When you’re visiting such a large metropolitan city like New York, it can be intimidating to find the right places to see. New York is a mecca for culture, food and museums. Everyone knows the big names, like the Natural History Museum, the MET, the Guggenheim. Having lived in New York and coming back year after year, one not-so-popular museum stood out to me, and is arguably one of the most fascinating museums I’ve ever been to. The Museum of the City of New York.
Located far uptown on fifth avenue near 103rd street, the Museum is dedicated to the history of New York city throughout the centuries. Going in my expectations were quite high, but after visiting I was blown away.
The museum is fairly small, meaning you can really dive into each room. The bottom floor is made up of the exhibit, New York at its Core, spanning two rooms full of pictures and artifacts of New York through its eras, all the way from Dutch New Amsterdam in the seventeenth century to the city today. The rooms have artifacts with explanations, recordings to listen to, projected videos and even interactive screens to learn from. The museum has truly encapsulated the city’s soul from its colonial times, to the great depression, to the crime ridden seventies to the great city that it is today. The artifacts, recordings, images and videos are incredibly fascinating, and drew me in for over an hour in that one exhibit.
On the second floor, the exhibitions are just as fascinating. The museum houses the Stettheimer dollhouse, one of the most famous in the world. The dollhouse is an intricately designed house played with by the Stettheimer sisters in the late nineteenth century. But it isn’t its intricate design that makes it famous, but its decor. Many of the paintings in the house are miniature replicas, painted by real artists. This exhibit will remain until October, 2022. Another fascinating exhibit was Raise Your Voice. The exhibit highlighted the role of activism in the city through the centuries and the different movements that have arisen. It contains information on the feminist movement, the civil rights movement, prohibition and many more.
For anyone interested in music, the third floor houses the New York, New Music exhibit that's based on the musical revolution of the 1980s. When you walk into the exhibit, you feel like you’ve been transported back into the 80s. It's a great place to learn about New York’s musical culture. This exhibit will remain until September, 2022. There was also the exhibit, Analog City focused on the role of pre-digital technology in the city. This exhibit is fascinating, as it details the old machinery used to run the city, and the daily lives of the past generations. There is also a functioning typewriter that visitors can use. This exhibit will remain until December, 2022.
The Museum of the City of New York is a great place to learn more about arguably one of the greatest cities on the planet. The museum is the perfect size to really spend time and immerse yourself in everything you read, hear and see. Even if it may be a bit of a trek away, I certainly suggest you go visit for yourself. It truly is a great museum.
For more information, and to book tickets, check out the museum's website.
Image Source
By Beyond My Ken - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30036901
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