South Street Seaport Museum

Step back in time on a visit to the South Street Seaport Museum, which sits on the site of the original New York City port.This designated historic district is packed with restored ships and merchants’ buildings from the early 19th Century. Wander the atmospheric port then head to the museum to learn how the city expanded from its early roots as a Dutch colony to the bustling metropolis it is today.Explore a working letterpress printing shop that dates back to the 1800s, visit exhibitions in the 1812 counting houses that make up Shermerhorn Row, and step aboard the Ambrose, a steam-powered lightship used as a beacon to mark New York Harbor’s busiest shipping canal until 1932.There are thousands more exhibits to discover, including beautifully crafted navigational instruments, artworks by marine painters of the 19th and 20th centuries including Thomas Birch and Edward Moran, countless historic prints and photographs and around 2,400 intricate model ships.