Open House New York – Self-Guided Tours of Conference House

Self-guided tours of the Historic Houses of Conference House Park will take place from noon until 4 p.m. on October 15 and 16 as part of Open House NY Weekend.

In addition to the Park’s namesake the circa 1680 Conference House, the Henry Hogg Biddle House (circa 1840) with its front and rear two-story porticos, and the William H. Rutan/Beckett House with its intact 1950s-era kitchen and the Ward-Leven House c 1830, the second oldest within the park, will open for visitors. At the Conference House Park Visitor Center there will be an Art Lab student art exhibit along with Conference House Association’s Franklin-Printer/Writer, Scientist/Inventor, Politician/Statesman exhibit in the Lenape Gallery. And Harlem-based artist Susan Stair’s work entitled ‘Tree Reflections’ has been unveiled at the visitor center.

In addition to the historic open houses, Conference House Park is home to a variety of natural habitats, flora, and fauna. Many are unique only to this area of NYC, including some red clay colored bluffs and northern hackberry forests. The 260-acre park landscape has both shaped the man-made built environment and conversely has been shaped by human influences from the Native American Lenape people through the colonial era up to present day through natural area protection, management, and restoration. The Natural Areas Conservancy, a nonprofit organization working to restore and conserve 10,000+ acres of forests and wetlands in NYC, will have maps available for self-guided tours of the surrounding area.

Please be prepared with walking shoes and water, if needed. RSVPs appreciated to info@naturalareasnyc.org.