Free museums in New York: A calendar for every day of the week
This is a writing sample from Scripted writer SUZANNE RUSSO
Regular admission to the MoMA: $20. An adult ticket to the Guggenheim: $18. A calendar of free hours at New York's favorite museums: priceless. Hang on to your hats, Cheapos. Follow our list and you can spend an entire week in New York museums without forking out a cent in admission fees! Monday Let it be known that many of the smaller museums are closed on Mondays. That being said, many do stay open, and some even for free. The Museum at Eldridge Street (12 Eldridge Street, Manhattan) is worth visiting for the building alone. Adorned with spectacular stained-glass and 19th-century gas fixtures, the impeccably restored landmark building dates back to 1887, and its museum tells the story of generations of Jewish in New York. Admission is free on Mondays from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday is also the day to check out some of the "free all the time" museums: At the Rose Museum on the second floor of Carnegie Hall (154 West 57th Street, Manhattan), you can dabble in a little music memorabilia. The Madame Alexander Doll Factory (615 West 131st Street, Manhattan) also offers an interesting, if a tad creepy, expedition. Free guided tours depart every 45 minutes Monday through Friday, starting at 9:30 a.m., with the last tour at 4:15 p.m. On the tour you'll learn the history of the company and see more than 600 dolls made from the 1920s to today, including a few prototypes that were never manufactured (First Lady doll, anyone?). Tuesday Get a taste of the highbrow at the Morgan Library & Museum (29 East 36th Street, Manhattan), home to some of the rarest books and manuscripts in the world. Admission to the McKim rooms, former private study of Pierpont Morgan himself, is free every Tuesday from 3 p.m. until 5 p.m. Inside those gilded walls you'll spot some of the lush original furnishings, along with precious items from the Morgan collection, including his life mask of George Washington (don't go trying to steal that now) and copies of the Declaration of Independence and the Star-Spangled Banner. If you're after a bit of fresh air, you're also, uh, free, to commune with the flowers at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden (1000 Washington Ave, Brooklyn) every Tuesday during opening hours (8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in winter months, until 6 p.m. from mid-March to mid-November). Admission, incidentally, is free on all weekdays in winter. Wednesday Wednesday is not the friendliest of weekdays to museum freeloaders in New York—or at least for those unwilling to leave Manhattan. If you head up to the Bronx, however, you can get free entry to the pre-Revoluntionary War Van Cortlandt House (Broadway at West 246th Street, Bronx). Washington himself (not to be confused with his life mask) is said to have sheltered there at the beginning and end of the war. If the the Bronx is too much of a schlep for you, today's a good day to hit up museums like the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the American Museum of Natural History. Both post suggested donations but technically have "open donation" policies every day. Thursday Thursday night kicks off a weekend of free museum festivities. Start it right with with some contemporary art at the New Museum (235 Bowery, Manhattan), free from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m. Uptown, the the David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center is a cool public space with two vertical gardens, some impressive architecture and rotating art installations. On Thursday evenings at 8:30 p.m., it's also a performance space. Free shows might feature anything from spoken word to country or world music, or talent from The Juilliard School, Jazz at Lincoln Center and more. In short, anything goes. Check this calendar of events to see what's happening every night, and note that you should arrive early because capacity is limited for this popular event. Friday Welcome to the free museum free-for-all that is Friday night in New York City. Behold, Cheapos, the museum is your oyster: Free admission or pay what you wish on Friday nights: Museum of the Moving Image: 4 p.m. – 8 p.m.; 35 Avenue at 37 Street, Astoria, Queens Museum of Modern Art: 4 p.m. – 8 p.m.; 11 West 53rd Street, Manhattan International Center of Photography: 5 p.m. – 8 p.m.; 1114 Avenue of the Americas, Manhattan Whitney Museum of American Art: 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.; 945 Madison Avenue, Manhattan New York Historic Society: 6 pm. – 8 p.m.; 170 Central Park West, Manhattan Saturday The massive art collection (and incredible architecture) at the Guggenheim (1071 5th Avenue, Manhattan) can be enjoyed for free on Saturday evenings from 5:45 p.m. until 7:45 p.m. Other Saturday festivities are limited to once a month: The Brooklyn Museum of Art (200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn) dominates first Saturdays, with free admission, plus live entertainment, from 5 p.m. until 11 p.m. Learn more here. El Museo del Barrio (1230 5th Avenue, Manhattan) hosts "SUPER SABADO" on the third Saturday of the month, in all months except January and August. Admission is free from 11 a.m. until 8:30 p.m. and events range from film screenings to walking tours. Sunday Round out the week with some fine art, housed in a gorgeous mansion at the Frick Museum (1 East 70th Street, Manhattan), pay what you wish from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. For a livelier vibe, head uptown to the Studio Museum (144 West 125th Street, Manhattan) in Harlem, where Target Free Sundays grant free access to the vast and provocative collection of art, as well as access to special tours, talks and hands-on activities.
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