Built in 1765 as a country retreat for Roger and Mary Morris, this columned mansion is the oldest house in Manhattan. It is also famous for having served as George Washington’s headquarters after it was seized by the Continental Army in 1776. The mansion’s beautifully appointed rooms contain many original furnishings, including a bed that reputedly belonged to Napoleon.
Across the street, along 10–18 Jumel Terrace , stands a row of townhouses, designed in the 1890s by renowned architect Henri Fouchaux. At number 16 lived prolific entertainer and civil-rights activist Paul Robeson, who subsequently moved to 555 Edgecombe Ave .
Around the corner lies storybook Sylvan Terrace , still graced by its original, late 19th-century gas lamps. The street’s striking wooden houses – resplendent with their high narrow stoops, dentiled canopies and boldly paneled wooden doors – were NYC’s first attempt at building affordable abodes for city workers. Equally unique are the street's cobbled stones, which, unlike those of Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn, are Belgian, not Dutch.
