by Ralph Lawrence

Created on: August 21, 2008   Last Updated: December 05, 2008

THE FACES OF AMERICA IN HER HISTORY AND HER CULTURE

As diverse as America is, its most famous city, New York, offers a similar menu of unusual cultural attractions to satisfy the appetite of any visitor to its shores. Unquestionably, there are major venues known worldwide that are the focus of the vast majority of tourists, the Empire State Building, Lady Liberty, Ellis Island, Times Square, Broadway, the United Nations and the Museum of Modern Art to name a few. Yet for each of these deservedly illustrious sites, there are many less frequented places to captivate and educate the discriminating traveler. Shall we discover these hidden gems together?

Let's begin with museums and galleries in our offbeat tour.
Gracie Mansion, East 88th Street and East End Avenue was originally built as a country home in 1799 overlooking the East River. In the middle of the 20th century, city officials designated it as the official home of the mayor of New York. Fiorella H. LaGuardia led his city from within its walls as the first resident.

If your ancestors emigrated through New York, the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, 90 Orchard Street, is one place you must see. The site focuses on a Sicilian-Catholic family and a German-Jewish family new to a land where the streets were ostensibly paved with gold. The museum is interactive, and treats the subject with respect
Living quarters are accurately recreated circa 1920 for a realistic depiction.

The Morgan Library & Museum, Madison Avenue at 36th Street, boasts exhibits from American culture, Victorian novels, pop music and award winning cartoons. Collections are eclectic Scores of Beethoven and Mozart, manuscripts of Dickens and Twain, bibles and priceless drawings by Rubens and Rembrandt yield a most diverse visit.

A celebration of Art and the Bible can be found at Broadway and 61st Street inside the unique Museum of Biblical Art. Through art, Christians and Jews come together to discuss and commemorate religious art. These artistic illustrations had function and context. Admission is free.

Ethnicity and culture can be experienced in a distinctive way with visits to the following:
Museum of Chinese in the Americas, 70 Mulberry Street
The Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Place
National Museum of the American Indian, 1 Bowling Green
El Musio del Barrio, 1230 Fifth Avenue.
Public programs include festivals, music, dance and films to complement historical perspectives.

Want a spectacular view of Manhattan? Take it in from the decks of

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