Why Love NY

Let me start by apologizing for the dearth of updates as of late. I had the best intentions of posting the past few days, but work (and subsequently Rock Band) have kept me away. But no longer! After trying and failing to best Molly Hatchet’s Flirtin’ with Disaster on guitar on the hard difficulty level, I’ve moved on to bigger and better things. While I was tempted to give the old girl a go again after a good night’s sleep, I wisely chose to venture out to what some folks like to call “outdoors”.

Which brings us to our current tale, that of the Merchant’s House Museum, a historic home in the East Village. Adrianne and I decided to grab a cup of coffee at the MudSpot inside Kiehl’s and then go on an impromptu walking tour of the East Village. On our way we stopped by the newly developed A Building to check out a pair of studios that are on the market. In short, the apartments are beautiful, albeit small and far too expensive for mere mortals like us.

Moving on, we made our way through Tompkin’s Square Park, taking a few minutes to check out the dog park. After watching a variety of small dogs being adorable / humping each other, we proceeded down to East 4th St and the Merchant’s House Museum.

I first discovered the museum during an exploratory walk through the East Village shortly after I moved to the neighborhood. I had been wanting to see what it was all about since then. Procrastination being what it is, over a year had passed and I still had not set foot in the museum. But today I was inspired. Having recently seen episode 206 of Ghost Hunters, my favorite “new” show (thank you writer’s strike), I had a newfound interest in the Merchant’s House Museum. The titular duo of Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson investigated the the museum for paranormal activity back in 2005. If it was good enough for the SciFi channel it was good enough for me. Sure, it wasn’t haunted, but I had to see it for myself.

For those of you unfamiliar with Ghost Hunters, I’ll summarize it thusly - Jason and Grant are family men living in Rhode Island (though unfortunately not in a My Two Dad’s kind of way). By day, they make a living as Roto-Rooter plumbers, and by night (well, really it’s not always night, I suppose plumbers have flexible hours) they pursue their hobby of ghost hunting with a team of able bodied volunteers. Steve Gonsalves is my favorite of said team, mainly due to a notorious clip where he extolls a list of his fears. “I’m afraid of insects and heights. I’m afraid of amusement park rides, roller coasters. I’m afraid of flying. I’m afraid of a lot of things.” While I can’t seem to find that clip, here he is being scared of spiders.

and heights

Now I don’t believe in ghosts, but as is true in so many aspects of life, it’s the characters that make the show so compelling. In The Ledge Lighthouse episode of Ghost Hunters (named such because they turn up nothing at the Merchant’s House Museum) the best thing ever happens. The Rhode Island posse is chilling outside of the Merchant’s House Museum when some random guy walks by, grabs some of their equipment and makes a run for it. Steve Gonsalves gives chase, and hilarity ensues (to see for yourself jump to the 6:15 mark of the following clip).

This episode was enough to pique my interest. So my fiancée and I are standing outside the museum, unsure if we want to enter. After a short deliberation, Adrianne rings the buzzer and a kind older woman lets us in. A mildly confusing conversation ensues where we attempt to explain how we’ve seen the museum on television (”oh on the History Channel?”) We fork over our $8 each and began exploring this fascinating 19th century home.

A little history - the home was built in 1832, was lived in by a wealthy merchant and his family for about 100 years. It is rumored to be haunted by the ghost of Gertrude Tredwell, the youngest daughter, who died a literal old maid at the age of 93. It truly is an amazing and unique experience which I highly recommend if you are even the slightest bit intrigued by the history of New York City. According to The New York Times “The distinction of the Merchant’s House — and it is a powerful one — is that it is the real thing. One simply walks through the beautiful doorway … into another time and place in New York.” And you don’t even need a DeLorean, how sweet is that?

In closing, I leave you with this nursery rhyme found within the walls of the Merchant’s House Museum.

Ah, the innocence of an older time.

Merchant’s House Museum
29 E 4th St (between Lafayette & Bowery)
http://merchantshouse.org
212.777.1089