Small Museums

Just a few I like! There are more...

Manhattan:
East Village

Merchant's House Museum</span>
29 East 4th Street
A small, not terribly well-known museum, this house was donated to the city after the last of the siblings died in the 1930s, leaving in tact a 19th century time capsule. The old spinster, by the way, is said to have been the inspiration for Henry James' Washington Square. She's also said to haunt the place.

New York City Fire Museum
278 Spring Street
For fire buffs, of course, but interesting generally and an odd, good contrast to the shopping and gallery-hoppers of NoLiTa.

Forbes Galleries
62 Fifth Avenue
Inside the mind of a rich person. It involves Faberge, and lots of toys.

Financial District:

Fraunces Tavern Museum
54 Pearl Street
Revolutionary history!

American Numismatic Society/Fed
33 Liberty Street

Museum of American Finance
48 Wall Street
Both, naturally, deal with finance. The first, with coins!

Midtown:
Horticultural Society of New York
147 West 37th Street 13th Floor
Delightfully old-fashioned and calming.

Mt. Vernon Hotel Museum and Garden
421 East 61st Street

Museum of American Illustration
128 East 63rd Street

Uptown:
Nicholas Roerich Museum
319 W. 107th Street
The home of Russian artist Nicholas Roerich, extremely interesting and perfect for a rainy day.

Museum of Art and Origins
430 West 162nd Street
Its purpose is slightly vague, but both museum and brownstone are lovely!

Queens:

Louis Armstrong House
34-56 107 Street
7 to 103-Corona
Flushing, Queens


Living Museum at Creedmore Psychiatric Center
80-45 Winchester Blvd, Building 75
This is a museum of the hospital's early days, yes, but also a functioning psychiatric hospital and a place to show the patients' work. While it may sound odd or macabre, in fact it's moving and fascinating.

Brooklyn:

City Reliquary
370 Metropolitan Avenue
A small museum to the city that makes for a nice change from all the Williamsburg hipness!

New York City Transit Museum
Corner of Boerum Place and Schermerhorn
Boerum Hill/Cobble Hill
In an abandoned station!

Staten Island:

Alice Austen House
2 Hylan Boulevard • Staten Island
Thursday through Sunday 12:00 P.M. - 5:00 P.M. The grounds are open every day until dusk.
Alice Austen was a Victorian photographer and her cottage is absolutely lovely. The photography is also fascinating. Near the ferry and the bridge.

Staten Island Museum
75 Stuyvesant Place
One of those Victorian museums full of taxidermy and random things.