The feeling of entering a timeless wine cellar was made easier to comprehend when we learned that the building is 145 years old. The decor was classic, as we were surrounded by a three dimensional still life that Cezanne would have loved to have painted: baskets of impossibly red tomatoes, bouquets of orchids, pussy willows, and, of course, bottles of wine. The sweet scent of the berries was a winning welcome to a stunning discovery below 61st Street. Although it was a late winter afternoon, there was a perfect shaft of light shining down from the street onto the glistening display of luscious-looking grapes, blueberries, and strawberries. The Museum also hosts guests and events of many different kinds: One of their largest affairs is Washington's Birthday Ball, but they also host pie-making workshops, school programs (which are often booked solid for three months at a time), and public events in the auditorium next door.ĭescending down Scalinatella's ("little stairway") steps felt like traveling back in time as we entered a magical, underground grotto. To this day, their overall mission continues to be to preserve and teach America's history. During the following century, it changed hands multiple times, once even being used as a soup kitchen, until it officially opened as a museum in 1939 in the capable hands of the Colonial Dames of America. In 1833, the building returned to being a private residence.
Though the Mount Vernon Hotel is the only day hotel left standing, at one point in time there were numerous similar ones dotting both rivers. The city proper mainly existed below 14th Street, causing 61st to be considered a vacation getaway. With the rise of the middle class, centers for leisure were popping up all over the island. This was a popular kind of institution that possibly resembled a country club more than an inn. Originally named the Abigail Adams Smith Museum, as this is where she and her husband owned the land on which it was built, it was turned into a "day hotel" in 1826.
"Eighteenth Century" may be a bit misleading, since the building, which was built as a carriage house to go with a central mansion, was constructed in 1799. Nestled between the skyscrapers that perch along the East River is a stone house dating back to the eighteenth century with a glorious garden (even in the middle of winter) tucked behind it.
For it was here that I was suddenly convinced that I had stepped into a time portal. There are many hidden gems to be discovered on the side streets of Manhattan, but the beginning of my walk on 61st might trump any that I have had thus far.
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