This 1832 red brick and white marble row house was bought by wealthy hardware merchant Seabury Tredwell just three years after it was built. The late-Federal and Greek Revival building ten stayed in Tredwell family hands for nearly 100 years. Tredwell's daughter, Gertrude, was born in the house and lived there until she died in 1933, having never married. It is said that Gertrude's lonely spirit remains in the house, still bitter at her father's disapproval of her choice for a suitor.
Because of Gertrude's long tenure as owner and resident, the house underwent no changes in its century with the Tredwell family. It remains the only structure in Manhattan to have been preserved in its original configuration, with period furniture and conserved details. The place features formal double parlors with black and gold marble mantelpieces, ornate plasterwork, mahogany pocket doors, and the work of the best New York cabinetmakers of the time.
The Merchant's House Museum offers candlelight ghost tours and an 1865 Seabury Treadwell funeral reenactment. After the Treadwell service, visitors can follow the coffin to the New York City Marble Cemetery. Call 212-777-1089 for more information.
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