• Culture  • Four Must-See Small Museums in NYC

Four Must-See Small Museums in NYC

Photo: Artem XCX/Unsplash

From the far reaches of Staten Island to Corona, Queens, this quartet of institutions doesn’t need a Fifth Avenue address to get your attention.

New York culture lovers have worn a groove in the sidewalks along Fifth Avenue as they make regular pilgrimages to the venerable institutions along Museum Mile — that stretch of Fifth that runs from the Metropolitan Museum of Art at 82nd Street up to El Museo del Barrio at 105th Street. Even with Central Park taking up the entire west side of Museum Mile, big hitters like the Guggenheim, Cooper Hewitt, the Museum of the City of New York, and the Neue Galerie anchor the east.

However, you don’t have to stay locked in that familiar sidewalk groove. Visit these terrific collections beyond the well-traveled thoroughfares.

The Met Cloisters

Inwood

After wandering the halls and gardens of the Met Cloisters, gazing at art from Europe’s Gothic and Romanesque periods, you may completely forget that you’re standing in 21st-century Manhattan. This remarkable museum comprises four conjoined medieval cloisters — covered and columned walkways encircling gardens — shipped from France and Spain and reassembled atop a bluff overlooking the Hudson River.  A monastic calm imbues the Cloisters — is it from the gravitas of the tremendous stone buildings, the peaceful gardens they surround, or the collection of altarpieces, embroidery, wood carvings, intricate tapestries, and illustrated manuscripts found in the galleries? Don’t mistake “calm” for “dull,” though: The Cloisters is packed with mystery and intense beauty. Be sure to save time and stroll through the surrounding Fort Tryon Park, which offers wild pathways to breathtaking river and city views.

Louis Armstrong House Museum

Corona

A slightly more raucous experience can be had at the Louis Armstrong House Museum in Corona, Queens. The modest (on the outside) rowhouse was where jazz trumpeter and force-of-nature Armstrong lived with his wife Lucille from 1943 through his death in 1971. Lucille arranged for the house to pass to the city of New York when she died. The interiors, full of lavish mid-century decor with a notable taste for reflective and patterned surfaces, are an eye-feast. Meanwhile, snippets of the musician’s voice taken from some of the hundreds of personal tapes in the collection bring extra color to a visit. Highlights of the house include the kitchen’s bright turquoise kitchen cabinets and blender built right into the counter, the downstairs bathroom with etched-mirror walls, gold plumbing fixtures, and marble floors, and a handsome wood cabinet in Armstrong’s study purpose-built to hold a reel-to-reel tape player and turntable. Across the street, behind a wavy, modern facade, the fantastic Louis Armstrong Center showcases the collection and archives in thoughtful multimedia and analog displays.

Photo: Albert Vercerka/Esto

Alice Austen House

Staten Island

Most New York-centered guides won’t mention Staten Island, but you shouldn’t hesitate to ferry across New York Harbor to find another house museum: the Alice Austen House. This charming country cottage, alternatively known as Clear Comfort, bears a lawn that rolls right down to the water with views of the Verrazano Bridge and Brooklyn shoreline. It dates to the late 1690s/early 1700s and was the home of noted Victorian-era photographer Alice Austen (1866–1952) and her partner, Gertrude Tate. The house serves as a gallery for Austen’s stunning photography, is a National Historic Landmark and LGBTQ+ historic site, and regularly exhibits works of contemporary artists — often in direct conversation with Austen’s work.

Brant Foundation

East Village

The dramatic interior of the East Village’s Brant Foundation still bears the giant gantries and ominously silent transformers from the building’s previous life as a power substation. Conceptual artist Walter de Maria first repurposed this handsome industrial structure as a home and studio. Businessman Peter Brant then acquired it to share his considerable collection of modern art with the public. Since opening in 2009, the Brant Foundation has mounted some critically outstanding exhibits, including shows devoted to Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Mike Kelley, Urs Fischer, and Francesco Clemente. As a private museum, the Brant often closes for months between exhibits, so check before you go. The next show, on painter Kenny Scharf, opens on November 13.