New York Education & Historic Landmarks

It's easy to get caught up in looking at New York City's skyscrapers and modern technology, but there are plenty of preserved bits of history in our midst. If you need a break from mobile technology and "screen time", try taking a walk in the shoes of someone who lived in the 17- or 1800s; the links below will guide you to places where you can step back in time and see how New Yorkers lived, worked and played in the centuries before our own.

Historic landmarks

• Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site Visit the home of the only U.S. president born in New York City. Guided tours of period rooms available along with gallery viewing.
• The Morgan Library & Museum Originally the private library of financier Pierpoint Morgan, the museum houses illuminated, literary and historical manuscripts; early printed books and master drawings and prints. It now also includes rare materials including music manuscripts, early children's books, Americana and 20th century work.
• Merchant's House Museum Family home preserved intact from the 19th century includes family's original furnishings and personal possessions from 1835-1865.
• African Burial Ground National Monument 6.6-acre burial ground in Lower Manhattan was rediscovered in 1991
• Patriot Tours Walking tours through lower Manhattan of the city's great landmarks of the Revolutionary War era.
• Federal Hall National Memorial Home to first Congress, Supreme Court and Executive Branch offices; current structure was once a customs house and then was part of the U.S. sub-treasury. It's now a museum and memorial to George Washington and early U.S. history.
• Castle Clinton National Monument Southern tip of Manhattan, was initially built to prevent a British invasion in 1812, but is now home to theatergoers, immigrants, tourists and visitors to New York harbor.
• Fraunces Tavern Museum New York City history as it relates to Colonial America, the Revolutionary War and the early republic. The museum is in a landmarked 1719 building that displays art and artifacts from the historic site and the American Revolution.
• George Gustav Heye Center (The National Museum of the American Indian) Within the historic Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom house; exhibitions that include music, dance, films and symposia explore the diversity of the Native Americans.
• General Grant National Memorial Final resting place of President Ulysses S. Grant; largest mausoleum in North America.
• Ellis Island The Ellis Island Immigration Museum is part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. The museum is within the immigration station complex and displays the stories of 12 million immigrants who entered America there. There is a 45-minute audio tour and a children's tour offered in five languages.
• Statue of Liberty National Monument The Statue of Liberty is a universal symbol of freedom and democracy; it became a National Monument in 1924 and was restored on July 4, 1986.
• Kingsland Homestead Home of the Queens Historical Society, 18th century farmhouse.
• Old Stone House Reconstructed 1699 Dutch farmhouse that was central to the Battle of Brooklyn; museum and community resource about the American Revolution, colonial life and Brooklyn.
• Hamilton Grange National Memorial Country home built on the Harlem estate of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton.
• Morris-Jumel Mansion Built by British Colonel Roger Morris in 1765; used by General George Washington as headquarters during the Battle of Harlem Heights in 1776 and later to host dinner with his cabinet: John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton and Henry Knox.