Merchant's House Museum

Old Merchant's House (Seabury Tredwell House)
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
New York City Landmark No. 0006, 1244
Location	29 East Fourth Street, Manhattan, New York City
Coordinates	40°43′39.6″N 73°59′32.5″W / 40.727667°N 73.992361°W / 40.727667; -73.992361
Built	1832
Architectural style	Federal-style (exterior) Greek revival (interior)
Website	merchantshouse.org
NRHP reference No.	66000548[1]
NYCL No.	0006, 1244
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	October 15, 1966[1]
Designated NHL	June 23, 1965[2]
Designated NYCL	October 14, 1965 (exterior) December 22, 1981 (interior)

The Merchant's House Museum, also known as the Old Merchant's House and the Seabury Tredwell House, is a historic house museum at 29 East Fourth Street in the NoHo neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Built by the hatter Joseph Brewster between 1831 and 1832, the house is a four-story building with a Federal-style brick facade and a Greek Revival interior. It served as the residence of the Tredwell family for almost a century before it reopened as a museum in 1936. The Merchant's House Museum is the only 19th-century family home in New York City with intact exteriors and interiors.

Brewster built the house as a speculative development and sold the house in 1835 to the merchant Seabury Tredwell, who lived there with his wife, eight children, four servants, and several relatives. Five of the children never married and, for the most part, lived at the house through the end of the 19th century. The house remained in the family until the death of the youngest child, Gertrude, in 1933. George Chapman, a distant relative, purchased the building and transformed it into a museum. Over the next three decades, the museum's operators struggled to obtain funds to restore the deteriorating house. The architect Joseph Roberto completely renovated the house from 1970 to 1980, and the museum underwent further restoration in the early 1990s after the demolition of nearby buildings damaged it. During the 2010s and 2020s, museum officials fought the construction of a nearby hotel because of concerns over the house's structural integrity.

The house has a raised basement, an ornate doorway accessed by a stoop, a slate roof, and a rear garden. The interior consists of a family room and kitchen in the basement; two parlors on the first floor; and bedrooms on the upper floors. The museum's collection has over 4,500 items owned by the Tredwell family, including pieces of furniture, clothing, household items, and personal items. The museum also presents various performances and events at the house, and it operates tours and educational programs. Reviewers have praised both the museum's exhibits and the house's architecture. The house's facade and interior are New York City designated landmarks, and the building is a National Historic Landmark.