ’s work focuses on public history and narratives centered in 19th and 20th century America.
Co-sponsored with the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation.
Hosted by The Cooper Union.
FREE. Reservations are required.
Opens Thursday, January 17, through Monday, April 15
Exhibition: “Finest Surviving:” Ornamental Plasterwork at the Merchant’s House Museum
The 1832 Merchant’s House is one of only 120 buildings in New York City distinguished as an exterior – and interior – landmark. Its intact original ornamental plaster work is considered the “finest surviving” from the period. Learn how the plaster walls, ceilings, and ornamentation in the Merchant’s House were created in the 19th century. On display, original 1832 plaster fragments and molds and plaster casts created by sculptor and ornamental plasterer David Flaharty, who used the same methods as the early 19th century artisans during a house-wide restoration in the 1970s. Included with General Admission.
Friday, January 25, 6:30 p.m. & 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.
Upcoming Ghost Tours: Friday, February 15, March 15, April 19, May 17, June 21, July 19.
Saturday, January 26, 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 23: Changing Tastes in 19th Century Furniture
Saturday, March 30: 100 Years of Domestic Lighting
Join us for a series of rare off-hours tours of the Merchant’s House. 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, and examine the finer points of the original Tredwell family collection of furniture and domestic lighting.
We’ll gather in the 1850s kitchen (bring your own coffee) for an overview of the landmark Merchant’s House and intact collection of more than 3,000 objects owned by the Tredwell family. We’ll then tour the house, including the rarely seen bedrooms on the 3rd floor (now staff offices), even peek up into the attic. We’ll pull out drawers to show furniture construction details, remove shades of lamps to see the workings, open locked doors … and more. 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.
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.
Wednesday, January 30, 6:30 p.m.
Illustrated Lecture: Just Another Brick in the Wall: The Mating of Brick and Terracotta in Six Great New York Buildings
Brick and terracotta are the chocolate and peanut butter of architecture. Fine each on its own, together they create something uniquely delicious. In some cases, the combination was a means of achieving sumptuous effects without the use of expensive stone. Stanford White was the master of this approach. In other cases, the materials were used for their own beauty. Little sets the architecture buff’s juices flowing as does elegant brickwork, and New York architects’ wildly varied uses of terracotta have given this city some of its most exquisite and exuberant decoration.
This illustrated lecture will explore the properties of these materials, and architects’ uses of them in combination, through a look at six buildings: Babb, Cook & Willard’s DeVinne Press Building (right at the Merchant House’s corner), Bruce Price’s St. James Building, William B. Tuthill’s Carnegie Hall (one of the most underrated buildings in New York), Ralph Walker’s 60 Hudson Street, McKim, Mead & White’s Judson Memorial Church, and Henry J. Hardenbergh’s Schermerhorn Building (just down the street from the Merchant’s House).
A collaboration with the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art.
$30 General Public, $20 MHM & ICAA Members.
SOLD OUT.
Seating is limited. Doors open at 6:15 p.m.
Francis Morrone is a renowned architectural historian and writer. The author of eleven books, including, most recently, “Guide to New York City Urban Landscapes” (W.W. Norton, 2013). Morrone has also written highly regarded architectural guidebooks to Philadelphia, and Brooklyn. His writings have appeared in many publications, including the Wall Street Journal, the New Criterion, City Journal, Humanities and the New York Sun, where he was an art and architecture critic. He teaches architectural and urban history at New York University, and is the recipient of the university’s Excellence in Teaching Award. Travel + Leisure magazine named him as one of the 13 best tour guides in the world. Other awards include the Arthur Ross Award of the Institute of Classical Architecture and Art.
FEBRUARY
Through Monday, April 15
Exhibition: “Finest Surviving:” Ornamental Plaster Work at the Merchant’s House Museum
The 1832 Merchant’s House is distinguished as one of only 120 interior landmarks in New York City. Its intact original ornamental plaster work is considered the “finest surviving” from the period. Learn how the plaster walls, ceilings, and ornamentation in the Merchant’s House were created in the 19th century. On display, original 1832 plaster fragments and molds and plaster casts created by sculptor and ornamental plasterer David Flaharty, who used the same methods as the early 19th century artisans during a house-wide restoration in the 1970s. Included with General Admission.
The Merchant’s House Museum will close at 5 p.m. on Thursday, February 14, for that evening’s Love in the Parlors concert.
Thursday, 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.
90minutes. Very limited capacity.
General admission $50, VIP (first 2 rows) $65
MHM Members $30, VIP $45.
Friday, February 15, 6:30 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.
Upcoming Ghost Tours: Friday, March 15, April 19, May 17, June 21, July 19.
The Museum will be OPEN on President’s Day, Monday, February 18, from 12 to 5 p.m.
Thursday, February 21, through Monday, May 20
Exhibition –
The Changing Silhouette of Fashion: The Decade of the 1890s
Day Dress, MHM 2002.0830
The Tredwell Costume Collection comprises more than 400 articles of clothing. The core of the collection consists of 39 dresses documented to have been owned by the women of the family. The Changing Silhouette of Fashion is a changing exhibition featuring Tredwell dresses from each decade of the 19th and early 20th centuries. These dresses show the changing silhouette of fashion over 100 years, and tell us about the women who wore them and the society in which they lived.
Next in the series is a two-piece cotton day dress from the early 1890s. The dress has leg-of-mutton sleeves, which was one of the defining characteristics of ladies fashion during this decade. It also features an even-length hem with no train, making it a more practical option for outdoor activities, such as walking, visiting friends, or shopping. Included with general admission.
Saturday, February 23, 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 30: 100 Years of Domestic Lighting
Join us for the second in a series of rare off-hours tours of the Merchant’s House. We’ll gather in the 1850s kitchen for coffee and a focused overview of the landmark Merchant’s House and its intact collection of more than 3,000 objects owned by the Tredwell family. We’ll then tour the house, including the rarely seen bedrooms on the 3rd floor (now staff offices), even peek up into the attic and open locked doors … and more. From late Federal to Greek Revival; Duncan Phyfe to Rococo Revival; whale oil to gas to kerosene, you’ll gain new insight and 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
In this tour, we’ll discuss 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.
MARCH
Sunday, March 10, 12:30 p.m.
Second and Fourth Sunday Walking Tours resume!
In the Footsteps of Bridget Murphy: 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.
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.
Next walking tours: March 24; April 14, 28; May 12, 26; June 9, 23; July 14, 28.
Friday, March 15, 6:30 & 7 p.m.
“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.
50 minutes. $40, $25 Members. SOLD OUT!
Sunday, March 17, Guided Tours at 12:30 p.m., 2 p.m., 3:30 p.m.
St. Patrick’s Day: A Tribute to the Tredwells’ Irish Servants with Bridget Murphy
Join us for a back-stairs tour and experience the Merchant’s House through the eyes of the Irish immigrants who worked as domestic servants for the Tredwell family. You’ll climb the narrow staircase to the fourth-floor servants’ quarters and see where the Tredwells’ four Irish servants lived and did some of their work, “arguably the oldest intact site of Irish habitation in New York City” (Time Out New York). 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 General Admission. Reservations not required.
Tuesday, March 19, 7 p.m.
Illustrated Presentation
The NEW New York: 19th Century Irish Immigration and the Revolution
This talk will look at archbishops, saints-in-waiting, gangsters, rogues, jesters and other colorful characters. There will be a special emphasis on “Fenian New York,” a refuge for Irish revolutionaries since the failed Rising of 1867.
In Fenian New York you’ll meet the likes of John Devoy, Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa, 1916 martyr Thomas Clarke (the only American citizen executed by the British in 1916), and Sir Roger Casement, who since his death has not only become a patriot but a gay icon. It should also be remembered that Eamon de Valera, President of Ireland, was born in New York in 1882 and spent several crucial years in New York between 1919-20.
Dermot McEvoy is the author of six books including the novels, The 13th Apostle: a Novel of Michael Collins and the Irish Uprising, Our Lady of Greenwich Village, and the forthcoming True Tales of Irish New York. He is a frequent contributor to IrishCentral.com where he writes on history, politics, and culture.
NOTE LOCATION: 6th Street Community Center, 638 East 6th Street
FREE. This event is fully accessible.
Presented in partnership with the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation
Sunday, March 24, 12:30 p.m.
A Walking Tour of Historic 19th Century Noho
(Second & Fourth Sunday of Every Month)
Tour is one hour and begins outside the Museum. $15; FREE for Members.
Upcoming walking tours: April 14, 28; May 12, 26; June 9, 23; July 14, 28.
Saturday, March 30, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
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 rare off-hours tours of the Merchant’s House. 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, and examine the finer points of the original Tredwell family collection of furniture and domestic lighting.
We’ll gather in the 1850s kitchen (bring your own coffee) for an overview of the landmark Merchant’s House and intact collection of more than 3,000 objects owned by the Tredwell family. We’ll then tour the house, including the rarely seen bedrooms on the 3rd floor (now staff offices), even peek up into the attic. We’ll pull out drawers to show furniture construction details, remove shades of lamps to see the workings, open locked doors … and more. From Duncan Phyfe to Rococo Revival; whale oil to gas to kerosene; late Federal to Greek Revival, 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.
About presenter 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.
Sunday, March 31, 3 p.m.
Walking Tour: Spiritualists & Suffragettes of NoHo
With Boroughs of the Dead
Discover a forgotten aspect of women’s history on this spirited walking tour! The 19th century saw an enormous wave of interest in spirit communication, with women at the forefront of the American Spiritualist movement. New York City, unsurprisingly, was a hotbed of both serious spiritual inquiry and curiosity-seeking spectacle, and the Bond Street area, now known as NoHo, contains a plethora of locales associated with the Spiritualists of the 19th century.
Even wealthy New Yorkers like the Tredwells hosted neighbors and friends in their homes to showcase the latest in psychic entertainments. This 90-minute walking tour will lead you into the realm of self-styled mediums, spirit photographers, radical suffragettes and Spiritualists, including Tredwell neighbor Victoria Woodhull (first woman to run for president), as we explore the link between Spiritualism and the beginnings of the women’s movement in America.
Boroughs of the Dead walking tours explore the haunting, macabre, and overlooked histories of New York City. They are NYC’s top ranked ghost tour on Trip Advisor, and are rated among the top ten ghost tours in the country by USA Today.
Tour begins at the NE corner of 1st Avenue and 1st Street (Peretz Square) and is approximately 90 minutes; less than one mile of walking. It is fully accessible. Tour ends on Bond Street.
$25 General; $20 MHM Members. Capacity is limited.
APRIL
Sunday, April 14, 12:30 p.m.
A Walking Tour of Historic 19th Century Noho
(Second & Fourth Sunday of Every Month)
Tour is one hour and begins outside the Museum.
$15; FREE for Members.
Upcoming walking tours: April 28; May 12, 26; June 9, 23; July 14, 28.
Friday, April 19, 6:30 p.m.
“April is the Cruellest Month” Candlelight Ghost Tour
$30, $20 Members.
Upcoming Ghost Tours: May 17, June 28, July 19.
Friday, April 19, 9 p.m.
Special Candlelight Tour!
Is the Merchant’s House Haunted? Only a (Ghost) Tour Will Tell!
Join renowned paranormal investigator Dan Sturges (founder of Sturges Paranormal and featured on the Travel Channel’s new series, Paranormal Caught on Camera) for a rare late-night ghost tour of “Manhattan’s Most Haunted House.” He will lead you through the house, lit only by the flickering of candles, discussing his methodology and sharing his eerie-est findings. Come with your questions for one of the most knowledgeable specialists in the field!
Dan Sturges is the founder of Sturges Paranormal and appears on the Travel Channel’s new weekly series, Paranormal Caught on Camera.
Tour is 75 minutes; capacity strictly limited to 20. $45, $35 MHM Members.
Doors open at 8:50 p.m.; NO LATE ENTRY once the tour begins.
Upcoming: June 28
The Museum will be OPEN on EASTER SUNDAY, April 21, 12 to 5 p.m.
Tuesday, April 23, 6 p.m. Reception – drinks available for purchase; 6:30 p.m., Presentation
Illustrated Presentation
Stoops to Conquer: The Evolution of the New York Townhouse
New York City in the popular imagination may be defined by the skyscraper, but in reality, our city’s landscape is dominated by a grid plan that minced most blocks into a staggering number of narrow lots. These produced entire neighborhoods of narrow residential buildings, making the townhouse the true vernacular architecture of the city.
Join architect Richard Sammons as he traces the origins and evolution of the ever-present townhouse in New York City. Townhouses give so many historic neighborhoods their charm, but what are the weaknesses of the form? And how can modern architects and city-dwellers improve upon this classic architectural style to bring the economical, adaptable, and sustainable townhouse into the 21st century?
Richard Sammons is a principal at Fairfax & Sammons Architects, whose offices are in New York and Palm Beach. Richard is an award-winning designer, having designed and rehabilitated dozens of townhouses in his career.
NOTE LOCATION: Salmagundi Club, Lower Gallery, 47 Fifth Avenue
FREE. This event is not fully accessible.
Presented in partnership with Village Preservation
Wednesday, April 24, 6:30 p.m.
The NEW New York: 19th Century Immigration — Kleindeutschland: Little Germany in New York City
Illustrated Presentation by Richard Haberstroh
This talk will explore a detailed history of the development of the German American community in New York City and the East Village/Lower East Side, within the larger context of 19th-century immigration as a whole. Various aspects of society and day-to-day life in the German community in New York will be discussed, providing insight into specific characteristics of this particular immigrant experience in the city, some physical remnants of which still remain more than a century later.
Richard Haberstroh is a native New Yorker, whose six German ancestors arrived in New York between 1835 and 1852 and resided in Kleindeutschland. He lectures and publishes broadly on various topics including the story of German immigration and settlement in New York City. He is also the author of the book, The German Churches of Metropolitan New York: a Research Guide.
NOTE LOCATION: Third Street Music School, 235 East 11th Street
FREE. This event is fully accessible.
Presented in partnership with Village Preservation.
Sunday, April 28, 12:30 p.m.
A Walking Tour of Historic 19th Century Noho
(Second & Fourth Sunday of Every Month)
Tour is one hour and begins outside the Museum. $15; FREE for Members.
Upcoming walking tours: May 12, 26; June 9, 23; July 14, 28.
MAY
Through Monday, May 20
Exhibition –
The Changing Silhouette of Fashion: The Decade of the 1890s
Day Dress, MHM 2002.0830
The Tredwell Costume Collection comprises more than 400 articles of clothing. The core of the collection consists of 39 dresses documented to have been owned by the women of the family. The Changing Silhouette of Fashion is a changing exhibition featuring Tredwell dresses from each decade of the 19th and early 20th centuries. These dresses show the changing silhouette of fashion over 100 years, and tell us about the women who wore them and the society in which they lived.
Next in the series is a two-piece cotton day dress from the early 1890s. The dress has leg-of-mutton sleeves, which was one of the defining characteristics of ladies fashion during this decade. It also features an even-length hem with no train, making it a more practical option for outdoor activities, such as walking, visiting friends, or shopping. Included with general admission.
Through Monday, June 3
Exhibition –
“Finest Surviving:” Ornamental Plaster Work at the Merchant’s House Museum
The 1832 Merchant’s House is distinguished as one of only 120 interior landmarks in New York City. Its intact original ornamental plaster work is considered the “finest surviving” from the period. Learn how the plaster walls, ceilings, and ornamentation in the Merchant’s House were created in the 19th century. On display, original 1832 plaster fragments and molds and plaster casts created by sculptor and ornamental plasterer David Flaharty, who used the same methods as the early 19th century artisans during a house-wide restoration in the 1970s. Included with General Admission.
Thursday, May 9, 6:30 p.m.
The NEW New York: 19th Century Immigration
Fighting Anti-Asian Discrimination in 19th Century Greenwich Village
Illustrated Presentation by Dylan Yeats
Following the passage of the 1882 Exclusion Acts, thousands of Chinese Americans moved to New York City to escape the increase of racist violence sweeping the nation. Here, they formed organizations to defend their rights and assert their interests. While most of this took place in what would become Chinatown, Greenwich Village was also a center for Chinese American organizing in the late 1800s.
Join Dylan Yeats, Visiting Scholar at the Asian/ Pacific/ American Institute at NYU, for a talk about the Chinese American immigrant-rights activists who lived and worked in Greenwich Village 130 years ago. These young men and women worked with neighborhood churches and institutions to try to protect and extend equal rights for all races. Learn how their under-recognized victories and defeats shaped a formative moment in U.S. history and continue to resonate today.
Co-sponsored by Village Preservation.
FREE.
NOTE LOCATION: Bahai Center, East 11th Street. This event is accessible, with four stairs in the lobby.
Every Saturday, starting May 18, 2 to 5 p.m.
Sidewalk SALE to SAVE the Merchant’s House!
Decorative items, china, glass, collectibles, costume jewelry, antiques (non-Merchant’s House!), all at bargain prices to benefit our Legal Fund to Defeat the Developers.
Or pay double as a donation!
Sunday, May 12, 12:30 p.m.
A Walking Tour of Historic 19th Century Noho
(Second & Fourth Sunday of Every Month)
Tour is one hour and begins outside the Museum.
$15; FREE for Members.
Upcoming walking tours: May 26, June 9, 23; July 14, 28.
Friday, May 17, 6:30 p.m.
Candlelight Ghost Tour
$30, $20 Members.
Upcoming Ghost Tours: June 28, July 19.
Every Saturday, starting May 18, 2 to 5 p.m.
Sidewalk SALE to SAVE the Merchant’s House!
Decorative items, china, glass, collectibles, costume jewelry, antiques (non-Merchant’s House!), all at bargain prices to benefit our Legal Fund to Defeat the Developers.
Or pay double as a donation!
Through Monday, May 20
Exhibition –
The Changing Silhouette of Fashion: The Decade of the 1890s
Day Dress, MHM 2002.0830
The Tredwell Costume Collection comprises more than 400 articles of clothing. The core of the collection consists of 39 dresses documented to have been owned by the women of the family. The Changing Silhouette of Fashion is a changing exhibition featuring Tredwell dresses from each decade of the 19th and early 20th centuries. These dresses show the changing silhouette of fashion over 100 years, and tell us about the women who wore them and the society in which they lived.
Next in the series is a two-piece cotton day dress from the early 1890s. The dress has leg-of-mutton sleeves, which was one of the defining characteristics of ladies fashion during this decade. It also features an even-length hem with no train, making it a more practical option for outdoor activities, such as walking, visiting friends, or shopping. Included with general admission.
Through Monday, June 3
Exhibition –
“Finest Surviving:” Ornamental Plaster Work at the Merchant’s House Museum
The 1832 Merchant’s House is distinguished as one of only 120 interior landmarks in New York City. Its intact original ornamental plaster work is considered the “finest surviving” from the period. Learn how the plaster walls, ceilings, and ornamentation in the Merchant’s House were created in the 19th century. On display, original 1832 plaster fragments and molds and plaster casts created by sculptor and ornamental plasterer David Flaharty, who used the same methods as the early 19th century artisans during a house-wide restoration in the 1970s. Included with General Admission.
May 1 – May 30
Annual Lower East Side History Month
Festivals, Performances, gatherings, gardens & much more.
Click here for calendar and information.
Saturday, May 25, 2 to 5 p.m. (and every Saturday in June)
Sidewalk SALE to SAVE the Merchant’s House!
Decorative items, china, glass, collectibles, costume jewelry, antiques (non-Merchant’s House!), all at bargain prices to benefit our Legal Fund to Defeat the Developers.
Or pay double as a donation!
Sunday, May 26, 12:30 p.m.
A Walking Tour of Historic 19th Century Noho
(Second & Fourth Sunday of Every Month)
Tour is one hour and begins outside the Museum.
$15; FREE for Members.
Upcoming walking tours: June 9, 23; July 14, 28.
JUNE
Through Monday, June 3
Exhibition –
“Finest Surviving:” Ornamental Plaster Work at the Merchant’s House Museum
The 1832 Merchant’s House is distinguished as one of only 120 interior landmarks in New York City. Its intact original ornamental plaster work is considered the “finest surviving” from the period. Learn how the plaster walls, ceilings, and ornamentation in the Merchant’s House were created in the 19th century. On display, original 1832 plaster fragments and molds and plaster casts created by sculptor and ornamental plasterer David Flaharty, who used the same methods as the early 19th century artisans during a house-wide restoration in the 1970s. Included with General Admission.
Through Monday, August 26
Exhibition –
The Changing Silhouette of Fashion: The Decade of the 1900s
Lingerie Dress, MHM 2002.0824
The Changing Silhouette of Fashion is series of exhibitions featuring a Tredwell dress from each decade of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Taken together, these dresses show the changing silhouette of fashion over 100 years, and tell us about the women who wore them and the society in which they lived. On display: the “lingerie dress” of the 1900s.
Free with admission.
Through Monday, September 16
Exhibition –
Our Stuff, Ourselves: An Intimate Look at the Tredwells’ Private Lives
On display: a selection of the Tredwells’ personal items from the collection, a doorway into their private lives that reveal the tastes, interests, and values of a prosperous merchant family in 19th century New York. What does your 21st century living space say about you?
Free with admission.
Thursdays in June, until 8 p.m.
Summer Evenings in the Garden
Join us in our “secret” 19th century garden at its most verdant. Take a guided tour of the house at 6:30 p.m., if you wish, or take a self-guided tour. On view, two exhibitions: Our Stuff, Ourselves: An Intimate Look at the Tredwells’ Private Lives (open through September 16) and The Changing Silhouette of Fashion: The Decade of the 1900s (open through August 26). Rain or Shine.
Admission $15, $10 Students & Seniors, FREE for Members.
SPECIAL $1 admission for the museum’s good neighbors (zip 10012 and 10003)
Saturdays in June, 2 to 5 p.m.
Sidewalk SALE to SAVE the Merchant’s House!
Decorative items, china, glass, collectibles, costume jewelry, antiques (non-Merchant’s House!), all at bargain prices to benefit our Legal Fund to Defeat the Developers. Or pay double as a donation!
Tuesday, June 4, 5:30 – 8 p.m.
5:30 p.m. Walking tour – Meet at Stonewall Inn, 53 Christopher Street
7 p.m. Panel talk and tours of the Vault at Pfaff’s – Sweetwater Social, 643 Broadway
Celebrating Walt Whitman’s 200th and Village Gay Bars from Stonewall to Pfaff’s
In an unfinished poem from the early 1860’s, Walt Whitman memorialized the vault at Pfaff’s, home to New York’s first self-described bohemians, as a place “where the drinkers and laughers meet to eat and drink and carouse.” Take a walking tour from the present to the past, celebrating what the Stonewall Inn, at 50, continues to be and what Pfaff’s beer cellar was. Then, join historians at the subterranean Sweetwater Social (the original Pffaf’s), where “overhead rolls Broadway–the myriad rushing Broadway,” to learn about Whitman’s Village and his time at Pfaff’s.
FREE (one drink minimum at Sweetwater Social). Limited capacity.
Register here for the 5:30 p.m. Tour
Register here for the 7 p.m. Panel Talk
Co-sponsored by New York Preservation Archive Project, NoHo Bid, Village Preservation, and Walt Whitman Initiative.
Wednesday, June 5, 7 p.m.
Film Screening of The Heiress
70th Anniversary Celebration
To Benefit the Merchant’s House Museum Legal Fund
Based on Washington Square, Henry James’s classic novel of mid-19th century New York City, The Heiress (1949), winner of four Academy Awards, tells the haunting story of young love – and a dominating father who didn’t approve.
Set design based on the Merchant’s House.
Come See the House … Then See the House in The Heiress!
5 to 7 p.m., Reception in the Garden, Tours of the house and bubbly in the garden
7 p.m., Film Screening of The Heiress
With introduction by three-time Oscar winning director William Wyler’s daughter, Catherine Wyler, and Judith Goetz Sanger, daughter of screenwriters Ruth & Augustus Goetz
Rose Auditorium, Cooper Union, 41 Cooper Square
Click here to purchase tickets and Save the Merchant’s House.
Friday, June 7, 7 p.m.
Spring into Summer: The Song Is on the Rose
As summer draws nigh, and roses bloom, the Bond Street Euterpean Singing Society revs up with balmy airs in a gala salon of parlor songs that the Tredwells may have heard wafting through the house during their 98-year residency. Music by Johann Strauss II, Brahms, Liszt, Grieg, Tosti Irving Berlin, and others.
75 minutes. FREE (donations welcome). SOLD OUT.
Sunday, June 9, 12:30 p.m.
A Walking Tour of Historic 19th Century Noho
(Second & Fourth Sunday of Every Month)
Tour is one hour and begins outside the Museum.
$15; FREE for Members.
Upcoming walking tours: June 23; July 14, 28.
Tuesday, June 18, 6 p.m.
The NEW New York: Italians in the Village
Illustrated Presentation by James Nevius
After the Civil War, hundreds of thousands of Italian immigrants came to America, most of them making New York City their first stop. While the Lower East Side and Little Italy are well-known for their immigrant history, many may not remember that the area south of Washington Square was one of the most densely populated Italian precincts in the country.
This illustrated presentation will look at how the Village came to be separated into a wealthier area north and west of Washington Square and a more working-class neighborhood to the south and east. We’ll look at who paved the way for Italians in the district and talk about the importance of holding on to the Italian places that still exist in the area — RIP Trattoria Spaghetto — so as to preserve this heritage.
James Nevius is a historian focused on issues related to architecture and urbanism. His work appears regularly in Curbed and The New York Post. With his wife, Michelle, he is the co-author of Footprints in New York: Tracing the Lives of Four Centuries of New Yorkers and Inside the Apple: A Streetwise History of New York City, which is now in its 11th printing. He’s currently researching a new book on America’s love affair with utopianism.
FREE. Email nyc1832@merchantshouse.org to register.
NOTE LOCATION: Washington Square Institute, 41 East 11th Street. This event is fully accessible.
Co-sponsored by Village Preservation and the Merchant’s House Museum
Thursday, June 20
Summer Evenings in the Garden
A “Spirited” Summer Saunter with Boroughs of the Dead
7 p.m, Reception in the Garden; 7:45 p.m., Walking (Ghost) Tour
Join us for an enchanting summer evening in our “secret” 19th century garden, followed by a Greenwich Village ghost tour. Arrive at 7 p.m. for light refreshments in the twilight in the garden, then, when darkness begins to descend, follow your guide into a world of ghosts and chilling tales as we visit some of the historic neighborhood’s most notoriously haunted locations. Hear stories of the Merchant’s House’s own strange and inexplicable occurrences; find out whether Washington Irving’s specter still visits town; meet the ghostly acquaintances of John Jacob Astor; discover Henry James’s real-life connections to the spirit world; delve into the dark life of Edgar Allan Poe … and more.
Boroughs of the Dead walking tours explore the haunting, macabre, and overlooked histories of New York City. They are NYC’s top ranked ghost tour on Trip Advisor, and are rated among the top ten ghost tours in the country by USA Today.
Walking tour lasts approximately 75 minutes, and covers 1.2 miles. Please wear comfortable walking shoes.
$30 per person, includes admission to the garden and walking tour.
Click here to purchase tickets.
Upcoming: July 18, August 15, September 19
Sunday, June 23, 12:30 p.m.
A Walking Tour of Historic 19th Century Noho
(Second & Fourth Sunday of Every Month)
Tour is one hour and begins outside the Museum.
$15; FREE for Members. Click here for tickets and more information.
Upcoming walking tours: July 14, 28.
Friday, June 28, 9 p.m.
Candlelight Tour with Paranormal Investigator Dan Sturges!
Is the Merchant’s House Haunted? Only a (Ghost) Tour Will Tell!
Join renowned paranormal investigator Dan Sturges (founder of Sturges Paranormal and featured on the Travel Channel’s new series, Paranormal Caught on Camera) for a rare late-night ghost tour of “Manhattan’s Most Haunted House.” He will lead you through the house, lit only by the flickering of candles, discussing his methodology and sharing his eerie-est findings. Come with your questions for one of the most knowledgeable specialists in the field!
Dan Sturges is the founder of Sturges Paranormal and appears on the Travel Channel’s new weekly series, Paranormal Caught on Camera.
Tour is 75 minutes; capacity strictly limited to 20. $45, $35 MHM Members.
Click here to purchase tickets
Doors open at 8:50 p.m.; NO LATE ENTRY once the tour begins.
JULY
The Merchant’s House Museum will be CLOSED on Thursday, July 4, for Independence Day.
Through Monday, September 2
Exhibition –
The Changing Silhouette of Fashion: The Decade of the 1900s
Lingerie Dress, MHM 2002.0824
The Changing Silhouette of Fashion is series of exhibitions featuring a Tredwell dress from each decade of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Taken together, these dresses show the changing silhouette of fashion over 100 years, and tell us about the women who wore them and the society in which they lived. On display: the “lingerie dress” of the 1900s. Free with admission.
Through Monday, September 16
Exhibition –
Our Stuff, Ourselves: An Intimate Look at the Tredwells’ Private Lives
On display: a selection of the Tredwells’ personal items from the collection, a doorway into their private lives that reveal the tastes, interests, and values of a prosperous merchant family in 19th century New York. What does your 21st century living space say about you? Free with admission.
Sunday, July 14, 12:30 p.m.
A Walking Tour of Historic 19th Century Noho
(Second & Fourth Sunday of Every Month)
Tour is one hour and begins outside the Museum.
$15; FREE for Members.
New Date TBA!
How Our Garden Grows! Members Only Reception & Tour of the Garden in Bloom
With Head Gardener John Rommel
Friday, July 19, 6:30 p.m.
Candlelight Ghost Tour
July’s Candlelight Tour has been canceled due to extreme heat.
Thursdays in July, until 8 p.m.
Summer Evenings in the Garden
Join us in our “secret” 19th century garden at its most verdant. Take a guided tour of the house at 6:30 p.m., if you wish, or take a self-guided tour. Rain or Shine.
Admission $15, $10 Students & Seniors, FREE for Members.
SPECIAL $1 admission for the museum’s good neighbors (zip 10012 and 10003)
Sunday, July 28, 12:30 p.m.
A Walking Tour of Historic 19th Century Noho
Tour is one hour and begins outside the Museum.
$15; FREE for Members.
AUGUST
Through Monday, September 2
Exhibition –
The Changing Silhouette of Fashion: The Decade of the 1900s
Lingerie Dress, MHM 2002.0824
The Changing Silhouette of Fashion is series of exhibitions featuring a Tredwell dress from each decade of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Taken together, these dresses show the changing silhouette of fashion over 100 years, and tell us about the women who wore them and the society in which they lived. On display: the “lingerie dress” of the 1900s.
Free with admission.
Through Monday, September 16
Exhibition –
Our Stuff, Ourselves: An Intimate Look at the Tredwells’ Private Lives
On display: a selection of the Tredwells’ personal items from the collection, a doorway into their private lives that reveal the tastes, interests, and values of a prosperous merchant family in 19th century New York. What does your 21st century living space say about you?
Free with admission.
Thursdays in August, until 8 p.m.
Summer Evenings in the Garden
Join us in our “secret” 19th century garden at its most verdant. Take a guided tour of the house at 6:30 p.m., if you wish, or take a self-guided tour. Rain or Shine.
Admission $15, $10 Students & Seniors, FREE for Members.
SPECIAL $1 admission for the museum’s good neighbors (zip 10012 and 10003)
Sunday, August 11, 12:30 p.m.
A Walking Tour of Historic 19th Century Noho
(Second & Fourth Sunday of Every Month)
Tour is one hour and begins outside the Museum.
$15; FREE for Members. Click here for tickets and more information.
Upcoming walking tours: August 25, September 8 and 22.
Saturday, August 24, 6 to 8:30 p.m.
Open Mic Nite in the Garden
In the 19th century, literary salons gathered great thinkers, artists, and writers under one roof for a night of socialization and “improving conversation.” In that same spirit, the Merchant’s House celebrates the works of today’s new writers, performance artists, and musicians.
Come to share your work in an intimate, supportive environment, or simply enjoy the garden all abloom. If you’d like to perform, please bring no more than 4 minutes of material (one song, one poem, etc); sign-up available upon entry. Performances will run from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., with time for mingling and enjoying the garden after.
Admission $10, FREE for Members. Reservations are not required.
Sunday, August 25, 12:30 p.m.
A Walking Tour of Historic 19th Century Noho
(Second & Fourth Sunday of Every Month)
Tour is one hour and begins outside the Museum.
$15; FREE for Members. Click here for tickets and more information.
Upcoming walking tours: September 8, 22.
SEPTEMBER
Sunday, September 8, 12:30 p.m.
A Walking Tour of Historic 19th Century Noho
(Second & Fourth Sunday of Every Month)
Tour is one hour and begins outside the Museum.
$15; FREE for Members. Click here for tickets and more information.
Upcoming walking tours: September 22, October 13 and 27.
Saturday, September 14, 5 to 7 p.m.
Walking Tour: Edgar Allan Poe in Greenwich Village with Boroughs of the Dead
Join us on a two-hour literary and historical walking tour that traces a path into Edgar Allan Poe’s life in Greenwich Village in the 1840s, where the author lived and worked at the height of his fame — before plunging irrevocably into the final, abysmal chapter of his short life. On this tour, you will visit the site his former home, learn of his contemporary rivals and admirers, and see where he wrote some of his most famous stories and poems. Interweaving some of his most famous tales with Greenwich Village’s macabre secret histories, this tour is guaranteed to enthrall fans of Poe’s literary grotesques while honoring his legacy in New York City.
This tour is approximately 2 hours in duration and approximately 1.5 miles in length. Runs rain or shine. Tour meets off-site at 85 West Third Street. Tour ends near Washington Square.
$30; click here to purchase tickets. Limited capacity.
Tuesday, September 17
Gertrude Tredwell’s 179th Birthday Celebration!
Garden Reception & Illustrated Talk: Edith Wharton’s New York
With Carl Raymond
6 p.m. Reception in the Garden, 7 p.m. Illustrated Talk
Born in 1862 at her parents’ brownstone at 14 West 23rd Street, Edith Wharton captured the tight social world of Gilded Age New York incisively and critically in her major works, including her masterpiece, The Age of Innocence. This illustrated talk will trace Edith’s life in New York from the Flatiron district to Washington Square, discussing places she knew intimately and used as settings for her novels and stories. Join us for a unique and rare glimpse into Wharton’s New York life and into the private inner world of the Gilded Age.
Carl Raymond is a professionally licensed New York City tour guide, food historian and trained professional chef, and a Wharton specialist. He has lectured for the Metropolitan Opera Guild, The Royal Oak Foundation, the National Arts Club, Historic Royal Palaces, among others.
Tickets $40, Members $30; click here to purchase tickets.
All proceeds benefit the Legal Fund to Defeat the Developers
Sunday, September 22, 12:30 p.m.
A Walking Tour of Historic 19th Century Noho
(Second & Fourth Sunday of Every Month)
Tour is one hour and begins outside the Museum.
$15; FREE for Members. Click here for tickets and more information.
Upcoming walking tours: October 13 and 27.
Through Monday, September 23
Exhibition –
Our Stuff, Ourselves: An Intimate Look at the Tredwells’ Private Lives
On display: a selection of the Tredwells’ personal items from the collection, a doorway into their private lives that reveal the tastes, interests, and values of a prosperous merchant family in 19th century New York. What does your 21st century living space say about you?
Free with admission.
Monday, September 30, 6 p.m.
Members-Only Exhibition Tour
On this special off-hours tour just for members, get an up-close look at our new exhibition,
Death, Mourning, and the Hereafter in Mid-19th Century New York.
FREE for Members.
Email nyc1832@merchantshouse.org to rsvp. Not a Member? Click here to join.
OCTOBER
The Merchant’s House Museum will close at 5 p.m. on Thursdays in October, November, and December. Thursday evening hours resume January 2020.
September 24 – November 3
Killing an Evening with Edgar Allan Poe: Murder at the Merchant’s House
Join us in the Tredwells’ Greek Revival double parlor as the masterful John Kevin Jones takes on the 19th century master of horror Edgar Allan Poe performing The Tell-Tale Heart, The Cask of Amontillado, and The Raven, as Poe himself did at the literary salons of the period. The double parlor will be appropriately dressed for death with a coffin and mirrors veiled in black crepe. It will be a bone-chilling evening of irrational revenge, obsession and premeditated murder, dismemberment, and the very, very dark.
Presented in association with Summoners Ensemble Theatre.
Limited engagement; click here for tickets and more information.
Thursday, September 26 – Monday, November 4
Exhibition – Death, Mourning, and the Hereafter in Mid-19th Century New York
Including 19th century mourning attire and accessories from the Tredwell Collection.
In March 1865, family patriarch Seabury Tredwell died in his upstairs bedroom; his wake and funeral were held in the double parlor, shrouded in black crepe. Grief was not unique to the Tredwell family that year. The Civil War had ended, with more than 600,000 dead, and President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination plunged the nation into a period of unprecedented public mourning. The overwhelming sense of grief and loss led to heightened interest in Spiritualism, as survivors attempted to contact their dearly departed through seances and mediums.
Poignant scenes throughout the house explore 19th century customs surrounding death, a time, unlike today, when death and mourning were pervasive and integral parts of life; dying and funerals took place at home; rituals of mourning helped the bereaved cope with the ever-present anguish of death; and Spiritualism offered hope of a Hereafter.
Pay your last respects at Seabury Tredwell’s deathbed upstairs, then join in the mourning in the double parlor set with a coffin for his wake and funeral. And, in “Manhattan’s Most Haunted House,” discover why our fascination with spirits, ghosts, and the Hereafter endures to this day. (If you see something, say something!)
New this year! On Saturday afternoons, the newly-widowed Eliza Tredwell (portrayed by a costumed interpreter) will greet guests and answer questions about life and death in the 19th century.
Included with regular admission; reservations not required.
Sunday, October 13, 12:30 p.m.
A Walking Tour of Historic 19th Century Noho
Tour is one hour and begins outside the Museum.
$15; FREE for Members. Click here for tickets and more information.
Upcoming walking tours: October 27, November 10 and 24.
October 2019 “Spirited” Events
Click here for tickets and more information.
- Exhibition: Death, Mourning, and the Hereafter in mid-19th Century New York
September 26 – November 4 - Killing an Evening with Edgar Allan Poe: Murder at the Merchant’s House
September 24 – October 13 & Ocotber 31 – November 3
- Doings of Gotham: Edgar Allan Poe in New York City – Monday, October 7, 6:30 p.m.
- Chant Macabre: Songs from the Crypt – Tuesday, October 15, 7 p.m.
- Candlelight Ghost Tours – October 17-19, 23-26, 28-30, tours run every half hour, 6:30-9:30 p.m.
- Dead-of-Night Candlelight Tour with Paranormal Investigator Dan Sturges – Saturday, October 19 & 26, midnight
- “Sacred to the Memory:” 1865 Funeral Reenactment – Sunday, October 27, 3:30 p.m
The Merchant’s House Museum will close at 3 p.m. on Sunday, October 27, for that afternoon’s 1865 Funeral Reenactment.
Sunday, October 27, 12:30 p.m.
A Walking Tour of Historic 19th Century Noho
Tour is one hour and begins outside the Museum.
$15; FREE for Members. Click here for tickets and more information.
Upcoming walking tours: November 10 and 24.
NOVEMBER
The Merchant’s House Museum will close at 5 p.m. on Thursdays in November and December. Thursday evening hours resume January 2020.
The Merchant’s House Museum will be CLOSED on Thanksgiving.
September 24 – November 3
Killing an Evening with Edgar Allan Poe: Murder at the Merchant’s House
Join us in the Tredwells’ Greek Revival double parlor as the masterful John Kevin Jones takes on the 19th century master of horror Edgar Allan Poe performing The Tell-Tale Heart, The Cask of Amontillado, and The Raven, as Poe himself did at the literary salons of the period. The double parlor will be appropriately dressed for death with a coffin and mirrors veiled in black crepe. It will be a bone-chilling evening of irrational revenge, obsession and premeditated murder, dismemberment, and the very, very dark.
Presented in association with Summoners Ensemble Theatre.
Limited engagement; click here for tickets and more information.
Thursday, September 26 – Monday, November 4
Death, Mourning, and the Hereafter in Mid-19th Century New York
Including 19th century mourning attire and accessories from the Tredwell Collection.
In March 1865, family patriarch Seabury Tredwell died in his upstairs bedroom; his wake and funeral were held in the double parlor, shrouded in black crepe. Grief was not unique to the Tredwell family that year. The Civil War had ended, with more than 600,000 dead, and President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination plunged the nation into a period of unprecedented public mourning. The overwhelming sense of grief and loss led to heightened interest in Spiritualism, as survivors attempted to contact their dearly departed through seances and mediums.
Poignant scenes throughout the house explore 19th century customs surrounding death, a time, unlike today, when death and mourning were pervasive and integral parts of life; dying and funerals took place at home; rituals of mourning helped the bereaved cope with the ever-present anguish of death; and Spiritualism offered hope of a Hereafter.
Pay your last respects at Seabury Tredwell’s deathbed upstairs, then join in the mourning in the double parlor set with a coffin for his wake and funeral. And, in “Manhattan’s Most Haunted House,” discover why our fascination with spirits, ghosts, and the Hereafter endures to this day. (If you see something, say something!)
On Saturday afternoons, the newly-widowed Eliza Tredwell (portrayed by museum historian Ann Haddad) will greet guests and answer questions about life and death in the 19th century.
Sunday, November 10, 12:30 p.m.
A Walking Tour of Historic 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. Tour is one hour and begins outside the Merchant’s House Museum. $15; FREE for Members.
Upcoming walking tours: November 24.
OPEN Thursday, November 14, through Monday, January 13
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).
The skirt is unlined to keep the light airiness of the silk, has six panels; the waist is tightly cartridge pleated. A 6 ½ inch pocket is sewn into the right-hand side of the skirt.
Free with admission.
Friday, November 22, 6:30 p.m.
Pre-Thanksgiving Candlelight Ghost Tour of “Manhattan’s Most Haunted House”
Haunted by the prospect of your relatives at Thanksgiving? Join us on a Candlelight Ghost Tour to get in the mood. 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 The New York Times called “Manhattan’s Most Haunted”) by flickering candlelight and hear true tales of inexplicable occurrences from the people who actually experienced them.
50 minutes. $30, $25 Members.
“#1 Most Haunted Place in NYC” TimeOut New York
Sunday, November 24, 12:30 p.m. (Last of the year! Walking Tours resume in March.)
A Walking Tour of Historic 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. Tour is one hour and begins outside the Merchant’s House Museum. $15; FREE for Members.
Next walking tours: March 2020.
OPEN Friday, November 29, through 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, gifts and stockings, and Christmas carols (and Santa Claus, too) originated in mid-19th century New York. Included with regular museum admission.
OPEN Friday, November 29, through Monday, January 6
Special 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. Included with regular museum admission.
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.
7th SMASH Year!
Limited engagement November 29, 2019, through 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.
DECEMBER
The Merchant’s House Museum will close at 5 p.m. on Thursdays in December.
Thursday evening hours resume in January 2020.
Sunday, December 15, 2 to 6 p.m.
Members Only ($500+): Holiday Celebration at the Historic 1853 Salmagundi Club
The Salmagundi Art Club, 47 5th Avenue
Holiday lights are twinkling and music is in the air. Join us to celebrate this festive season by stepping back in time. The Salmagundi Art Club’s landmark double-wide 1853 house is lovingly maintained and full of art, historic details, and ephemera that tell the story of the house and the Club itself, whose strong legacy provides a center for representational art.
Members of the Merchant’s House Museum, Village Preservation, and the Salmagundi Art Club are invited to venture up the steps to see the art, enjoy a cocktail in the vintage bar, watch 5th Avenue go by from the elegant period parlor, and explore the building’s library and countless original details.
Co-sponsored by the Salmagundi Art Club, GVSHP, and the Merchant’s House Museum.
Email nyc1832@merchantshouse.org to RSVP. This event is not fully accessible.
Not a member at the $500 level, but want to attend? Click here to join or increase your membership. Or call 212-777-1089.
HOLIDAY RAFFLE!
Win Two Tickets to the blockbuster Broadway hit Moulin Rouge! The Musical and lots, lots more!
All proceeds go to our Legal Fund to defeat the developers.
Click here to purchase tickets.
7th SMASH Year!
Limited engagement November 29, 2019, through 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
DECEMBER EXHIBITIONS
Exhibitions included with regular museum admission.
Friday, November 29, through Monday, January 6
Holiday 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.
Friday, November 29, through Monday, January 6
Special Holiday 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.
Thursday, November 14, through Monday, January 13
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).
