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Museum of the City of New York
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1220 Fifth Ave.
New York City is an enchanting place for so many all over the world, and the Museum of the City of New York captures that essence to a T. The Museum explores all things New York, from the actual buildings, apartments, parks and streets that make up its urban landscape to the cultures, people, sights, sounds and styles that give it its unique and unmistakable personality. A centerpiece of the experience is "Timescapes," a 22-minute multimedia history of New York City narrated by Stanley Tucci.
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The New-York Historical Society
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170 Central Park West
Experience 400 years of history through groundbreaking exhibitions, outstanding collections, immersive films and thought-provoking conversations among renowned historians and public figures at the New-York Historical Society, New York's first museum.
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Historic Richmond Town
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441 Clarke Ave.
Watch history come alive at Historic Richmond Town, a living history village that lets you experience colonial life firsthand. Walk through real restored homes and other buildings including a general store and a courthouse. The village also includes a museum with exhibits that portray many aspects of American life from the 1700s through today.
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The Tenement Museum
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103 Orchard St.
The Tenement Museum tells the stories of working-class tenement residents, who moved to New York City from other countries and other parts of the country. Their work helped build the City and nation, and their stories help us understand our history. Their educator-led building and walking tours immerse visitors in the tenement hallways, kitchens and parlors where families carved out new lives—as well as the surrounding Lower East Side neighborhood in which they lived.
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Van Cortlandt House Museum
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Van Cortlandt Park
The oldest building in the Bronx was built in 1748 to house a prominent New York family, and the mansion and surrounding grounds—once a wheat plantation—have been open to the public since 1897. The museum offers history buffs a fascinating glimpse into the life of the Van Cortlandt clan, the decorative arts of the 18th century and the experiences of the people who lived and worked on the property, including slaves. Get away from the urban bustle without leaving the city: The museum grounds boast a fragrant Colonial Revival herb garden.
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Dyckman Farmhouse Museum
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Dyckman House Park
This Dutch Colonial style farmhouse was built by William Dyckman in 1784 and was originally part of several hundred acres of farmland owned by the family. Today, nestled in a small park, the farmhouse is an extraordinary reminder of early Manhattan and an important part of its diverse Inwood neighborhood.
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Sandy Ground Historical Museum
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1538 Woodrow Rd.
[Note: The museum is temporarily closed; call before visiting.] Staten Island's Sandy Ground holds the distinction of being the oldest continuously inhabited free Black settlement in NYC, dating back to the early 1800s. The society helps preserve that history through exhibitions, activities and events.
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The Conference House Museum
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7455 Hylan Blvd.
A National Historic Landmark, the Conference House was built by a British naval officer in 1680, and in 1776 was the site of a significant conference during the Revolutionary War that included Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Edward Rutledge and Admiral Lord Richard Howe, head of British forces in the War. Today, the house and its 267-acre park are open for tours seasonally, and sometimes host events, like the annual re-enactment of the famous conference.
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African Burial Ground National Monument
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290 Broadway
Most New Yorkers have no idea that in the 17th and 18th centuries, hundreds of Africans were buried in a 6.6-acre burial ground in Lower Manhattan. When construction workers for a new federal building found the remains of more than 400 Africans in the early '90s in this unmarked cemetery, the truth was uncovered, and in 1991, the African Burial Ground project, a memorial to this sacred site, was launched. Today, the site includes commissioned artwork and a respectful exterior memorial, where many tributes to the deceased and community events have since taken place. The Burial Ground’s visitor center features exhibitions and a 40-seat theater.
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Weeksville Heritage Center
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158 Buffalo Ave
Weeksville Heritage Center is one of few African-American historic sites on its original location since the 1840s. Its mission is to document, preserve and interpret the history of the free African-American communities of Weeksville, Brooklyn, and beyond and to create and inspire innovative, contemporary uses of African-American history through education, the arts and civic engagement. It also hosts a farmers market and summer music concert series. Weeksville Heritage Center, which includes a 19,000-square-foot building that is Certified LEED Gold, is a premier cultural institution dedicated to African-American history and American artistic expression.