The free Seaport Music Festival returns to the NYC waterfront September 7th – 10th, 2017.
This year’s festival mark the 15th anniversary of the event, which was on hiatus from 2015 – 2016.
The Seaport Music Festival is a free, all-ages event.
Performers scheduled for the 2017 festival include Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, The Make-Up, Martin Rev, James Chance & the Contortions, Jean Grae, Azar Swan, Big Huge, The Dance Cartel, and more.
The Seaport Festival is presented by the Village Voice and South Street Seaport Museum.
Location
The event takes place in South Street Seaport, along the Lower Manhattan waterfront.
Dates
The 2017 Seaport Music Festival is to be held September 7 – 10
Visit the event website for updates and a full schedule.
Free Weekend Ferry from Lower Manhattan to Red Hook, Brooklyn
It’s free to ride the IKEA Express water taxi from Lower Manhattan to Red Hook, Brooklyn on Saturdays and Sundays. The weekday fare is $5.00 (if you spend $10 or more at IKEA on a weekday, your water taxi ticket is good for a $5 discount on your purchase).
The ferry runs between Pier 11 near South Street Seaport in Lower Manhattan and the IKEA store dock in Red Hook, Brooklyn.
The ride takes 20 to 30 minutes and you’ll get some nice views of the Lower Manhattan skyline along the way.
While in Red Hook, you can do some shopping at IKEA (you can carry back on the ferry as much as will fit in an IKEA bag, anything more will have to be shipped), and/or explore the Red Hook neighborhood.
Visit the IKEA Express website for the current ferry schedule.
Location
The ferry boards in Manhattan at Slip A at Pier 11 near South Street Seaport in Lower Manhattan (street address: 11 Bush Terminal Yard) and in Red Hook, Brooklyn at the IKEA store dock (street address: 1 Beard Street, Brooklyn).
See exhibitions featuring items from the New York City Municipal Archives and Municipal Library at the NYC Department of Records Visitor Center. The public records exhibitions feature items from within the department’s vast collection of documents, focusing on specific aspects of New York City history. Past exhibitions have included an Ed Koch exhibit, The Unbuilt City, Women Make History, Lomex, and Little Syria.
The visitor center is located in the Surrogate’s Court building in Lower Manhattan. The Surrogate’s Court was originally constructed as the Hall of Records, opening in 1907. The structure now houses the Department of Records, Municipal Archives, the Surrogate’s Court (handles probate and estate proceedings), and the Department of Cultural Affairs.
The Visitor Center is free and open to the public Monday – Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m..
If you have family history in New York City, the Municipal Archives are located in the same building and a great source of genealogical reference materials.
The Department of Public Records & Information Services publishes a blog featuring items within the archives and maintains an online gallery of thousands of historic images from it’s collections.
The Surrogate’s Court building was designed at the height of the City Beautiful movement, which focused on monumental grandeur. Built in the Beaux Arts style, the structure has an ornate granite exterior and an elaborate marble lobby with a grand staircase and a series of arched balconies under a vaulted ceiling with mosaic inlays and domed skylights. The lobby is a popular site for special events and has been used as a filming location for several movies and television shows.
Take a look at Surrogate’s Court/Hall of Records video below. It’s part of the New New Landmarks Conservancy’s Tourist in Your Own Town series.[spacer height=”20px”]
The address for the Surrogate’s Court Building and Department of Records Visitor Center is 31 Chambers Street. The building is located at the corner of Chambers and Centre Streets.
There’s no exterior sign for the visitor’s center, but the building, with it’s columns, statuary, and mansard roof, is hard to miss. Tweed Courthouse and City Hall are nearby.
Free Thursday Evening Admission to the China Institute Gallery
Admission to the China Institute Gallery is free on Thursdays from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.. The regular admission fee for the gallery, located in Lower Manhattan, is $8 for adults, and $4 for Seniors and Students.
The China Institute Gallery
The gallery showcases traditional and contemporary Chinese art and culture.
Two major exhibitions are presented at the gallery each year.
The Groupon deal is $8 for two museum admissions. That’s just $4 per person and 50% off the usual admission price of $8 per adult.
They also have a 4 person admission deal priced at $14. That’s an even better savings, at just $3.50 per person.
The promotional value of the Groupon deal vouchers is good for 90 days after purchase.
Regular-priced admission to the Museum of American Finance is $8 for adults and $5 for students and seniors (kids 6 years of age and younger are admitted free).
Note: The museum no longer offers free admission on Saturdays.
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The Museum of American Finance[spacer height=”20px”]
Museum of American Finance Main Gallery. Photo by Markus Hartel (The author) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia CommonsAt the museum, you’ll learn all about the history of Wall Street, money and finance as you explore permanent and featured exhibits. The museum’s Hamilton Room will be of interest to fans of the musical Hamilton, or anyone interested in American history and finance. The museum itself is located in a building that was once the Bank of New York, which was founded by Hamilton in 1784.
The museum is located at 48 Wall Street, in the heart of Manhattan’s Financial District. Hours are Tuesday – Saturday, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.
Castle Clinton National Monument in Battery Park[spacer height=”20px”]
Castle Clinton. Photo by Muncharelli (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia CommonsCastle Clinton, also known as Fort Clinton, is located in Lower Manhattan at Battery Park. It has had many uses over the years. Originally used by the US Army as a fort, it was later used as an entertainment center, then served as the county’s first facility for processing immigrants, from 1855 to 1890. The site is now operated by the National Parks Service.
Castle Clinton is open to the public and admission is free.
Free ranger-guided tours are available Monday – Sunday at 10:00 a.m, Noon, 2:00 p.m., and 4:00 p.m.. The tours last about 20 minutes.
Castle Clinton is where you purchase tickets for the Statue of Liberty ferry. If you’re making the trip out to the Statue of Liberty, allow a little time before or after to look around the castle and view the exhibits on display.
If you’re exploring Lower Manhattan, the free Downtown Connection shuttle bus provides service to Battery Park and other sites, including the World Trade Center and South Street Seaport.
Museum of the American Indian. Photo by Thetragicmulatto (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia CommonsThe George Gustav Hey Center at the historic Alexander Hamilton U.S. Customs House is one of three National Museum of the American Indian facilities in the U.S. (the others are the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington DC and the Cultural Resources Center in Suitland, MD).
The museum is operated by the Smithsonian Institution and is dedicated to sharing the art and culture of the natives peoples of the Americas.
A mix of permanent and changing exhibits are on display. The permanent “Infinity of Nations: Art and History in the Collections of the National Museum of the American Indian” exhibit displays hundreds of works by Natives on North, Central, and South America. Visit the museum website for information on temporary exhibits.
Custom House/Museum of the American Indian Street View. Drag pointer or use arrows and compass to scroll.
Museum admission is free.
The museum is open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m, with extended hours on Thursdays to 8:00 p.m (expect Thanksgiving Day, when hours are 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.) The museum is closed on December 25th.
Please visit the museum’s website to confirm hours of operation.
Location
The museum is located in the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Customs House at Bowling Green in Lower Manhattan.
The address is 1 Bowling Green.
Bowling Green, where the museum is located, is a park in the heart of the financial district. It’s the oldest public park in New York City. The Alexander Hamilton Customs House is located at the southern end of the green and the Charging Bull statue is located at the northern end.
City Hall Staircase. Photo by Joe David (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia CommonsFree tours of NYC’s historic City Hall building are available on Wednesdays at noon. The tours are limited to 20 people and are offered on a first-come-first-served basis.
Tour sign-up is at the NYC Tourism Kiosk at the southern end of City Hall Park (at the intersection of Broadway and Barclay Street). You can sign-up on the day of the tour, from 10:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m..
New York City’s City Hall is one of the oldest continuously operating city halls in the United States. The building was constructed from 1803 to 1812 and is considered one of the most beautiful public buildings of the time.
During the tour, you’ll see the beautiful rotunda, City Council Chamber, Governor’s Room, and City Hall Portrait Collection. Tours last about an hour.
NYC City Hall Building Location
The City Hall Building is located in the center of City Hall Park in lower Manhattan. The park occupies the area southeast of the intersection of Broadway and Chambers (map).
The Holiday Inn NEW YORK CITY – WALL STREET has good rates, particularly in fall, winter, and early spring. Prices vary greatly by month and by day of the week. Some of the lowest rates are for Sunday stays. It’s worth checking them out. We found rates as low as $122.
The hotel is located in the Financial District in Lower Manhattan at 51 Nassau Street. The Federal Reserve Bank is across Nassau Street from the hotel. The Stock Exchange building is three short blocks away. The 9/11 Memorial is also three blocks away.
Things to see and do in Lower Manhattan include taking the boat out to the Statue of Liberty, walking Brooklyn Bridge, visiting Governors Island, taking the Staten Island Ferry, Circle Line Cruises, visiting the 9/11 Memorial, and more.
The free Downtown Connection bus makes 37 stops around Lower Manhattan at about 10 minute intervals. Plus, you can always take the subway to other parts of the city.
The free Seaport Music Festival returns to the NYC waterfront September 7th – 10th, 2017.
