Morris Jumel Mansion Events

Morris Jumel Mansion
65 Jumel Terrace
from West 160th & West 162nd Streets -- one block east of St. Nicholas Avenue and one block west of Edgecombe Avenue.
New York, NY 10032
Phone: 212-923-8008

Morris-Jumel Mansion is Manhattan's oldest house. Built in 1765 by British officer Roger Morris, the house was later inhabited by George Washington during the Battle of Harlem Heights in 1776 and the Jumel family from 1810 to 1865. The house, now a museum, is open to the public Wednesday through Sunday 10 am to 4 pm. The museum is located between 160th and 162nd Streets just east of St. Nicholas Avenue and can be easily reached via the C train to 163rd Street, the A train to 168th Street, or the M2, M3, M101 or M18 bus to 160th Street. The Morris-Jumel Mansion is part of the Historic House Trust of NYC and The Department of Parks and Recreation. The Morris-Jumel Mansion is part of the Historic House Trust of NYC and The Department of Parks and Recreation.

Entrance Fee

• $5.00 adults
• $4.00 seniors and students
• Free for children 12 and under when accompanied by an adult
• Children from the community may visit the Museum free of charge after school hours on Fridays.
• Free for Friends of Morris-Jumel Mansion

Past Events:

• Music at Morris-Jumel Mansion
  Saturday, April 16 from 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm
  Brooklyn Baroque will present a program of the works of the composers who were associated with Venice. Included will be sonatas by Antonio Vivaldi, Anna Bon di Venezia, who studied at the Ospedale della Pietà, the prolific Venetian native Antonio Lotti, and his student Benedetto Marcello. Also featured are pieces from earlier in the 17th Century by Dario Castello and Giovanni Picchi. A reception will follow the performance. Tickets are $25 per person and $20 for members. Advanced registration is required. Call 212 923 8008.

• Reading between the lines: Book discussion group
  First session on Tuesday, April 19 from 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
  In a unique collaboration, the New York Council for the Humanities has joined forces with Morris-Jumel Mansion to offer 'Reading Between the Lines' a monthly reading and book discussion series, led by independent scholar, Mark DeLucas. He will lead four discussion sessions, each focused on a book related to the series theme 'The First Frontier: New York State and American Expansion, 1775-1890'. Participants in the series read four works of non-fiction and literature that are discussed while examining their historical context. Participation in all five sessions is required. Books will be distributed at this April 19th introductory meeting. The remaining dates are: May 3rd, May 17th, June 7th and June 21st. FREE but advanced registration is required. Call 212 923 8008. This series is sponsored by the New York Council for the Humanities.

• Morris-Jumel Mansion writing competition: Family writing workshop
  Saturday, April 30 from 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
  Come learn how to create a great historical fiction story about the Morris-Jumel Mansion. Sarah Durham of the Uptown Writers will lead the session that will introduce writers and aspiring authors to the concepts of subject, setting and character. The workshop will also
  kick off the first edition of the MJM writing competition! FREE but advanced registration is required. Call 212 923 8008.

• Lecture: Untrodden ground: George Washington and the creation of the presidency
  Saturday, May 14 from 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm
  This lecture will focus on the presidency of George Washington while the capital was located in New York. The lecture will also examine the capital's temporary relocation to Philadelphia. FREE but advanced registration is required. Call 212 923 8008. This lecture is funded by the New York Council for the Humanities.

• Revolutionary War Family program
  Saturday, May 21 from 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
  What was life like for families during the Revolutionary War? Come taste the food, create a drum and join historical balladeer Rich Bala as he sings about soldiers, patriots, and rebels. Tickets are $20 per child and $10 for accompanying adults. Pre-paid advanced registration is required. Call 212 923 8008.

• Voices/Voces Theater performance
  Sunday, May 22 from 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
  People's Theatre Project and Seven Stories Institute in partnership with the YM&YWHA of Washington Heights and Inwood present Voices/Voces: Our Young People Speak, a theatrical collage of music, words and movement created and performed by local teens. FREE, but advanced registration is required, http://voicesofyouth.eventbrite.com

• Wine tasting: Riesling, the most versatile grape
  Saturday, June 11 from 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm
  So you think you know Riesling? Riesling is not Blue Nun. Riesling is not Black Tower. Riesling is an ancient grape that once commanded prices in excess of any wine in the world. Riesling can also be made with a low alcohol percentage, perfect to quench your thirst on a sunny summer day in June. This event will sell out quickly so RSVP soon! Tickets are $25 per person and $20 for members. Pre-paid Advanced registration is required. Call 212 923 8008.

• Family Day
  Saturday, June 25 from 11:00 am - 4:00 pm
  Come enjoy Roger Morris Park along with your family. Play colonial games, make crafts, and enjoy the beginning of summer! The day will also include docent led tours for adults and families. FREE no advanced registration required.

• Jazz at the Mansion
  August 20 Saturday from 2:00 pm - 6:00 pm
  Join them on the front lawn of the mansion for their annual Jazz concert presented in partnership with Marjorie Elliot and Parlor Entertainment. Feel free to bring lawn chairs, blankets and snacks because you’ll want to stay for the full day of great jazz music!
  FREE with no advanced registration needed.

• Morris-Jumel Mansion Culture and Arts Festival: MJM CAFé
  Saturday, October 15th, 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
  The MJM CAFé will feature the vibrant music, artistry and culture that
  make Washington Heights and the neighboring communities of Harlem and
  Inwood so diverse and dynamic. The purpose of the festival is to provide
  an exciting environment for visitors to experience the rich cultural
  heritage of the community and tell the story of how Morris-Jumel Mansion
  and this community reflect the story of the American experience from
  colonial to contemporary times. This event is FREE and no advanced
  registration is required.

• Open House New York & Historic House Festival
  October 15th & 16th, 11:00 am - 4:00 pm
  Celebrate the 4th annual Historic House Festival and Open House New York
  weekend, enjoy free admission and events including docent led tours,
  scavenger hunts, and family art activities or dress up in colonial style
  costumes. This event is FREE and no advanced registration is required

• Tea Tasting
  Saturday, October 22nd - 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm
  Join Emeric Harney, Master Tea Blender from Harney & Sons, as he answers
  your questions about tea and explains the difference among whites, blacks,
  greens, oolongs, caffeine content and harvesting seasons. Tickets are $20
  per person and $15 for members. Advanced registration is required. Call
  212 923 8008

• Lecture: The Federalist & the Fight for the Constitution
  Saturday, October 29th, 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm
  On October 27th, 1787, the Independent Journal in New York published
  Federalist 1, and thus began the conversation that would define the
  Constitution. Historian and tour operator Jimmy Napoli will speak about
  the struggle behind the creation of the United States. This lecture is
  FREE but advanced registration is required. Call 212 923 8008

• Music at Morris Jumel
  Saturday, November 5th, 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
  Brooklyn Baroque (Andrew Bolotowsky, Baroque flute; David Bakamjian,
  Baroque cello; Rebecca Pechefsky, harpsichord) will present a program of
  French music to celebrate the release of the group’s new CD of Boismortier
  cello sonatas. A champagne reception will follow the concert. Tickets are
  $25 per person and $20 for members. Advanced registration is required.
  Call 212 923 8008

• Wine Tasting
  Saturday, November 12th, 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
  One of our favorite holidays is fast approaching – Thanksgiving! And one
  age-old question is what kind of wine goes with Thanksgiving? Red?
  White? Champagne/Sparkling? Pinot Noir? Gewurztraminer? We will sample a
  mix of wines that go with the diverse foods of this special holiday. Join
  us for all the fixins!! Tickets are $25 per person and $20 for members.
  Pre-paid Advanced registration is required. Call 212 923 8008

• Annual Holiday Concert
  Saturday, December 10th, 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
  Annual Holiday concert with Brooklyn Baroque, Gregory Bynum on recorder,
  and a vocalist to be announced. Holiday reception after the concert.
  Tickets are $25 per person and $20 for members. Advanced registration is
  required. Call 212 923 8008

• Family Workshop: Decorations
  Saturday, December 17th, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
  Come “spice” up your holidays by making colonial decorations for your
  tree. Free but advanced registration is required. Call 212 923 8008

• Women's History Month Lecture: Georgia O'Keeffe
  Saturday March 10th, 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm
  Independent scholar, Maria Ausherman will discuss the period of time artist Georgia O'Keeffe spent in Hawai'i in 1939, and how she connected with a local girl, an encounter that would affect both women for the rest of their lives. This illustrated presentation will be followed by a book signing. This event is FREE but advanced registration is required. Call 212 923 8008

• Photography & the Art of Community
  Saturday March 24th, 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
  Mike Fitelson has photographed Northern Manhattan for nearly 15 years. His work has been used journalistically for the Manhattan Times newspaper, professionally for local clients, and artistically for several ongoing projects. Throughout, he has used photography to help foster a sense of community uptown. Fitelson will share work from his past projects “Northern Manhattan as Muse” and “Setting” and discuss how he continues to push the uses of photography to heighten our understanding of Washington Heights and Inwood. Audience members will be asked to participate in a site specific photography project as part of this experience. Tickets are $5 per person and FREE for members, advanced registration is required. Call 212 923 8008

• Voices/Voces Theater Performance
  Saturday March 31st, 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
  Local teens join People's Theatre Project and Seven Stories Institute for the culminating performance of their VOICES/VOCES program where participants study the role of youth throughout history in the struggle for justice and work together to create their own theatrical protest piece on their role as youth and artists in Northern Manhattan today. Their original play will be published in a book and performed around Washington Heights in March 2012. This event is FREE but advanced registration is required. Call 212 923 8008

• Family Workshop - Decoupage Tulips
  Saturday April 7th, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
  Tulips are a sign that spring is in the air. Learn decorative paper design techniques and take home a garden of flowers. Suggested for ages 5 and up with an adult learning partner. This event is FREE but advanced registration is required. Call 212 923 8008

• Author Talk & Swing Dancing Social
  Sunday April 15th, 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
  Author Terry Baker Mulligan will read from her recent publication Sugar Hill, Where the Sun Rose Over Harlem. Mulligan will also discuss her childhood in upper Manhattan in the 1950s-60s and how the book interweaves her coming of age story with significant historical information about Sugar Hill and Harlem. Afterwards The Harlem Swing Dance association will provide a dance lesson and social, come dressed in your Sunday finest! FREE but advanced registration is required. Call 212 923 8008.

• Music at Morris-Jumel Concert Series
  Saturday April 21st, 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
  In its New York debut, Well-Tuned Words (Amanda Sidebottom, soprano and Erik Ryding, lute) presents songs by three of the finest lute-song composers from the age of Shakespeare: John Dowland, his friend Thomas Campion, and John Danyel. Tickets are $25 per person and $20 for members. Advanced registration is required. Call 212 923 8008

• Music at Morris-Jumel
  Saturday, May 19th from 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm 
  Harpsichordist Rebecca Pechefsky will present a recital of French and German composers, including Francois Couperin’s rarely played 12th Ordre and the rediscovered E-Flat Partita by Bach’s star pupil, Johann Ludwig Krebs. Tickets are $25 per person and $20 for members. Advanced registration is required. Call 212 923 8008

• Thursday, June 21st through Sunday, June 24th
  Uptown Festival of New Plays
  Morris-Jumel Mansion is pleased to once again partner with the People’s Theatre Project to present the Uptown Festival of New Plays (June 21-24). The festival is a celebration of the People’s Theatre Project’s 2011-12 Resident Professional Playwrights’ Unit. These talented playwrights work together over the course of 8 months to develop new works with a focus on social consciousness, inspired by the Washington Heights community.
  The festival provides an opportunity for the playwrights to share their works-in-progress with community members who may witness aspects of their own reality reflected and see creative approaches to understanding the meaning of their struggles.
  Admission to the festival is pay-what-you-can and each performance will be followed by a discussion with the playwright, director and actors.

  Play Descriptions & Times:

  • An Alien in Inwood
    Thursday, June 21st at 7:30 pm. Festival Opening Cocktail Hour from 6:30-7:30pm.
    When an old stargazer from Inwood believes he has found mankind’s salvation in a homeless traveler, the stranger turns out to be a different sort of “alien.”
  • Waiting for the “D”
    Friday, June 22nd at 7:30 pm. Doors open at 7:00 pm.
    An existential look at life and death, guilt and forgiveness, desperation and redemption, and the connections that we make along the way.
  • ON THE 1 TRAIN
    Saturday, June 23rd at 7:30 pm. Doors open 7:00 pm.
    A day in the life of subway riders in Washington Heights is portrayed. As people rush to their final destination the journey is always filled with the unexpected. The piece is about what happens when we can longer ignore the roles (both big and small) that we play in each other’s lives.
  • The Juxtaposition of Gladys Ricart
    Sunday, June 24th at 2:00 pm. A closing Garden Party follows the performance from 4:30-6:30 pm.
    A bride marches to find her wedding, her best friend tries to put the pieces of the puzzle together, her fiancé is lost, and her ex-boyfriend wants to hold tight. Based on Gladys Ricart’s tragic story that inspired the March of the Brides, this play explores the things we don’t see in domestic violence.

• Saturday, June 23rd from 11:00 am – 4:00 pm
  Family Day
  Come enjoy Roger Morris Park along with your family. Play colonial games, make a historic craft project, and enjoy the beginning of summer in our colonial garden! The day will also include docent led tours for adults and families. FREE no advanced registration required.

• Saturday, February 2, from 2:00pm-3:00pm
  Black History Month Lecture: Fugitive Art & Fugitive Testimony: Slave
  Narratives Then and Now
  In this lecture Professor Janet Neary brings together contemporary "visual
  slave narratives" and classic slave narratives from the 19th century to
  examine the way black artists and writers respond to institutional
  constraints placed on their cultural production. This lecture is sponsored
  by the New York Council for the Humanities, a state affiliate of the
  National Endowment for the Humanities. FREE but advanced registration is
  required. Call 212 923 8008.

• Saturday, February 16, from 3:00pm-5:00pm
  5th Annual Chocolate Day: The Mystery of Chocolate
  People have always loved chocolate, but its role has changed over time.
  Carol Ward, will discuss how manufacturers have marketed chocolate and
  print advertising impacted the chocolate market. Guests will also take
  part in a blind taste test of various chocolate to learn the differences
  in production techniques. Tickets are $25 per person & $20 for members.
  Advance registration is required. Call 212 923 8008.