Merchant's House Museum

Photograph of foyer
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General Info

Location & Directions

Address
29 East Fourth Street, New York, NY 10003

The Museum is located between Lafayette Street and Bowery in historic NoHo, bordering Greenwich Village, the East Village, and SoHo.

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Public Transportation
Subway N or R to Eighth Street, #6 to Astor Place, or F, B to Broadway/Lafayette
Bus M5 or M6 to Broadway/4th Street,  M103 to 4th Street, or M1 to Broadway and 8th Street.

Parking
An outdoor parking lot is located close by at the corner Lafayette and Great Jones.
Alternate side of the street parking and meters are also available.

Hours & Admissions

Hours
Open 12 to 5 p.m., Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday.
Closed Tuesday & Wednesday.

Tours are self-guided, with docents available to answer questions. Reservations are not necessary for groups of 10 or less. (Click here for information about Group Programs.)

Holiday Closings
 Easter Sunday, Independence Day (July 4), Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve (December 24), Christmas Day (December 25), and New Year's Eve (December 31)

Admission
$8 General, $5 Students & Over 65
FREE for Members and children under 12 accompanied by an adult.

What You'll See

Built in 1832, the late-Federal and Greek Revival house is considered one of the finest surviving examples of the architecture of the period. Three floors and eight period rooms display the possessions of the wealthy merchant family that lived in the house for 100 years -- from 1835 to 1933 -- including their furnishings, clothing, and personal items. Our 19th-century rear garden is also open for viewing.

A recent visitor wrote: "I've never experienced such a closeness with a bygone era. I was enthralled."

Preview of rear parlor panorama
SNEAK PREVIEW - Click here to take an online 360-degree panoramic tour of the Museum.

Ghosts?

"Manhattan's most haunted house." The New York Times, October 2006

Photograph of Gertrude TredwellSome say the Tredwells, who lived in this house for nearly 100 years, are still here. Gertrude Tredwell, in particular, is thought to be watching over her family home. Born in an upstairs bedroom in 1840, Gertrude never married and lived her entire life here until she died, at the age of 93, in 1933. She was the last member of the Tredwell family to occupy the house before it became a museum, in 1936.

Since the 1930s, tales of strange and unexplainable happenings have surrounded the Merchant's House. Staff, volunteers, visitors, neighbors, even passersby, have reported seeing, hearing, and smelling things that weren't there.

Over the years, a number of psychics and paranormal investigators have visited the site, but their findings have always been inconclusive. In 2006, the Museum decided to mount its own investigation with the help of Historic Paranormal Investigations, a NYC-based group. The evidence is mounting that there is something here.

Whether or not you are a believer, you'll enjoy reading our recently compiled booklet of ghost stories collected over the years by a member of the Museum's board. Visit the Museum's online shop to purchase a copy of Some Say They Never Left: Spirited Tales and Ghostly Legends of the Merchant's House Museum, and decide for yourself. And if you visit the museum and have an "experience," please let one of the staff know so we can add your story to our growing roster of ghost tales.

Photograph of Gertrude Tredwell from the Museum's collection, MHM 2002.0201