| Tonight, as part of the 2016 River to River Festival, more than a dozen Lower Manhattan museums, cultural institutions, and historic landmarks will open their doors, free of charge, for Night at the Museums.
Participating venues include the National September 11 Memorial Museum, the South Street Seaport Museum, the China Institute, the Museum of Jewish Heritage, the Museum of American Finance, the Fraunces Tavern Museum, the Anne Frank Center, Poets House, the Skyscraper Museum, and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian.
Also today and this evening, the Make Music New York festival (a live, free musical celebration with more than 1,200 concerts on streets, sidewalks, and parks across the five boroughs) will bring melody and harmony to ten venues in Lower Manhattan. At the China Institute (40 Rector Street), self-described “crooning ukuleleist” Roberto Buscarsi will perform standards and world music from 4:00 to 4:45 pm, and saxophonist-singer-composer based will offer her unique combination of classical and Chinese influences, infused with jazz and pop, from 6:00 to 7:30 pm.
On the World Trade Center Plaza, classical music indie-iconoclasts PubliQuartet will perform a program entitled “New York Songs,” which will blend canonical and improvised pieces, from 6:00 to 7:00 pm.
In Zuccotti Park (at the corner of Broadway and Liberty Street), punk banjo artiste Morgan O’Kane will serve up a post-modern take on bluegrass and Americana from 12:30 to 1:30 pm.
At the Museum of Jewish Heritage (36 Battery Place), DK and the Joy Machine, a virtuoso on the mountain dulcimer, will perform an indie-folk set from 4:00 to 5:30 pm, followed by Eugene Marlow’s Heritage Ensemble (a contemporary world music quintet that specializes in jazz, Afro-Caribbean, Brazilian, and classical styles) from 5:45 to 6:30 pm.
For more information about these performances, or the ten other artists who will perform at Battery Park’s Castle Clinton, 40 Wall Street, the Museum of American Finance (48 Wall Street), Pier 16, the Surrogate Court building, and the Municipal Building, please browse:MakeMusicNY.org/summer-schedule/2016/map/, and zoom in on the interactive map for Lower Manhattan venues.
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African Burial Ground National Monument
290 Broadway Between Duane and Reade Streets 212.637.2019 www.nps.gov/afbg
African Burial Ground National Monument, a unit of the National Park Service, is the first national monument dedicated to Africans of early New York and Americans of African descent.
Special Programming
Tour the visitor center, rangers will be on hand to answer questions and make periodic presentations. View the film Our Time At Last, which details the history of the African Burial Ground from its creation through its rediscovery to its designation as a national park.
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The Anne Frank Center USA, a partner of the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, educates and inspires visitors through the diary, spirit, and legacy of Anne Frank. A permanent exhibition enables visitors to learn about Anne’s world in hiding and her incredible optimism despite the chaos that was around her.
Special Programming
See the documentary film “The Short Life of Anne Frank” every half hour from 4pm to 7.30pm.
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Founded in 1926, China Institute is committed to advancing a deeper understanding of China through programs in education, culture, business, and art in the belief that cross-cultural understanding strengthens the global community. This September, China Institute will be celebrating its 90th anniversary at its new Downtown headquarters and opening its inaugural exhibition: Art in a Time of Chaos: Masterworks from Six Dynasties China, 3rd-6th Centuries.
Special Programming
Enjoy live music featuring the Stephanie Chou Trio, a Chinese calligraphy demonstration, delicious ice cream from Chinatown Ice Cream Factory, and more. *In case of rain, enter at 40 Rector Street*
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At 26 Wall Street, George Washington took the oath of office as our first President, and this site was home to the first Congress, Supreme Court, and Executive Branch offices. The current structure, a Customs House, later served as part of the US Sub-Treasury. Now, Federal Hall National Memorial serves as a museum and memorial to our first President and the beginnings of the United States of America.
Special Programming
NPS Ranger-led tours will be offered on the hour from 4 to 7 P.M.
First 100 visitors will receive a reproduction of the Bill of Rights.
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Fraunces Tavern Museum
Fraunces Tavern Museum is the only museum in Manhattan that focuses on the Colonial Era, the Revolutionary War, and the Early Republic. Exhibitions include Dunsmore: Illustrating the American Revolutionary War, and Lafayette, featuring artifacts relating to the Revolutionary War hero, Marquis de Lafayette.
Special Programming
Enjoy colonial music and dance presentations provided by historical Balladeer Linda Russell and The Tricorne Dance Ensemble. Kids can dress up in colonial costume and take home a souvenir photo.
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Lower Manhattan Tours
Reserve your tour in advance
Meeting Point: 55 and 57 Wall Street bwtn William and Hanover Streets
212.666.0175www.LowerManhattanTours.com
Lower Manhattan Tours takes visitors through the historic capital of world finance: the one-square-mile of downtown Manhattan known as “Wall Street”. Visitors learn about people, places, and events comprising over 200 years of history, as they walk among locations where it all happened.
Special Programming
Mini-Walking Tours (half-hour duration)
- Tours depart every 30 minutes, from 4 P.M. to 7.30 P.M.
- Tours meet in front of 55 & 57 Wall Street and end at one of the museums or historic sites participating in Night at the Museums.
- Book in advance at www.LowerManhattanTours.com Tours are limited to 60 people per time slot and will fill up quickly.
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Museum of American Finance
48 Wall Street 212.908.4110 www.MoAF.org
The Museum of American Finance features permanent exhibits on the financial markets, and Alexander Hamilton as the architect of the US financial system.
The Museum’s most current exhibit, Worth Its Weight: Gold from the Ground Up, captivates visitors with the many spectacular and unexpected ways gold has influenced our lives – from science and technology to entertainment and pop culture to finance and economics.
Special Programming
Tours at 5 P.M., 6 P.M., and 7 P.M. with a limit of 20 people per tour.
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Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust
36 Battery Place 646.437.4202 www.mjhnyc.org
Special exhibitions on view are:Stitching History From the Holocaust, which explores the true story of talent lost, andSeeking Justice: The Leo Frank Case Revisited, a thought-provoking exhibition about the people and events that have sparked more than a century of debate.
Andy Goldsworthy’s Garden of Stones is an outdoor contemplative space.
Special Programming
Guided tours on the hour from 4 to 7pm
Music presented as part of Make Music New York
4:00-5:30 DK and the Joy Machine (Irish dulcimer)
5:45-6:30 Eugene Marlow’s Heritage Ensemble
Melding the rhythms of Jazz, Hebraic, Afro-Caribbean and Brazilian musical cultures
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Connect with history and discover the many national treasures of New York. Begin your journey into family history research/genealogy in the Research Center by examining immigrant arrivals (including Ellis Island), Federal census and naturalization (citizenship) records, plus so much more. The Learning Center offers “Amending America” activities and “Archival Adventures.” In the Welcome Center, view select original documents that explore the Bill of Rights, constitutional amendments, and instances in which American citizens have sought to amend the Constitution to attain greater rights and freedoms.
Special Programming
Meet Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson (historic reenactors) and witness these famous founding fathers debate our nation’s principles.
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National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution
One Bowling Green 212.514.3700 AmericanIndian.si.edu
Exhibitions and programs present the cultural diversity of the Native peoples of the Americas, from the Arctic Circle to the southern tip of Patagonia. The Museum is located within the historic Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House, one of the most splendid Beaux-Arts buildings in New York, across the street from Battery Park.
Special Programming
Tours will be offered on the hour from 5 P.M. to 7 P.M. of the Museum’s collections, Infinity of Nations, Unbound: Narrative Art of the Plains, and the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House Building.
Children can also partake in fun and educational activities celebrating Native Cultures of the Great Plains from 4 P.M. to 8 P.M.
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The National September 11 Memorial Museum is the country’s principal institution concerned with exploring the implications of the events of 9/11, documenting the impact of those events and exploring 9/11’s continuing significance. The Museum displays artifacts associated with the events of 9/11, w
hile presenting stories of loss and recovery.
Special Programming
Free admission is from 5 P.M. to 8 P.M., with the last admission two hours prior to closing. Tickets are not available in advance and are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis at the Museum starting at 4 P.M.
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Created by the September 11th Families Association, the 9/11 Tribute Center offers visitors a place where they can connect with people from the 9/11 community including survivors, family members, rescuers and first responders. Visitors learn about 9/11 through personal stories told by those who were there. From tragedy to survival to rebuilding, the visit connects people to the unforgettable experiences of our community.
Special Programming
Volunteer Guides will speak to visitors about the events of September 11th as well as their personal experiences every half-hour between 4:30 P.M. and 6:30 P.M.
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The Municipal Archives, located in a stunning Beaux Arts building, holds New York City Government’s historical records beginning with documents deeding land to the Lady Deborah Moody in 1645. The remarkable archives include early maps of the City, drawings for the Brooklyn Bridge, designs for Central Park, and other municipal records. Exhibits located in the Visitor Center showcase various thematic collections.
Special Programming
See the special exhibition Little Syria, NY: An Immigrant Community’s Life and Legacy, which documents a neighborhood on Manhattan’s lower west side that was home to one of the largest and earliest communities of Arab Americans in the nation. The exhibition is supplemented by records from the Municipal Archives and coincides with a display of photographs by Mike Appleton. Enjoy live music throughout the evening in the lobby.
Music presented as part of Make Music New York
5:45 P.M.-6:30 P.M. Epyllion (Arabic/Middle Eastern/Folk)
6:30 P.M.-8 P.M. Hejira (Arabic/Middle Eastern/Jazz)
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Everyone can find something in the wide and varied tradition of verse that speaks directly to them at this national poetry library and literary center. Peruse the 60,000-volume poetry library and see exhibitions that focus on the physical and visual expression of poetry.
Special Programming
View paintings from a special exhibition, Metamorphosis: The Collaboration of Poet Barbara Guest & Artist Fay Lansner. Participate in literary scavenger hunt: visitors will be given popular poems with several words missing and will have to find the poems in books in Poets House’s extensive library. The first person to correctly complete three poems will receive a free, one-year membership to Poets House. Everyone who fills in at least one poem correctly will get a special Haiku pencil, curated by poet Robert Hass. At 7 P.M., hear readings from the new anthology, The Collected Works of Adrienne Rich.
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Special Programming
5 P.M. A Curator’s Tour with founding director Carol Willis of the Museum’s special exhibition Garden City | Mega City.
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South Street Seaport Museum is a cultural institution dedicated to telling the story of the rise of New York as a port city and its critical role in the development of the United States. The Museum uses its historic buildings, unique art collection, and ships to provide educational experiences and interactive exhibits, including Street of Ships: The Port and Its People.
Special Programming
Free Admission to Exhibition Street of Ships: The Port and Its People
4.-8 P.M. | Main museum building, 12 Fulton Street
Waterfront History Walking Tour (1-hour duration)
(Registration Required) | 4:30 P.M. & 6:30 P.M.
Pier 16, South Street at the foot of Burling Slip
Live Demonstrations at Bowne Co. Stationers and Printers
4 -8 P.M. | 209-211 Water Street
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