Museum of the City of New York in New York, USA

The Museum of the City of New York is devoted specifically to New York City: how it developed, how its residents have shaped it, and how subjects such as housing, immigration, transportation, architecture, art, theater, photography, politics, and popular culture fit into the city’s history. Its collection contains approximately 750,000 objects, while the museum’s exhibitions combine original material with photographs, film, digital media, and other interpretive displays.

From Gracie Mansion to Fifth Avenue

The museum was founded in 1923 by Scottish-born writer Henry Collins Brown. Its first home was Gracie Mansion, the building that later became the official residence of New York City’s mayor.

Hardinge Scholle became the museum’s director in 1926 and oversaw plans for a permanent building. New York City provided a site on Fifth Avenue between East 103rd and East 104th Streets. Architect Joseph H. Freedlander designed the Georgian Colonial Revival building, with construction beginning in 1929 and completion following in 1932.

The Fifth Avenue location places the museum directly opposite Central Park. The building’s red-brick exterior, limestone entrance, columns, and central pediment remain easily recognizable features of the institution.

What the Museum Collects

The collection documents New York through several types of material rather than through a single artistic or historical category. Its holdings include photographs, prints, paintings, sculpture, costumes and textiles, furniture, decorative arts, manuscripts, ephemera, archival collections, maps, toys, and objects connected with the city’s theatrical history.

Only a portion of the approximately 750,000 objects can be displayed in the galleries at any one time. The museum has also digitized nearly 190,000 collection records for online access, with additional material being added as cataloging and imaging work continues.

Some holdings are closely associated with individual parts of New York’s cultural history. The museum preserves Jacob Riis glass negatives, handwritten material by playwright Eugene O’Neill, period furniture associated with Duncan Phyfe, clothing and textiles, and extensive photographic records of the changing city.

The Theater Collection

The Theater Collection alone contains more than 200,000 accessioned objects documenting theatrical performance in New York from the late 18th century through present-day Broadway productions. Scripts, correspondence, production photographs, posters, programs, scores, costume and set designs, props, and performers’ papers record the development of Broadway and other forms of entertainment in the city.

Among its holdings are materials connected with George M. Cohan, George and Ira Gershwin, Richard Rodgers, Mary Martin, and Eugene O’Neill. The collection also extends beyond Broadway to subjects including Yiddish theater, vaudeville, circus performance, and other entertainment traditions that formed part of New York’s stage history.

New York at Its Core

New York at Its Core is an ongoing exhibition centered on roughly four centuries of the city’s history. Its galleries examine New York through the recurring themes of money, density, diversity, and creativity, using historical objects, images, video, photography, and interactive displays.

The exhibition follows New York from the early colonial period through the development of the modern five-borough city. Nearly 450 historical objects and images are used to connect large changes in the city with individual people and everyday life.

Well-known figures appear alongside people who are less familiar outside specialist histories. The exhibition also considers how natural resources, animals, trade, transportation, migration, construction, and population growth influenced New York’s physical and economic development.

Timescapes

Timescapes is the museum’s ongoing 28-minute multimedia film about New York City’s physical and social development. Animated maps are combined with archival photographs, paintings, and prints to show how a comparatively small settlement developed into the present city.

The film includes material extending into the 21st century rather than ending with early New York history. It is normally screened at regular intervals during museum hours. Spanish, French, and Mandarin translations are available through headsets, subject to availability.

The Stettheimer Dollhouse

One of the museum’s distinctive collection objects is the Carrie Walter Stettheimer Dollhouse. Carrie Stettheimer worked on the miniature interior for nearly two decades, between 1916 and 1935. Rather than functioning as a children’s toy, it was conceived as an elaborate miniature environment reflecting the artistic and social circle shared by Carrie and her sisters Ettie and Florine Stettheimer.

The rooms contain detailed furnishings as well as miniature artworks made by members of the Stettheimers’ circle. Among them is a small work by Marcel Duchamp. Ettie Stettheimer gave the dollhouse to the Museum of the City of New York in 1945.

Visiting the Museum

The museum stands at 1220 Fifth Avenue, between East 103rd and East 104th Streets, on the eastern side of Central Park. The closest subway station is the 103rd Street station on the 6 line. The museum identifies the 96th Street Q station as the closest wheelchair-accessible subway station.

Regular public hours are 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, with Wednesday evening hours extending to 9:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday hours are 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. The museum closes on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day. Visitors planning around a particular exhibition or program should check the official visitor information before arriving because schedules and ticket policies can change.

Current general admission is $23 for adults, $18 for visitors aged 65 and older with ID, and $14 for students aged 19 and older with ID. Visitors aged 18 and under receive free admission. New York City residents may pay what they can, and regular Wednesday admission is free for all visitors when tickets are obtained at the museum’s ticket counters. These offers do not necessarily apply to organized groups of 10 or more.

Accessibility

An accessible ramp entrance is located on East 104th Street between Fifth and Madison Avenues. Elevators provide access to all museum levels and to Ronay Menschel Hall. Manual wheelchairs are available without charge subject to availability, and motorized wheelchairs are permitted.

The museum provides ADA-accessible restrooms, large-print and high-contrast exhibition transcripts, assistive listening devices for auditorium events, open captions on exhibition videos, and noise-reduction headphones subject to availability. Personal care assistants accompanying visitors with disabilities receive free admission when arranged at the museum’s ticket desk. Service dogs are permitted.

Visitors who need a particular accommodation can review the museum’s official accessibility information before visiting.