New York City - Historic Houses

The Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre, Manhattan

See 23 preserved historic sites in all 5 boroughs of NYC

History Begins at Home. Historic House Trust is a not-for-profit organization operating in tandem with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. Their mission is to provide essential support for houses of architectural and cultural significance, spanning 350 years of New York City life. These treasures reside within city parks and are open to the public. Visit www.historichousetrust.org for information on the other 20 historic houses.

The History Channel is proud to support Historic House Trust's many NYC preservation efforts and is particularly pleased to report on three specific sites' progress.

The Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre, Manhattan

The Swedish Cottage

Situated in Central Park, the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre is one of the Trust's most distinctive sites. Originally built as a model schoolhouse for Sweden's pavilion at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, the Cottage was purchased by Central Park's designer, Frederick Law Olmsted, and reassembled in the Park in 1877. After serving as the headquarters and workshop for the New York City Parks Department Traveling Marionette Theatre, the building was redesigned in 1973 to incorporate a permanent theatre. Today, the Cottage presents regularly scheduled marionette performances of classic and re-imagined fairy tales to audiences of all ages. Operated by City Parks Foundation, it is a recognized New York City Landmark.

The Cottage's windows, one of the building"s unique architectural elements, were restored. Each window sash was carefully removed; cracked and broken panes were replaced with restoration-quality glass; and each window has been returned to its historically-appropriate paint color. Additionally, all deteriorated components of the windows were restored and each window returned to full operability.