Old Merchant's House
About this property
The Merchant's House Museum, also known as the Old Merchant's House and the Seabury Tredwell House, is a historic house museum at 29 East Fourth Street in the NoHo neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Built by the hatter Joseph Brewster in 1831 and 1832, the edifice is a four-story building with a Federal-style brick facade and a Greek Revival interior. It was the Tredwell family's residence for almost a century before becoming a museum in 1936. The Merchant's House Museum is the only 19th-century residence in Manhattan with its original exterior and interior intact. Brewster built the house as a speculative development, selling it in 1835 to the merchant Seabury Tredwell, who lived there with his family and servants. The structure remained in the family until the death of the youngest child, Gertrude, in 1933. George Chapman, a distant relative, purchased the building and transformed it into a museum. Over the next three decades, the museum's operators struggled to obtain funds to restore the deteriorating house. The architect Joseph Roberto completely renovated the building from 1970 to 1980, and the museum underwent further restoration in the early 1990s after the demolition of nearby buildings damaged it. During the 2010s and 2020s, museum officials protested the construction of a nearby hotel because of concerns that the project would further damage the house. The Merchant's House Museum has a raised basement, a front doorway accessed by a stoop, a slate roof, and a rear garden. The interior consists of a family room and kitchen in the basement; two parlors on the first floor; and bedrooms on the upper floors. There is also a secret passageway that was used to shelter fugitive slaves as part of the Underground Railroad. The museum's collection has over 4,500 items owned by the Tredwell family, including pieces of furniture, clothing, household items, and personal items. The museum also hosts various performances and events, and it operates tours and educational programs. Reviewers have praised both the museum's exhibits and the architecture. The building's facade and interior are New York City designated landmarks, and the building is a National Historic Landmark.
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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about Old Merchant's House
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Questions about this property
When was Old Merchant's House listed on the National Register?
Old Merchant's House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 14, 1966.
What type of historic resource is Old Merchant's House?
Old Merchant's House is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
Is Old Merchant's House a National Historic Landmark?
Yes. Old Merchant's House has been designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL), the highest level of federal recognition for historic properties in the United States.
What is the period of significance for Old Merchant's House?
The period of significance for Old Merchant's House is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near Old Merchant's House?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Old Merchant's House will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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