Rediscover

Welcome Home As summer draws to a close and you return from travels near and far, the Historic House Trust invites you to continue your explorations by rediscovering the delights our own city has to offer. With a membership to the Historic House Trust you have the freedom to journey across all five boroughs in search of new adventures. With unlimited free admission to the historic house museums in our collection, New York City is your oyster! And make sure to check out our new membership benefits, including special members-only tours, invitations to our 30th anniversary lecture series, and more (full benefits enclosed).

We hope you will consider becoming a member and joining the Historic House Trust in preserving and promoting the 366 years of remarkable cultural history that remain alive through our sites. Simply fill out the enclosed reply form, mail it back with your donation in the envelope provided, and you will be on your way to new discoveries!

Keep Exploring You have likely taken in the spectacular views from the top of the Empire State Building, paid tribute to the lovely Lady Liberty, and sampled Frank Sinatra’s favorite slice. But what New Yorker stops there? Reclaim your status as an urban adventurer by spending a day at one of the extraordinary sites in the Historic House Trust’s collection. This year we’re making it easy for you by creating travel guides to these sites and the vibrant, diverse neighborhoods that surround them. These guides will be sent to members throughout the year, but you can check out a few teasers below!

Haunting in the Heights Grab your membership card and venture to Washington Heights to visit the Morris-Jumel Mansion Museum, a jewel that has played host to such luminaries as George Washington and John Adams. The mansion’s most fascinating habitué, however, was arguably the ambitious Madame Eliza Jumel (1775-1865). Eliza was born into poverty, but through business acumen and astute investments she became one of the wealthiest women in New York City. After her death, colorful exaggerations formed a legendary narrative of Eliza’s life that is likely far more

dramatic than reality. But why not get the true story from the Madame herself? According to some, Eliza’s spirit still haunts the mansion. And don’t miss the opportunity to visit Aaron Burr’s bedroom, where Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote portions of his Broadway hit Hamilton.

Has ghost hunting stirred an appetite? Just two blocks from the mansion find traditional Dominican fare at the cozy restaurant L’fonda. Walk there via Sylvan Terrace, a picture-perfect cobblestone street lined with 19th-century wooden row houses. This beautifully restored slice of history has been used in such period productions as HBO’s Boardwalk Empire. Sylvan Terrace; Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

The Morris-Jumel Mansion in 1903, Detroit Publishing Company; Courtesy of the Library of Congress

with a membership to the Historic House Trust

A Rebellious Woman Born only one year after Madame Jumel’s death, Alice Austen (1866-1952) lived during a fascinating time of change. Independent, curious, and creative, Austen seized the new opportunities that emerged from the Gilded Age to become one of America’s earliest and most prolific female photographers. Austen’s legacy has been preserved through her family home, Staten Island’s Clear Comfort (a.k.a. the Alice Austen House Museum). Use your membership card to visit the museum, which has reenvisioned its representation of this complex woman, including embracing a more inclusive interpretation of the relationship between Austen and Gertrude Tate, and the decades they shared together at Clear Comfort.

After your visit, stop for lunch at J’s on the Bay, a 1950s-style diner that, like Austen, offers twists on all-American traditions, with dishes such as chicken and waffles topped with cheddar cheese, caramelized bacon-onion jam, and chipotle aioli. Then head to one of the city’s hidden gems, the New York Chinese Scholar’s Garden, just a quick 15-minute drive away. Part of the Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden, this exotic landscape features magnificent rock formations, pavilions, and waterfalls. One of only two authentic scholar’s gardens in the United States, this unexpected destination was created in China by a team of 40 artisans and reconstructed in Staten Island by craftsmen-in-residence at Snug Harbor.

Dig in to Flushing If you ask any savvy New Yorker for tips on the best eats in New York City, don’t be surprised when they point you to Flushing, Queens. Hop off at the last stop on the 7 train and make your way to the Golden Shopping Mall, where you’ll find two floors packed with food stalls hawking everything from spicy lamb sandwiches to exquisite dumplings. Some of the best can be found at Tian Jin Dumpling House, a northern Chinese stall that sells about 10,000 juicy, aromatic dumplings a day. Next, head around the corner to Fang Gourmet Tea for a tasting of world-class tea from China and Taiwan. Five dollars will cover a tasting of even those blends that sell for exorbitant prices. Bring a piece of Flushing home with a stop at JMart, one of the largest Chinese markets in New York City. The selection is astonishingly

vast, but we recommend the New Flushing Bakery stand for one of the city’s finest egg custard tarts.

Stuffed yet? Burn off some calories with a walk to one of our three historic sites located in Flushing—the Lewis H. Latimer House, Kingsland Homestead, or the Bowne House (or why not use your membership card to get free admission to all three!). Significant historical moments occured at these houses, from the establishment of religious tolerance in America to the innovation of a brillant African-American inventor and “Renaissance man.” Whatever strikes your fancy in Queens, our members get unlimited access to the social, political, and economic history of New York City’s most diverse borough.

Become a Member Today Whether you are new to New York City or a lifelong resident, membership to the Historic House Trust makes it simple to find your next adventure and fall in love with the metropolis for the first time, or all over again. Grab your membership card, your special edition HHT baseball cap (a benefit of a Family Level membership), and get out there and keep exploring!

Trude & I Masked, Short Skirts, 1891; Courtesy of

Historic Richmond Town and the Alice Austen House

New York Chinese Scholar’s Garden; Courtesy of the Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden

Dumplings from Tianjin Dumpling House; Courtesy of Vicky Wasik/Serious Eats

Postcard of the Bowne House, 1946; Courtesy of Hip Postcard

Rediscover

Join the Historic House Trust today! By supporting our work of preserving, promoting, and providing expertise to the 23 extraordinary historic sites in our

collection, you will ensure that New York City’s rich architectural and cultural heritage remains a vibrant educational tool for future generations. Join online at www.historichousetrust.org. Many thanks!

Please choose your membership level and fill out the information on the reverse:

Friend ($50) / Senior or Student ($35)• One membership card• Free admission to all Historic House Trust sites*• Monthly e-blasts highlighting the best events at Historic House Trust sites• Travel guides to Historic House Trust sites• Invitations to lectures and special events throughout the year• Acknowledgment on the Historic House Trust website

Family ($125)• Benefits of a Friend membership, plus:• Second membership card• Free admission extended to members’ children• Select one special gift (view images of notecards and baseball cap on our website):

Special Family ($250)• Benefits of a Family membership, plus:• Invitations to two members-only events that will allow exclusive access to

the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre and the Little Red Lighthouse

Patron ($500)• Benefits of a Special Family membership, plus:• “Pay it forward” by funding five Family memberships that will be offered to visiting

schoolchildren so that they can continue exploring our sites with their families

Cornerstone ($1,000)• Benefits of a Patron membership, plus:• Private, behind-the-scenes tour of one Historic House Trust site of your choice*

I do not wish to receive a special gift

Most Popular

Set of 23 notecards featuring beautiful watercolors of HHT houses

Special edition HHT baseball cap (back by popular demand!)

*Due to certain restrictions, please inquire about access to houses that are not regularly open to the public, including the Seguine Mansion, the Little Red Lighthouse, Gracie Mansion, and the Hendrick I. Lott House.

Name(s): _____________________________________________________________________________________

Address: _____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________City State Zip

Telephone: ____________________________ Email: _________________________________________

Payment: □ Check enclosed or Please charge: □ American Express □ MasterCard □ Visa

Card #: __________________________________________ Exp.: (____/____) Security Code: ________

Name as it Appears on Card: _____________________________________________________________ Cardholder’s Signature: _________________________________________________________________

Please make your check payable to: HISTORIC HOUSE TRUST OF NEW YORK CITY

The Arsenal, Central Park830 Fifth Avenue, Room 203

New York, NY 10065

Historic House Trust is a 501(c)(3) organization. All membership donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.

Does your company offer matching contributions? If so, increase your membership level by including your company’s matching gift form.

Thank you for supporting the Historic House Trust of New York City!

Prefer to join online or via phone? Visit www.historichousetrust.org or contact Matthew Coody at 212-360-8204 or matthew.coody@historichousetrust.org.