Trivia & More Set for Merchant's House Museum's 2015 Summer Evenings in the Garden

Every Thursday in June and July, the Merchant's House Museum and Garden are open until 8 p.m. Light refreshments will be served. Rain or shine. Tours & Talks at 6:30 p.m.

2015 Summer Evenings in the Garden:

June 18 - 19th Century Garden Beds and Borders, with Merchant's House Head Gardener John Rommel

June 25 - Dining Out: NYC's First Restaurants, with professional chef and culinary educator Carl Raymond

July 2 - Trivia in the Garden

July 9 - Summer Getaways: Taking the Waters in Saratoga Springs, with author & historian Benjamin Feldman

July 16 - Cutting Gardens & Plantings for 19th Century Home Décor, with Merchant's House Head Gardener John Rommel

July 23 - Dining In: Eating at Home in 19th Century New York, with professional chef and culinary educator Carl Raymond

July 30 - Trivia in the Garden
Included with regular admission.

Special Interactive Tour for Families:

A Child's View of Life in 19th Century New York

Date: Saturday, June 20

Time: 3 p.m.

Location: Merchant's House Museum, 29 East Fourth Street (btwn Lafayette & Bowery)

Description: 29 East Fourth Street was home not only to the eight Tredwell children, but also to two young granddaughters. Come tour the house and learn what life was like for children (and adults) in the 1850s, from schoolwork and chores to games and play. Could you carry a bucket of coal up steep stairs? Do you have a calling card? A top hat? What, no hoop skirt? How did you take a bath? And penmanship really, really mattered. Best for children 8 to 12 years old. $15, one adult, one child. $20, one adult, two children (max.). Reservations required; visit merchantshouse.org/calendar or call 212-777-1089.

A Walking Tour of Historic 19th Century Noho

Date: Sunday, June 21

Time: 11 a.m.

Location: Merchant's House Museum, 29 East Fourth Street (btwn Lafayette & Bowery)

Description: Join us for a journey back in time to the elite 'Bond Street area,' home to Astors, Vanderbilts, Delanos - and the Tredwells, who lived in the Merchant's House. You'll walk the footsteps of these wealthy mercantile families whose elegant homes once lined the tranquil cobblestone streets. Our tour passes by iconic landmarks such as the imposing Colonnade Row, the Public Theater, and The Cooper Union, where Lincoln gave his 'right makes might' speech in 1860. On the bustling Astor Place, imagine the drama of events that led to the Opera House riot of 1849, among the bloodiest in American history. And visit the site of the scandalous 1857 Bond Street murder of Harvey Burdell, one of the City's still unsolved crimes. $10, $5 Seniors & Students, Free for MHM Members. Reservations not required. Limited to 20 participants; first come, first served.

The Historic Walking Tour is held the third Sunday of each month at 11 a.m. Next Historic Walking Tour July 19.

Special Walking Tour: 19th Century Landmark Treasures of NoHo

Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of New York City's Landmarks Law

Date: Sunday, July 12

Time: 12:30 p.m.

Location: Merchant's House Museum, 29 East Fourth Street (btwn Lafayette & Bowery)

Description: On this one-hour walking tour of the Noho Historic District, promenaders will see 11 buildings designated as individual New York City landmarks. The tour begins at the 1832 Merchant's House and within a few blocks traces 100 years of social, economic and technological changes in New York during the 19th century, from a residential enclave for the wealthy merchant families of Old New York to a center of manufacturing and busy cultural center. The tour will feature stories of famous as well as infamous residents and builders of these landmarks and the renowned architects who designed them. Stops will include Colonnade Row, the DeVinne Press Building, Astor Library, The Cooper Union, and the Bayard-Condict Building. $10, $5 Seniors & Students, Free for MHM Members. Reservations not required. Limited to 20 participants; first come, first served.

The Landmarks Walking Tour is held the second Sunday of each month at 12:30 p.m. Next Landmarks Walking Tour August 9.

Candlelight Ghost Tour

Date: Friday, July 17

Time: 6:30 p.m.

Location: Merchant's House Museum, 29 East Fourth Street (btwn Lafayette & Bowery)

Description: Doors slam, floorboards creak, voices call into the night. For more than seven decades, mystifying and mysterious tales have surrounded the Merchant's House, leading The New York Times to call it "Manhattan's Most Haunted House." On this candle-lit tour, venture into the shadows of history to see the house where eight people died, and hear true tales of inexplicable occurrences from those who actually experienced them. $20, $10 MHM Members. Reservations required; visit merchantshouse.org/calendar or call 212-777-1089.

Exhibition: Manhattan's First Landmark

Date: Open through December 2015

Time: 12 - 5 p.m. (Closed Tuesday and Wednesday)

Location: Merchant's House Museum, 29 East Fourth Street (btwn Lafayette & Bowery)

Description: This year, New Yorkers celebrate the 50th anniversary of the City's groundbreaking Landmarks Law signed on April 19, 1965. The Merchant's House, because of its remarkable state of preservation and importance in the history of New York City, played a significant role in the landmarking movement from its very beginning. Only 20 buildings were designated at the Landmarks Preservation Commission's initial meeting in September 1965 and the Merchant's House was the first in the borough of Manhattan.

Since 1965, the Commission has granted landmark status to 1,338 individual landmarks, 117 interior landmarks, 10 scenic landmarks, 112 historic districts, and 20 historic district extensions located throughout all five boroughs - a total of more than 31,000 protected sites.

Original documents, photographs, correspondence, and press clippings tell the story of how preserving the Merchant's House was recognized as critical, from its inception as a museum in the 1930s, through the start of the landmarking movement in the 1950s, to the passage of the Landmarks Law in April 1965 and the designation of the House at the first meeting of the Commission in September.

The Merchant's House story continues with the designation of the Museum as a landmarked interior, in 1981; and the current efforts to protect this 1832 building from impending construction next door. Included with regular admission, reservations not required.

The Merchant's House Museum is New York City's only family home preserved intact -- inside and out -- from the mid-19th century. Home to a prosperous merchant-class family for almost 100 years, it is complete with the family's original furnishings and personal possessions, offering a rare and intimate glimpse of domestic life from 1835-1865.

For more, go to www.merchantshouse.org, or follow on Facebook: www.facebook.com/merchantshouse, Twitter: @merchantshouse and Instagram: www.instagram.com/merchantshouse.