What: Gracie Mansion
Where: 181 E.End Ave.
New York, NY
Who: Tweens and Up
Me - Gracie Mansion was fun. It is the Mayor of New York's mansion. There were a lot of different rooms. They are each called by a color name. You do not go into all of the rooms in the house on the tour. Of course, you don't go into the rooms where the Mayor and his family live. There was a lot of art and artifacts. The guide told us some interesting stories about some of the art and artifacts in the house.There were three flags in the house. There was the American flag. There was the New York State flag. Also, there was the New York City flag. Before, I went to Gracie Mansion, I did not know that New York City had its own flag. There is a park by Gracie Mansion. A lot of people go on walks there. You can't get right up to the mansion though because there is a fence. To get into the mansion to go on the tour, you have to go through security. Gracie Mansion is also near the water. They put the Mayor's mansion near the water because in case there was an emergency, it would be easy to get him out. We got to take the new Second Avenue subway to get to Gracie Mansion. I loved it! It was so clean! Over all, Gracie Mansion was a fascinating place to visit.
Mom - Gracie Mansion has been the home of all New York City Mayors since Fiorello LaGuardia except for Michael Bloomberg. If you are interested in things like art and history, you might enjoy a tour of the mansion. The mansion has been called "The Little White House." A tour of the mansion is a little bit like a mini tour of The White House. You will see a bunch of rooms designated by different color names, such as, the Peach Room. Each room is loaded with paintings, historic documents and other artifacts, and you will learn a little bit about some of them. However, unlike at The White House you are allowed to sit in the various rooms. Also, the tour is not so long. For these reasons, it is more accessible than most tours even for people who cannot stand for long periods of time and/or those that do not have the patience for longer tours. However, the tour is not completely accessible to those with limited mobility since there is staircase to climb once you enter the mansion, in order to go on the tour. Also, we would not recommend the tour for young children who would probably be bored and might have problems keeping their hands off some of the artifacts. Exhibits at the mansion are changed periodically. Tours are free, but reservations are required and only two people are admitted per reservation. Tours only run on Tuesdays at 10:00 AM, 11:00 AM, 2:00 PM, or 3:00 PM and only a limited number of people are admitted on each tour so if you think you are interested in going, you should make your reservation as soon as possible. You must bring ID, and you will have to go through security to get into the mansion. Gracie Mansion is a good place to go on a nice day because it is surrounded by a Carl Shurz Park and near the water.
For more information or to reserve space on an upcoming tour go to
http://www1.nyc.gov/site/gracie/visit/visit.page.
And that's our view. Tune in tomorrow for Theater Thursday..
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