The James Bailey House is an impressive sight on the street designed by architect Samuel Burrage Reed. This magnificent mansion once belonged to Anthony Bailey, a notable circus entrepreneur. In 1881, he teamed up with the famous showman Phineas T. Barnum to create the legendary Barnum & Bailey Circus.
Anthony Bailey, together with Barnum, established a circus that captivated audiences worldwide. Their collaboration brought about a show that was famed for its grand spectacles and thrilling performances, making the Barnum & Bailey circus a household name.
Today, the mansion holds a special place in the hearts of local children, who affectionately call it the "Beauty and the Beast House." This enchanting nickname adds a touch of magic and mystery to the already grand and storied history of the house.
Ellis Island was home to the nation's primary federal immigration station, with over 12 million immigrant steamship passengers passing through from its opening in 1892 to its closing in 1954. Today, over 40 percent of America's population can trace their ancestry through Ellis Island. The island is home to the American Family Immigration History Center, which contains manifests of 25 million immigrants, passengers, and crew members who entered New York Harbor. The Immigration museum at Ellis Islands has details about "Peopling of America" and if you are an avid history lover, this museum will need at least 3-4 hrs of your time. Since the ferry ride takes you to both Ellis Island as well as the Liberty Island, you will have to plan your day well.
A famous Ivy League college that has existed since British colonial times, when it was called King's College.
The former home of steel baron Henry Clay Frick, this sprawling mansion is filled with Frick's enormous personal art collection, displayed as he left it. It's worth a visit for the house alone, which is explained nicely in the audio tour. The collection is impressive, including works by Whistler, Corot, El Greco, Turner, Renoir and Rembrandt.
For most of the 18th century, Africans in New York City were buried in a graveyard outside the city. The graveyard was eventually forgotten and was rediscovered in 1991. This museum and memorial site commemorate the estimated 15,000 Africans that were interred on the site of the memorial. Note that the museum is located inside of a Federal building so airport-style security should be expected.
The John Bowne House was built by John Bowne in 1661. It is the oldest building in Queens, and it is one of the oldest buildings in New York City. John Bowne was a Quaker who advocated religious freedom, which was later written into the Bill of Rights. John Bowne's great-grandson, Robert Bowne, strongly advocated for the end of slavery in America. The house was the home of several generations of the Bowne House until 1945, when it was donated and converted into a museum.
Dedicated to preserving and collecting television programs as a service to the public, the museum consists of two museum branches in Los Angeles and New York City; combined they hold over 100,000 television programs that are available to the public, providing a historical, artistic and cultural perspective to television and radio. You may use their library here for the price of admission. They have lots of old shows and a database so you can see if they have what you want.
Near Grand Army Plaza, the Pond offers a tranquil setting just within the boundaries of the park. A rustic wood structure, "Cop Cot," overlooks the pond from an outcrop near the Sixth Avenue entrance.
On this site on April 30, 1789, George Washington stood on a balcony overlooking Wall Street and was inaugurated as the first president of the United States. The old building on the site had been used as New York's city hall and had hosted some of the first congregations of the colonies in the lead-up to the American Revolution, such as the Stamp Act Congress. After the revolution the building, now Federal Hall, briefly housed Congress, the Supreme Court, and Executive Branch offices before the national capital moved to Philadelphia. The current building dates to 1842 and was used first as a Customs House, then later the US Sub-Treasury (millions of dollars of gold and silver were kept in the basement vaults). Today the building is maintained by the National Park Service as a museum dedicated to the history of the site. Guided tours of the building are available, or you can just walk in and look up at the rotunda and view some of the artifacts, such as the bible Washington used in his inauguration ceremony.
One of Manhattan's favorite meeting points, the centerpiece of this Terrace is the Angel of the Waters fountain, dedicated in 1873 and an enduring icon of the park.
Exhibits on the history of highrise and skyscraper construction.
Rather large, interesting museum with all kinds of documentation of events in the 400-year history of this city and delightful artifacts of life in earlier periods, such as the extensive collection of 19th-century dollhouses complete with miniature furniture.
An Episcopalian (Anglican) church and parish was first established on this site in 1697 under charter by King William III. The present Neo-Gothic Revival church building (the third incarnation) dates from 1846 and remains a significant landmark within Downtown. The original burial ground at Trinity Church includes the graves and memorials of many historic figures, including Alexander Hamilton, William Bradford, Robert Fulton, and Albert Gallatin.
At the southern tip of Manhattan, Battery Park is a waterfront green space, named for the artillery batteries which were installed here to protect the settlement of New York when it was under Dutch, then British rule. In the lead-up to the War of 1812, 40.70343-74.0168214 Castle Clinton was constructed as a fort to protect the city, and is now operated as a small museum. There are several memorials in the park, including 40.70387-74.0172715 The Sphere, a public art piece originally housed on the World Trade Center site which survived the events of September 11 and was moved to Battery Park. Ferries departing to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island (see below) depart from here.
A very impressive skyscraper with a green spire which was completed in 1930 and surpassed the height of the nearby Woolworth Building (see Manhattan/TriBeCa#See), making it the tallest building in the world until the Chrysler Building was completed just a month later (which in turn lost that title to the Empire State Building less than a year later). The building was leased by Donald Trump in 1995, hence its current name.
Collection of more than 200 paintings of the artist, exhibited on three floors of a classic townhouse.
One of the foremost conservatories of those disciplines in the United States.
This is historic home that was built by local businessman James Bouton in 1891. Eight years later, Conrad Voelcker bought the house, and the Voelcker family lived in the house for three generations. Today, it is a museum, and there is a Victorian garden and a bird sanctuary outside.