A list of things to do in New York City doesn’t commonly include house tours. Of the five major early east coast cities (also including Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Charleston), it’s probably harder to get a sense of the distant past in New York than the others. From about the time of the Erie Canal, New York has been immersed in a continual process of renewing and rebuilding, a process that has made the city what it is, but has largely confined the past to museums.

Perhaps the best place to get a sense of New York around the time of the Erie Canal is the Merchant’s House at 29 East Fourth Street near Washington Square, in what was known as the “Bond Street Area.” read more