2021 Programs
JANUARY
Friday, January 1, 2021, 3 p.m.
New Year’s Day 2021 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 – virtually – for good cheer to toast the New Year and learn how New Yorkers like the Tredwells celebrated the day.
In this virtual tour, we’ll go back in time to the mid-19th century to meet the Tredwells and hear how they’ve been decking the house for New Year’s Day and preparing their lists of social calls. Join us as we continue the 19th century tradition of renewing, reviving, and reaffirming friendships that last the whole year through. Free (suggested donation $15).
Wednesday, January 27, 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.
$10, MHM Members FREE.
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.
FEBRUARY
Wednesday, February 10, 6 p.m.
“Life at Home in Old New York” Virtual House Tour
Join Museum Historian Ann Haddad to 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.
$10, MHM Members FREE.
Saturday, February 13, through Sunday, February 14
Love in the Parlors: A VIRTUAL Valentine in Concert
The renowned Bond Street Euterpean Singing Society presents lush, romantic vocal selections by some of the world’s great 19th-century composers including Schumann, Fauré, Foster, Amy Beach, Johann Strauss II, and others presented virtually as normally performed in the Museum’s authentic Greek Revival double parlor. Singers Anthony Bellov, Amy Gluck, Jane Elizabeth Rady, and Dayle Vander Sande. 45 minutes. Your ticket grants you unlimited access to the concert during Valentine’s Day weekend.
Selected as a Top Pick for Valentine’s Day: NBC Online and TimeOut NY!
$15, MHM Members Free.
Thursday, February 18, 6:30 p.m.
Lingering in the Shadows: Spirits of the Merchant’s House, Past & Present
A Virtual (Otherworldly) Presentation with Paranormal Investigators Dan Sturges & Dr. Lee
Inexplicable and unsettling occurrences have been reported at the Merchant’s House since 1933, when the last surviving family member died in the house. And they haven’t stopped. We invite you to venture into the dark and ghostly shadows of history 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.
During the many 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. That research is ongoing.
Come with your questions for two of the most knowledgeable experts in the field, who will also share some of their latest findings.
$10, MHM Members FREE.
Wednesday, February 24, 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 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.
$10, MHM Members FREE.
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.
MARCH
Sundays at 4 p.m., March 7, 14, 21, 28
Streaming on YouTube and Facebook Live!
Women Who Dared: 19th Century American Women Writers
A Series of Short Fiction Read by Ann Haddad
In celebration of Women’s History Month, join us for a series of readings of 19th century short stories written by American women authors. Compiled and read by Museum Historian Ann Haddad, these stories reveal the harsh realities of women’s lives in a male-dominated world, both inside the home and in society at large.
These “women who dared” defied convention by invading the traditionally masculine domain of literature – and they were successful, albeit treated with disdain. In 1855, Nathanial Hawthorne wrote to his publisher, “America is now wholly given over to a damned mob of scribbling women, and I should have no chance of success while the public is occupied with their trash.”
Despite the popularity of their work, which was published in literary annuals, gift books, and women’s magazines like Godey’s Lady’s Book, they were largely ignored by literary critics until the end of the 20th century. We are delighted to share their remarkable stories and conclude the series with a panel discussion and Q&A with literary and feminist scholar Elaine Showalter, Professor Emeritus, Princeton University.
Tune in at the Museum’s Facebook and YouTube pages!
Sunday, March 14, 12:30 p.m.
A Walking Tour of Historic 19th Century Noho
(Second & Fourth Sunday of Every Month)
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.
$20; FREE for Members.
Upcoming walking tours: March 28, April 11 & 25, May 9 & 23, June 13 & 27.
Wednesday, March 17, 6 p.m.
In the Footsteps of Bridget Murphy: A Virtual House Tour
The 1855 New York State Census gives us the names of the Irish women who worked in the Tredwell home: Mary James, Mary Smith, and Bridget Murphy, who was just 19 years old. On St. Patrick’s Day, join us for a “back-stairs” virtual tour of the Merchant’s House to experience what daily life was really like for Bridget, and for the thousands of women like her who worked in domestic service in 19th century New York City. We’ll visit four floors of period rooms, from the ground floor kitchen to the 4th floor servants’ quarters, “arguably the oldest intact site of Irish habitation in New York City” (Time Out New York). $10, MHM Members FREE.
Wednesday, March 24, 6 to 7:30 p.m.
Behind-the-Ropes Virtual Tour – 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.
$10, MHM Members FREE.
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.
Sunday, March 28, 12:30 p.m.
A Walking Tour of Historic 19th Century Noho
(Second & Fourth Sunday of Every Month)
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.
$20; FREE for Members. This tour is SOLD OUT. Don’t miss our upcoming walking tours: April 11 & 25, May 9 & 23, June 13 & 27.
Wednesday, March 31, 6 p.m.
Greek Revival Bicentennial: A Virtual Celebration of Our Neighborhoods’ Architectural Heritage
With Architectural Historian Francis Morrone
The Greek War of Independence, which began on March 25, 1821 and is celebrated each year throughout Greece and the Greek Diaspora, not only led to freedom for a people after centuries of foreign domination. It also sparked a renewed interest in Greek architecture in the United States. Here, the first modern democracy looked back toward the very first democracy for inspiration, and the result was the “Greek Revival” style of architecture, which came to dominate development in our neighborhoods, east to west, during their formative years of the 1830s through the mid-century, with many fine examples that survive to this day still defining our streetscapes.
This year we celebrate the 200th anniversary of that political and ultimately aesthetic revolution with famed architectural historian Francis Morrone, as he explores the myriad manifestations of Greek Revival architecture in Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo, and their influence on our neighborhoods’ development.
Free. Co-hosted by Village Preservation.
Francis Morrone is an architectural historian and a writer. He is the author of 13 books including Guide to New York City Urban Landscapes, The New York Public Library: The Architecture and Decoration of the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building (with Henry Hope Reed), and architectural guidebooks to Brooklyn and Philadelphia. Morrone is the recipient of the Landmarks Lion Award of the Historic Districts Council and was named one of the 13 best tour guides in the world by Travel + Leisure magazine.
APRIL
Sundays at 4 p.m., April 4 & 11
Streaming on YouTube and Facebook Live!
Women Who Dared: 19th Century American Women Writers
A Series of Short Fiction Read by Ann Haddad
In our continuing celebration of Women’s History Month, join us for a series of readings of 19th century short stories written by American women authors. Compiled and read by Museum Historian Ann Haddad, these stories reveal the harsh realities of women’s lives in a male-dominated world, both inside the home and in society at large.
These “women who dared” defied convention by invading the traditionally masculine domain of literature – and they were successful, albeit treated with disdain. In 1855, Nathanial Hawthorne wrote to his publisher, “America is now wholly given over to a damned mob of scribbling women, and I should have no chance of success while the public is occupied with their trash.”
Tune in at the Museum’s Facebook and YouTube pages!
Thursday, April 8, 6 p.m.
Women Who Dared: 19th Century American Women Writers
Discussion and Q&A with Elaine Showalter
To conclude our Women Who Dared series, join us for an interactive virtual discussion and Q&A with Museum Historian Ann Haddad and literary and feminist scholar Elaine Showalter, Professor Emeritus, Princeton University. Come with your comments and questions from the stories in the series!
Free.
Dr. Elaine Showalter is Professor Emeritus of English and Avalon Professor of the Humanities at Princeton University. She is the author of ten books, including A Jury of Her Peers; American Women Writers from Anne Bradstreet to Annie Proulx, a literary history which received the Truman Capote Prize for Literary Criticism. Her most recent book is The Civil Wars of Julia Ward Howe. In addition, she has written for such diverse publications as New York Times Book Review, Washington Post, Times Literary Supplement, Vogue, and People.
Women Who Dared Discussion and Q&A is a virtual event. A recording of the talk will be available on the Merchant’s House YouTube Page following the event.
Saturday, April 10, 11 a.m.
The Interior Design of the Merchant’s House: An In-Person Tour
On this exclusive in-person tour, see the Merchant’s House Museum through the expert eyes of an interior designer. We’ll cover all four floors of this late-Federal and Greek Revival rowhouse, an interior as well as exterior NYC landmark, exploring the original furnishings and fabrics, and discussing how the design of the rooms informed their use. $20; $10 MHM Members.
Dennis McAvena is a volunteer docent at the Merchant’s House, giving tours since 2012. He has had his own interior design company for 28 years, www.dennismcavena.com.
The Interior Design of the Merchant’s House is an in-person tour. Doors open 10:55 a.m. Tour begins promptly at 11 and lasts one hour. Capacity is strictly limited and masks are required for all participants over age 2. Reservations required.
Sunday, April 11, 12:30 p.m. SOLD OUT
A Walking Tour of Historic 19th Century Noho
(Second & Fourth Sunday of Every Month)
Scroll down for info. Next walking tour April 25.
Wednesday, April 14, 6 p.m.
Untapped New York Presents: Life in Old New York Virtual House Tour
Meet the Tredwells, the wealthy merchant family who lived at 29 East 4th Street, and see what life was like for the family and their Irish servants. How did the Tredwell family entertain? What if they got sick? What was the “servant problem”? Did pigs really roam the streets?
This virtual tour covers four floors in this landmark 1832 late-Federal and Greek Revival style rowhouse, preserved intact with the family’s original furnishings, household items, personal possessions, and even their clothing.
Join Museum Historian Ann Haddad to discover what daily life was really like for a wealthy merchant-class family and their Irish servants in mid-19th century New York City. This live and interactive virtual tour offers an intimate and authentic glimpse of the daily life of the Tredwells and their four Irish servants during the period when New York City transformed from a colonial seaport into a booming commercial metropolis, teeming with the challenges and opportunities of change. Co-Sponsored by Untapped New York. $10.
Life in Old New York is a virtual event. Please contact Untapped New York for questions about ticket purchases.
Thursday, April 22, 6:30 p.m.
New Virtual Monthly Series!
In the Spirit of Science: Researching the Paranormal Using the Scientific Method
Doors slam, floorboards creak, voices call into the dead of night. Inexplicable occurrences have been reported at the Merchant’s House since 1933, when the last surviving family member died in the house. In March 2020, when the Museum closed due to COVID-19 and the house was empty of staff and visitors, paranormal investigator Dan Sturges and neuroscientist Dr. Lee began conducting extensive research based on the scientific method, using specialized equipment custom-built for the house. Through unbiased observation and systematic experimentation, their research is building a better understanding of the strange and fascinating phenomena observed at the Merchant’s House.
Join Dan and Dr. Lee as they teach the scientific method using their research of the paranormal as the perfect, intriguing backdrop. $10, FREE for MHM Members.
In the Spirit of Science 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, April 25, 12:30 p.m.
A Walking Tour of Historic 19th Century Noho / In-Person & Socially Distanced
(Second & Fourth Sunday of Every Month)
Scroll down for info.
Wednesday, April 28, 6 to 7:30 p.m.
Behind-the-Ropes Virtual Tour: 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.
$10, MHM Members FREE.
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.
The Architecture of an 1832 Landmark 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.
MAY
Tuesday, May 11, 6 p.m.
Life at Home in Old New York: A Virtual House Tour
On May 11, 1936, the Merchant’s House opened to the public as a museum, after 98 years as home to a single family. Join Museum Historian Ann Haddad to meet the Tredwells and 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 transformed from a colonial seaport into a booming commercial metropolis. How did the family entertain? What if they got sick? What was the “servant problem”? Did pigs really roam the streets?
This live and interactive virtual tour covers four floors in this landmark 1832 late-Federal and Greek Revival style rowhouse, preserved intact with the family’s original furnishings, household items, personal possessions, and even their clothing.
To celebrate our 85th anniversary as a museum, this virtual tour is FREE! Please consider making a donation to ensure the Merchant’s House is here for another 85 years.
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.
Tuesday, May 18, 6 to 7:30 p.m.
Domestic Staff: Their Work, Their Houses, Their Lives, from the Federal Period through the Gilded Age
Domestic servants made possible the lifestyles of many families in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, but their stories often go untold. Why did they choose domestic service? What was their relationship with each other and the families they worked for? How did they experience the house? In this panel discussion, your favorite historic houses will explore the experiences of the domestic staff that lived and worked at our sites. Join us to examine these five sites through the lens of the workers who kept them running.
With Jennifer Pustz (Author, Voices from the Back Stairs: Interpreting Servants’ Lives at Historic House Museums) as moderator and featuring the Merchant’s House Museum, Gibson House Museum (Boston, MA), Gore Place (Waltham, MA), The Elms (Newport, RI), and Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens (Akron, OH).
Suggested donation $10.
Domestic Staff from the Federal Period through the Gilded Age is a Virtual Event, taking place via Zoom. Please contact Gibson House for questions about registration.
Sunday, May 23, 12:30 p.m.
In-Person Walking Tour of 19th Century NoHo: A Century of Change
(Second & Fourth Sunday of Every Month)
Scroll down for info.
Wednesday, May 26, 6 to 7:30 p.m.
Behind-the-Ropes Virtual Tour: Changing Tastes in 19th Century Furniture (1800-1860)
With Board Member Anthony Bellov and 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.
$10, MHM Members FREE.
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.
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.
Thursday, May 27, 6:30 p.m.
In the Spirit of Science:
Researching the Paranormal Using the Scientific Method
What Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) Can Tell Us
A Virtual Event, via Zoom
Doors slam, floorboards creak,voices call into the dead of night …in this month’s show, paranormal investigator Dan Sturges and neuroscientist Dr. Lee explore electronic voice phenomena (EVP). Tune in to hear startling examples of the voices of spirits at the Merchant’s House – caught on tape!For the last year, Dan and Dr. Lee have conducted extensive paranormal research based on the scientific method, using specialized equipment custom-built for the house. Through unbiased observation and systematic experimentation, their research is building a better understanding of the strange and fascinating phenomena observed at the Merchant’s House. $10, MHM Members Free.
JUNE
Sunday, June 13 & 27, 12:30 p.m.
In-Person Walking Tour of 19th Century NoHo: A Century of Change
(Second & Fourth Sunday of Every Month)
Scroll down for info.
Saturday, June 19, and Sunday, June 20, 12 p.m.
Path Through New York History Weekend
Join us for a guided house tour in celebration of Path Through NY History Weekend!
About Path Through History: Experience a Revolutionary War battle, discover some of our state’s and nation’s greatest natural wonders or relive some of sports’ greatest moments. From U.S. presidents to leaders of the suffrage movement to innovators in industry, technology, and art, it all happened in New York State. You can visit over 500 destinations across our great state. Choose from themes to create your own Path Through History for an experience you and your family will always remember. Click here for more Path Through NY History events.
Tuesday, June 22, 6:30 p.m.
In the Spirit of Science: Researching the Paranormal Using the Scientific Method
June is all about APPARITIONS
A Virtual Event via Zoom
Doors slam, floorboards creak, voices call into the dead of night. Inexplicable occurrences have been reported at the Merchant’s House since 1933, when the last surviving family member died in the house. In March 2020, when the Museum closed due to COVID-19 and the house was empty of staff and visitors, paranormal investigator Dan Sturges and neuroscientist Dr. Lee began conducting extensive research based on the scientific method, using specialized equipment custom-built for the house. Through unbiased observation and systematic experimentation, their research is building a better understanding of the strange and fascinating phenomena observed at the Merchant’s House.
Join Dan and Dr. Lee as they teach the scientific method using their research of the paranormal as the perfect, intriguing backdrop. $10, FREE for MHM Members.
In the Spirit of Science 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.
The Merchant’s House will be open from 2 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 26, due to a private event. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Wednesday, June 30, 6 to 7:30 p.m.
Virtual Tour –
19th Century Domestic Lighting: 100 Years of Change
With Board Member Anthony Bellov and lighting 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!
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.
$10, MHM Members FREE.
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.
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.
JULY
Sunday, July 11 & 25, 12:30 p.m.
In-Person Walking Tour of 19th Century NoHo: A Century of Change
(Second & Fourth Sunday of Every Month)
Tuesday, July 13, 5:30 p.m.
New York Adventure Club Presents: Old New York’s Best-Preserved Home
A Virtual Tour with Museum Historian Ann Haddad
Join New York Adventure Club as we step back in time to 1835 to explore Old New York through the eyes of the Tredwell family and their four live-in Irish servants, who resided in the home on East 4th Street for nearly 100 years. $10.
Old New York’s Best-Preserved Home is a virtual event. Please contact New York Adventure Club with questions about tickets.
Wednesday, July 14, 7 p.m.
An Interior Designer’s Perspective: Life, Customs, and Style in Mid-19th Century New York
A Virtual House Tour via Zoom
The miracle of the Merchant’s House is that it remains intact with the family’s original 19th century furniture, decorative arts, artwork, curtains and other textiles, encapsulating a moment in time. In this immersive video experience, you’ll follow interior designer and MHM volunteer docent Dennis McAvena through a unique portal of New York City’s design history. You’ll tour all five floors of this landmark late-Federal and Greek Revival rowhouse, exploring how the design of the period rooms, from the elegant to the utilitarian, reflected the family’s values and taste, and informed their use. Following the tour, join interior designer and MHM volunteer docent Dennis McAvena for a Q&A.
$10, FREE MHM Members.
An Interior Designer’s Perspective 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.
Thursday, July 15, 6 p.m.
Book Talk: Amy Sohn’s “The Man Who Hated Women: Sex, Censorship, and Civil Liberties in the Gilded Age”
The New York Times–bestselling author Amy Sohn presents a narrative history of Anthony Comstock, anti-vice activist (and U.S. postal inspector), and the remarkable women who opposed his war on women’s rights in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. Without them, there would be no Pill, no Planned Parenthood, and no Roe v. Wade.
Comstock’s eponymous law, passed in 1873, defined contraceptives as obscene and illicit, making it a federal offense to disseminate birth control through the mail or across state lines. Prison sentences were long and fines steep. Between the law’s passage and Comstock’s death in 1915, eight remarkable women were charged with violating state and federal Comstock laws. Amy Sohn will bring these stories to life, including the first woman presidential candidate, Victoria C. Woodhull; birth control activist Margaret Sanger; the anarchist Emma Goldman, and more. Risking imprisonment and death, these women redefined birth control access as a civil liberty.
Amy Sohn, a 1995 graduate of Brown University, is the author of 12 books, which have been published in 11 languages and on 5 continents. She has written weekly columns for the downtown weekly New York Press, the New York Post, and was a contributing editor at New York magazine at for six years. As a freelance journalist she has written for The New York Times, The New York Times Book Review, Slate, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, Men’s Journal, Playboy, and many others. Amy is also a screenplay and television writer, including pilots for HBO, ABC, and Fox.
FREE. Co-hosted by Village Preservation
Book Talk: “The Man Who Hated Women” is a virtual event. Please contact Village Preservation with questions about registration.
Wednesday, July 28, 6 to 7:30 p.m.
What the Architecture of an 1832 Landmark Can Tell Us: An Up-Close and Personal Virtual Tour
What does the design and construction of the Merchant’s House reveal about its residents and the culture and society in which they lived? The floorplans, building materials, and architectural details all provide important clues.
Join board member Anthony Bellov for an extraordinary virtual tour of the home of the Tredwell family and their Irish servants. We’ll explore all five stories, from the steep front stoop (made of glistening white marble, the dominant ornamental stone in the early/mid 19th century) to the crawl-space of the attic (featuring a remnant from the house next door, long since demolished). Every architectural element, large and small, is a piece of the puzzle. Taken together, they represent the values, tastes, and lifestyle of wealthy mid-19th century New Yorkers.
After the tour, Mr. Bellov will be joined for the Q&A by Michael Devonshire, Principal and Director of Conservation, Jan Hird Pokorny Associates. Mr. Devonshire has supervised all restoration projects at the Merchant’s House since 1990. He serves on the New York State Historic Preservation Board and the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.
$10; Free MHM Members.
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.
The Architecture of an 1832 Landmark 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 even
AUGUST
Tuesday, August 3, 6:30 p.m.
In the Spirit of Science: Researching the Paranormal Using the Scientific Method
August is all about REAL WORLD SCIENCE
A Virtual Event via Zoom
Inexplicable occurrences have been reported at the Merchant’s House since 1933, when the last surviving family member died in the house. In March 2020, when the Museum closed due to COVID-19 and the house was empty of staff and visitors, paranormal investigator Dan Sturges and neuroscientist Dr. Lee began conducting extensive research based on the scientific method, using specialized equipment custom-built for the house. Through unbiased observation and systematic experimentation, their research is building a better understanding of the strange and fascinating phenomena observed at the Merchant’s House.
REAL WORLD SCIENCE This month, join Dan and Dr. Lee for a backstage discussion about the scientific method in paranormal research – its core foundations and how it’s actually applied in real world experiments to achieve convincing data.
$10, FREE for MHM Members.
In the Spirit of Science 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.
Wednesday, August 11, 6 p.m.
19th Century Pleasures; Water Cures & Flower Pressing
A Virtual Talk with Museum Historian Ann Haddad
Join us as we explore two of the most popular 19th century summer pastimes. First, we’ll head to the grand spa hotels in resort towns upstate to take the “water cure” – the therapeutic use of rich mineral spring water that came into vogue mid-century. Then, we’ll delve into flower pressing, an artistic (hence, “ladylike”) way for 19th century women to pursue their interest in botany and the natural sciences, at a time when those fields were typically closed to women. $10, Free MHM Members.
19th Century Summer Pleasures 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.
Thursday, August 12, 6 p.m.
Music in the Garden
Jazz flutist Cheryl Pyle performs solo flute improvisations in our lush 19th century garden. Included with museum admission.
Tuesday, August 17, 6 p.m.
Village Voices Annual Benefit Preview: Reading the Village
Co-Sponsored by Village Preservation.
This September, Village Preservation is thrilled to be launching Village Voices, an engaging installation of exhibit boxes displayed throughout our neighborhoods featuring photographs, artifacts, and recorded narration that will provide entertaining and illuminating insight into the momentous heritage of the Village. At this special reading event, we will highlight and celebrate the literary life and legacies of Village writers and musicians, including James Baldwin, Henry James, W.H. Auden, Lorraine Hansberry, e.e. cummings, Oliver Sacks, Larry Kramer, Patti Smith, Bob Dylan, and Margaret Wise Brown. As a preview to this event, writings by these authors will be presented at this special evening by writers, Villagers, and friends. Free.
Reading the Village is a virtual event. Please contact Village Preservation with questions.
SEPTEMBER
Thursday, September 9, 6 p.m. Canceled due to rain.
Music in the Garden
Jazz flutist Cheryl Pyle performs solo flute improvisations in our lush 19th century garden. Included with museum admission.
Sunday, September 12 & 26, 12:30 p.m.
In-Person Walking Tour of 19th Century NoHo: A Century of Chang
Friday, September 24, 6 p.m.
“Sylvia: A 19th Century Life Unveiled” – Artist Talk & Reading
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, Sylvia DeWolf Ostrander. In January 2020, an exhibition of Sylvia’s trunk and its treasured contents opened to the public. It closed just a month later due to the COVID-19 lockdown.
Join visual artist Stacy Renee Morrison for an artist talk about the exhibition and her reimagining of Sylvia’s life through photographs and screen-printed clothing, along with a short reading from her revealing 19th century journals.
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.
FREE. This event is at capacity.
Sylvia: A 19th Century Life Unveiled is an in-person event with limited capacity. Masks and proof of vaccination are required. This program is made possible by a generous grant from the New York City Artist Corps.
Tuesday, September 28, 6:30 p.m.
In the Spirit of Science: Researching the Paranormal Using the Scientific Method
September is all about SEEING THE INVISIBLE
A Virtual Event via Zoom
SEEING THE INVISIBLE This month, join Dan and Dr. Lee for a history of scientific discoveries that made the unseen, seen, and in so doing, brought phenomena from the fringes of science into the mainstream.
Inexplicable occurrences have been reported at the Merchant’s House since 1933, when the last surviving family member died in the house. In March 2020, when the Museum closed due to COVID-19 and the house was empty of staff and visitors, paranormal investigator Dan Sturges and neuroscientist Dr. Lee began conducting extensive research based on the scientific method, using specialized equipment custom-built for the house. Through unbiased observation and systematic experimentation, their research is building a better understanding of the strange and fascinating phenomena observed at the Merchant’s House.
$10, FREE for MHM Members.
In the Spirit of Science 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.
OCTOBER
Wednesday, October 13, 6 p.m.
Haunted History: Spirits of the Merchant’s House, Past & Present
Virtual Ghost Tour
Inexplicable and unsettling occurrences 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. You’ll also learn about the methods and findings of past paranormal investigations – and the startling results of current research conducted in 2020, while the museum was closed due to COVID-19. The house was empty – or was it?
After the presentation, paranormal investigator Dan Sturges joins for a Q&A. Dan 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. $13, MHM Members Free.
Tuesday, October 19, 6 p.m.
‘Death Cannot Make Our Souls Afraid’: 19th Century Mourning Customs
A Virtual Talk with Museum Historian Ann Haddad
Via Zoom
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. $13, free MHM Members.
Sunday, October 10 & 24, 12:30 p.m.
In-Person Walking Tour of 19th Century NoHo: A Century of Change
Scroll down for more information. Tours are one hour and begin outside the museum. Capacity is strictly limited. Masks and proof of vaccination required. $20; FREE for Members.
Thursday, October 28; Friday, October 29; Saturday, October 30
In-Person Candlelight Ghost Tours of “Manhattan’s Most Haunted House”
50 minute tours run every half hour, 6:30 to 10 p.m.
Doors slam, floorboards creak, voices call into the dead of night. Venture into “Manhattan’s Most Haunted House” by flickering candlelight to hear chilling – and true – tales of decades of otherworldly activity in the house, the results of years of paranormal investigations – and the latest stunning scientific findings.
The Tredwell family lived at 29 East 4th Street for nearly 100 years, and at least eight people died in the house. Reports of strange and inexplicable occurrences have been widespread since Gertrude, the last surviving Tredwell, died in 1933. Is it Gertrude who is watching over her family home? Join us on a Candlelight Tour and decide for yourself. $45; $35 MHM Members.
Thursday, October 28; Friday, October 29; Saturday, October 30, 10:30 p.m.
SUPER SPOOKY In-Person Candlelight Ghost Tour with Paranormal Investigator Dan Sturges
Last year, the museum closed due to COVID-19, leaving the house empty of staff and visitors. Dan Sturges, who has undertaken paranormal investigations at the Merchant’s House for 14 years, teamed up with neuroscientist Dr. Lee to conduct scientific research using specialized equipment custom-built for the house. Mounting fact-based evidence points to the very likely reality of paranormal activity at the Merchant’s House.
Join paranormal investigator Dan Sturges on a 90-minute Super Spooky Candlelight Ghost Tour for an in-depth look at the latest research and findings. Dan 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. $65; $55 MHM Members.
Halloween Night! Sunday, October 31, 6 p.m.
Chant Macabre: Songs from the Crypt
Halloween Concert with the Bond Street Euterpean Singing Society
Ghosts, ghouls, and goblins haunt the lyrics of 19th century song. Come be spooked by these harrowing tales as the Bond Street Euterpean Singing Society bewitches your imagination and sings shivers down your spine, echoing sumptuous, rarely performed songs in an authentic period parlor. Singers Anthony Bellov, Amy Gluck, Jane Elizabeth Rady, and Dayle Vander Sande. Music by Schubert, Liszt, Debussy, Duparc, Loewe, Mussorgsky, Humperdinck, and others. 75 minutes. $30, $20 MHM Members.
Chant Macabre is an in-person event. Proof of vaccination and masks are required. Children under 12 not admitted.
Can’t make it on Halloween Night? Join us for a virtual concert instead! Ticket holders will received a downloadable PDF with a unique link to a live-stream of the concert, valid to watch (or rewatch!) through Sunday, November 7. $20, $15 MHM Members.
NOVEMBER
Wednesday, November 10, 6 p.m.
Virtual Book Talk: “Death in New York: History and Culture of Burials, Undertakers and Executions” with K. Krombie
Co-Sponsored by Village Preservation
Like every aspect of life in the Big Apple, how New Yorkers have interacted with death is as diverse as each of the countless individuals who have called the city home. Waves of immigration brought unique burial customs as archaeological excavations uncovered the graves of indigenous Lenape and enslaved Africans. From the 1788 Doctors’ Riot, which contributed to new laws protecting the deceased, to the overcrowding and epidemics that ultimately built cemeteries outside of New York City, experiments in embalming, capital punishment, and more, author K. Krombie unveils a tapestry of stories centered on death in New York’s neighborhoods. Join Krombie for a special look at these stories’ intersections with Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo. Free; click here to register.
K. Krombie has written numerous articles for media outlets in America and the United Kingdom, in addition to film and New York theater reviews. A longtime obsessive of all things New York City, it’s only right that she lives here now.
Book Talk with K. Krombie is a virtual event. Please contact Village Preservation for questions.
Wednesday, November 17, 6 p.m.
The Gift of Perseverance: The Many Lives of Reverend Samuel Seabury
A Virtual Talk with Museum Historian Ann Haddad
Via Zoom
Co-Sponsored by Glebe House Museum
Join Museum Historian Ann Haddad as she discusses the remarkable life of Bishop Samuel Seabury, uncle and namesake of our own Seabury Tredwell. Learn about Seabury from his early days as a rector in Westchester, to his war of words with Alexander Hamilton, and finally to his election as the first Episcopal Bishop of America at Glebe House in 1783. $10; FREE for MHM and Glebe House Members.
The Gift of Perseverance 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.
Special Holiday Exhibition
Friday, November 26, through Sunday, January 9
Home for the Holidays: A 19th Century Christmas
Step back in time to the 1850s and join the Tredwell family for the holidays. 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.
Celebrate the season and 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.
Tuesday, November 30, 6 to 7:30 p.m.
Virtual Behind-the-Ropes Tour: Changing Tastes in 19th Century Furniture
With MHM board member Anthony Bellov and furniture expert Carswell Rush Berlin
Via Zoom
This unique virtual tour 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. 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!
$10, MHM Members FREE.
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.
DECEMBER
2021 Holiday Raffle!
WIN a Private Paranormal Investigation for 4 or, for scaredy cats, a Party in our Secret 19th Century Garden for 20. Drawing January 1. Tickets $10; 3 for $20; 7 for $40. Click here for tickets.
Special Holiday Exhibition
Open through Sunday, January 9
Home for the Holidays: A 19th Century Christmas
Step back in time to the 1850s and join the Tredwell family for the holidays. 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.
Celebrate the season and 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.
Strictly limited engagement! December 1 to December 31
A Christmas Carol at the Merchant’s House: Charles Dickens in New York, 1867
Presented in association with Summoners Ensemble Theatre
With Omicron on the rise, out of an abundance of caution we have decided to CLOSE ahead of our final scheduled performance on Friday, December 31st.
If you have purchased tickets, they will be refunded to you.
We’ll be back next year and we look forward to seeing you then.
Stay safe!
In December 1867, Charles Dickens arrived in New York City for a month of sold-out performances of his beloved holiday classic, A Christmas Carol. Join Mr. Dickens, portrayed by John Kevin Jones, as he tells his timeless Christmas tale in the elegant intact Greek Revival double parlor of the landmark 1832 Merchant’s House Museum. Surrounded by 19th century holiday decorations, flickering candles, and richly appointed period furnishings, audiences will be transported back 150 years in this captivating one-hour performance created from Dickens’ own script.
Tickets $55-125; click here for more information.
A Christmas Carol at the Merchant’s House is an in-person event. Capacity is limited and masks and proof of vaccination are required.
A Christmas Carol at the Merchant’s House: VIRTUAL PERFORMANCE
In this hour-long virtual performance, join Mr. Dickens, portrayed by John Kevin Jones, as he tells his timeless Christmas tale. You’ll be transported back 150 years in this captivating one-hour performance created from Dickens’ own script. $35; click here to purchase tickets.
This is a virtual event. Your ticket is good for three viewings of our holiday classic anytime before January 1, 2022.
Warmth from the Hearth – 19th Century Holiday Stories for the Season of Light
Enjoy 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.
Click here to view.
Tales include:
“Christmas, or The Good Fairy” (1850) by Harriet Beecher Stowe
Reflections on Hanukkah and 19th Century America, featuring the Bond Street Euterpean Singing Society
“I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” (1863) by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
“Christmas Eve in War Times” (c.1883) by Edward Payson Roe
“The Frost Fairies” from Birdie and his Fairy Friends (1874) by Mrs. Margaret T. Canby
“The Frost King” (1891) by Helen Keller
“Captain Eli’s Best Ear” and “A Christmas Wreck” by Frank Stockton
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
“Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus” (1897) by Francis P. Church
December 24, 2021, though January 7, 2022
Virtual New Year’s Day 2022 Celebration!
Paying social calls on friends and family on the first day of the new year was one of Old New York’s most cherished customs. Join us – virtually – for good cheer to toast the New Year and learn how New Yorkers like the Tredwells celebrated the day.
In this immersive video experience, we’ll go back in time to the mid-19th century to meet the Tredwells and hear how they’ve been decking the house for New Year’s Day and preparing their lists of social calls. Join us as we continue the 19th century tradition of renewing, reviving, and reaffirming friendships that last the whole year through. 30 minutes. FREE (suggested donation $10). Click here to register.
New Year’s Day 2022 Celebration is a virtual event. After registering, you will receive a downloadable PDF with a link to view. The link will be valid from Friday, December 24, to Friday, January 7, 2022.
