Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sights
1
Merchant's House Museum
MUSEUM
Walking through the doors of this perfectly preserved mansion is like stepping into a time
machine and being transported 150 years into the past. Everything in the house, from the
polished floors to the servant call bells, is as it was during the bygone era. The facade is
also intact. The gorgeous red-brick house was once the home of merchant magnate Seabury
Tredwell and his family, and it remains to this day the most authentic Federal-style house
(of which there are about 300) in NYC.
(
212-777-1089;
www.merchantshouse.org
;
29 E 4th St, btwn
Lafayette St & Bowery; adult/child $10/free;
noon-5pm Thu-Mon, guided tours 2pm;
6 to Bleecker St)
Local Life
Merchant's House Ghosts
Perhaps just as well known as its antiques are the Merchant's House Museum's clan of ghosts and ghouls. It is pop-
ularly believed that many of the former residents haunt the old mansion, making cameo appearances late in the
evenings and sometimes at public events. In fact, at a Valentine's Day concert several years back many attendees
spotted the shadow of a woman sitting in the parlor chairs - it was commonly believed to be the ghost of Gertrude
Tredwell, the last inhabitant of the brownstone. Each year during the last couple of weeks of October, the museum
offers special ghost tours after dark.
2
Canal Street
Walking down Canal St is like a game of Frogger played on the streets of Shanghai. This is
Chinatown's aorta, where you'll dodge oncoming human traffic as you scurry into back al-
leys to scout treasures from the Far East. You'll pass mysterious herb shops displaying a
witch's cauldron's worth of roots and potions; restaurants with whole roasted ducks and
STREET
