Merchant’s House Museum

Merchant’s House Museum, one of NYC’s most «haunted» spots, is a hidden gem in NoHo if you’re a socio-​cultural-​history geek (like me, sometimes). It belonged to the Tredwells, a wealthy merchant class family, and is one of the few interior landmarks with original furniture and possessions left from the 19^th century.
I wish we could learn more about the individual family members who lived here (Seabury and Eliza Tredwell had 7 children) but our tour guide was still very informative about the family as a whole in addition to providing interesting insights into their lifestyle and time period.
We were able to peek into one of the two servants’ rooms on the highest floor of the house in addition to stepping into the bedrooms of Mr. and Mrs. Tredwell (separate rooms, which was apparently common back then) on the 2^nd floor. The parlor rooms, where Mrs. Tredwell would host guests 15 minutes at a time, beautifully exhibit Greek revival architectural elements. In total, the house has 5 [creaky] floors, including the basement, and was previously part of a row of townhouses before the others were demolished. I found the kitchen and the roles of the servants to be the most interesting aspect of the tour. (Our tour guide didn’t go into details when I asked her why this house is supposedly haunted since they have a separate Ghost Tour for that throughout the year.)
They are opened Thursday to Monday 12pm-​5pm with 45 min tours at 2pm. I believe they also have neighborhood walking tours during certain Sundays and have extended hours on Thursdays. Admissions is $ 13 (or $ 8 if you’re a student). Photography is allowed, which is nice!

I am going to visit every museum in NYC in the next few years! I’m glad that the Merchant’s House was one of the first on my list. It’s charming and wonderfully historic. As one guide book noted, it’s as if the Tredwell family went out for a walk and we get to have a peek at their home while they’re out. If you’re wandering around SoHo and NoHo, pop in. It’s worth the very slight deviation off the beaten path.

I loved this museum and would return. It’s fascinating and very original. $ 10 was the entry fee. Don’t miss the garden. Not sure it would interest small children as the most interesting part for me was reading the very in depth guide while visiting each room.
Loads of steps so be ready to climb. The staff seemed very knowledgeable and were gracious and welcoming. Make sure you have your reading glasses with you (some of us need them)
It’s a great way to spend a few hours.

Man this house was so cool and I feel like no one has ever heard of it. I was in the area already so I was looking for something to do, but this is the kind of place worth a trip on its own!
I’ve been to many historic sites, and one unique thing about this place is that it has a lot of its original furnishings. Obviously since most people update furniture and kitchens and bathrooms to modern technology, historic sites have to recreate those things, but luckily these people bought into a lifestyle and stuck it out. Another unique thing is displaying the servant’s quarters. Again, I’ve been to a lot of houses and those are decided to be spaces not worth recreating or preserving and are usually turned into offices or something that staff only can access. It’s not as fancy of course as the rest of the house but it’s still an important part of understanding the 19^th century culture instead of acting like the poor people didn’t exist.
My tour guide was very thorough and friendly. The tour group was small so it was easy to ask questions or ask for more information when you are with a couple of others instead of a big crowd. If you like historic sites, this is worth the venture and is pretty cheap for a good tour as well.

Quite simply one of the best small
Museums of New York. A hidden jewel of the 19^th century, perfectly preserved, as they say, «both inside and out».
From the trompe l’oeil vestibule and elegant parlors hung with red brocade to the starkly beautiful servants rooms and practical Kitchen, the house shows New Yorkers and visitors alike what NYC life was like in the 1850’s.

Who knew that the area of the Merchant’s House Museum was once the 5^th Ave of NYC? Stepping into the museum is like going back in time, as only one family lived there and left behind all their things. There are amazing exhibits and events happening all the time, and as a member, I get to return for free and receive discounts on special events. If you love history and a creative community, this is the best of the best!

I love history and recently became enamored with historic houses. Merchant’s House was on my museum bucket list and I finally got the chance to go today. The house is extremely easy to get to from either the 6 or the N and R trains. Even so, despite its accessibility, the house didn’t feel crowded at all.
This townhouse is spread out over several floors, so wear comfortable shoes and be prepared to do lots of stair climbing! But in all, this landmarked home (both exterior and interior) is BEAUTIFUL. Decorated in warm shades, the house appears as it would have in the 19^th Century. There is lots to explore, including the kitchen and the servants’ quarters.
What I personally found intriguing were the collections of notebooks from the members of the Treadwell family. Realizing that people doodled in their notebooks then as I do now made me feel much better about myself, somehow.
I’m also giving five stars for the staff. They were personable and very friendly. Next time, I will try to go for the guided tour. :]

Excellent Museum.
1) I am a huge NYC history buff. For me, this was a must visit.
2) The tour is excellent. It is usually at 2pm. It is an hour long and very informative.
3) It is one of the oldest homes in NYC. And recognized to be most preserved.

We are so lucky to be able to witness first hand how a wealthy family lived in 19^th century NYC!
HOWEVER, a few details surely took much away from the fun… BRING CASH… yes the website says credit cards accepted but yesterday the museum director FORGOT the credit card machine so I had to go out to find an ATM!
I wanted the self guided tour because I did not want to wait 2 hours for the tour w/​tour guide. I was given a 3 ring binder to read in a dark house — THEY DO NOT have taped self guided tours!
The tour guide had no additional knowledge than what was in the 3 ring binder! She was nice but lacked depth. off knowledge. There is no museum shop.

For the love of god, please stop billing yourself as a haunted house!
This house is incredible. It’s been there since 1832, and it has an Exterior AND Interior landmark status (yes, there’s a difference, and no, not very many places have both!). I love that so much of what’s in this house’s collection is from the original owners.
It’s a house museum – so no, you can’t sit on the 1840s sofa, and no, you cannot touch the restored piano in the front parlor. When you arrive, you get a binder that contains all the information on the house and rooms. I’m not sure how to improve on this system, but it gets to be a bit cumbersome if you are navigating your way through the house on a busy day – the hallways and staircases are narrow, so keep your elbows to your sides!
I hoard a star because I can’t emphasize how much I want to curl up and die when I hear people talk about the ghosts here. I have a healthy respect for the *unknown*, but they have candlelit ghost tours year round and have full on reenactments of 19^th century funerals, including a coffin that they carry down to the cemetery on East 2^nd Street. A friend of mine told me they thought the house was for cosplayers when they saw people come out in period costume carrying the coffin down the street. It makes it hard for people who are looking for academic, enriching experiences to take this place seriously.
I also keep a star because unless you know this place is open to the public, you can’t really tell that it is – they don’t have any kind of sign out front that specifies themselves as a museum, just the NYC Landmarks plaque.
If you have $ 10 (or $ 5, if you’re a student) and you’re in the neighborhood, it’s worth visiting at least once. It’ll take an hour of your time, but you’ll see some of the most amazing Greek Revival interior rooms in the entire nation.

My boyfriend and I went very spur of the moment and have no regrets. I’m a big Downton Abbey fan and I found many similarities in the style. The history and self guided tour was great. It took us about an hour and half to go through the whole house. It’s a wonderful thing to see downton

It only seems right my thirteenth review be one of my favorite haunted spots =)
The façade of this federal style stack o’ bricks looks not unalike the rest of the terraced houses, now transformed into apartments, on E 4^th street. Talk about a hidden gem– this place does not want to be found– save by those who will truly appreciate it.
This is a walk-​through experience you can’t buy just anywhere. This is real– not just a glimpse but full immersion into history. The door to this building is a portal into the 19^th century.
I almost felt intrusive the first time I stepped onto these creaky floor boards– and I could see in the threadbare center of the original carpeting running the corridor and the stairway that others, tip toed just as cautiously through this house as I did. Let me explain: In a traditional museum or gallery, artifacts from history have been stripped of its context, traveled, and in some cases, taken apart, and put back together again by hands other than the original owners before it’s been encased behind glass or put on a pedestal under a spot light and behind a velvet rope. You will read some pithy comments about where it came from and what it is, but again, it’ll be written by someone who was just as disconnected from the artifact as you are I am.
Here, thing’s are different. Things here have been at home and in use– and never left since 1835, when the Treadwell family first moved in, up to the death of the last of its family members, a century later. This is the way one very typical, upper-​middle class family lived back then. You will see the personal possessions of and the most intimate, private parts of family’s home; mind you, most of the nineteenth century and the Victorian era were the height of modesty and privacy– when mourning for the death of a husband meant staying indoors and donning an ebony dress for three years. This is personal stuff. You can’t gallivant through this house the way you roam a normal museum with your nose in the air. American society has not conquered these things and gift-​wrapped them as trophies. No, we grew from within it and evolved from it. It’s not a lustrous experience, but a humbling one.
A guided tour is available and depending on the time of the year, there are reenactments done, which are always fun and eerie, since this is considered one of the most haunted place in Manhattan! I personally love places that claim to be the residence of ghouls and ghosts but don’t come here thinking you’ll find it scary. it’s not. If you like staged haunts and are an adrenaline junkie, this will be incredibly boring for you. If you are spiritual and have some imagination, then it may be eerie for you. If you’re a serious ghost hunting guru and you own an EMF detector, then shoot, you’ll love it here.
If you don’t appreciate western history, $ 10 may feel a steep admission for you, as it is quite small, but to me this is well worth it– its unique, and the closest thing to time travel that’s available to us right now, not to mention a change of pace from the rest of the city. If you’re a student however, just go on in. Please. it’s only $ 5 and it’s pretty damn cool.

A really well-​preserved 19^th-​century home, complete with furniture. Friendly, approachable docents and a very low entry fee — $ 10 for adults and $ 5 for students. Instead of masking the rooms with papers, we were each given a thick booklet with large-​print information sheets about each room, the house, the family, and the time period.
I only wish they had more of the clothing on display — they were changing exhibits during our visit.

This is a superb small museum that is magically tucked away just a few blocks from Union Square. Unlike most historic house museums, its furnishings and décor survived basically intact from the time it was first occupied (I think the Tredwells were its second owners, and they moved in in the 1830s). Really felt like stepping back in time. The binders of information that the house provides are very interesting – it looks like it might be too much to take in, but it’s not – everything is simply and clearly written. The back garden is totally charming, too, and would be a great place to sit with a book, or take a date, or… have a wedding? Do they do weddings? The Merchant’s House Museum is also a great family activity – I think kids as young as elementary school age would find something to interest them.

It is billed as a haunted house!!! Honey is a nice docent but basically laughed off a question from one of the tour members who asked about it…
If you market and sell yourself as a haunted house… make it a haunted house… otherwise. while somewhat interesing… itls just an old house…
howcome none of the rooms on the third floor arenlt open.
Dissaponting…I wanted someone to regale me about ghosts not laugh it off as a stupid question.

This has been on my list of things to do in New York for years. It really feels like you stepped into another era. Definitely do the guided tour, the docent was very knowledgeable and a lot of fun.
It was definitely worth it. It is one of the best preserved homes I have seen with a very fascinating history.

A time capsule of old New York, lovingly being restored. Lots of interesting history here, and definitely worth a trip. The money from your admission goes toward restoration. Who knew that 4^th Street used to be considered the suburbs?!

If you love American history, you must visit the Merchant’s House Museum. This is a gem of a museum in the city, it almost feels like a secret because you would never know it was there just passing it on the street. I would recommend doing the tour on your own, which is what I did. You can choose to join the tour at any time, but the guide seemed to spend too much time in each room and I could see some of the patrons looking at their watches and wanting to walk around on their own. The people that work here are wonderful and are brimming with knowledge and are eager to share it. The courtyard in the back is beautiful, don’t miss it!
I did wish there were more labels and information in each room, I found myself feeling a little lost when looking at a view room set-​ups. My favorite part was looking at all of the little personal objects that belonged to the family, like their beautiful handwritten letters and little bedroom knick knacks.

Not bad at all as these things go, though a bit steep at $ 10. I guess it’s hard to keep these places going without such levels of support.
An interesting, albeit brief, look into middle class American life in the 19^th century. Unless you’re a buff of the period or furniture/​design, you might be a little bored, but it’s worthwhile. The Ghost Tour I took had me thinking there’d be more creaking, whispering, and poltergeisterism. No such luck, but I can see this place being fun for a murder mystery night.
The coolest things are the period furniture and the Irish servants’ quarters, upstairs. It really calls to light the plight of Potato Famine-​fleeing Irish immigrants in the 1800s. They should open up more of the top floor, but, as the curator told us, «that’s how we lure you back.»

This house is one of the place in NYC that we sure many have already walked through it thousand times, yet will definitely not knowing what it is.
It’s actually a museum since 1936!
But if you happen to turn your head to this house, please come inside and ring the bell. This place will transport you back to 1835.
Thanks to the stubbornness of Tredwell family that did’t want to adjust their home to the pace of time, now we could experience how mid 19^th upper middle class family used to live in NYC.
Most of the house accessories and furnitures are still kept in original condition, the chairs, the gaselier, the mahogany cabinets, chamber pot and etc.
The house has 6 floors, but unfortunately they currently only showing 3 floors. Come on guys, we are begging you, show us more!
(The museum right now is still under construction in the back façade and servant quarter)
It feels like intruding one’s personal house when stepping into this house, and maybe, maybe Lady Gertrude herself is not too keen people come and see her place.