The Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution displays a virtual cornucopia of decorative and design arts in Andrew Carnegie's Upper East Side mansion.

The New Museum is the first and only contemporary art museum in New York City and among the most respected internationally, with a curatorial program unrivaled in the United States in its global scope and adventurousness.

The museum contains art and artifacts celebrating the history of firefighting. Among the museum's collection is an authentic New York fire "engine" from 1790, one of the oldest in North America. Examples of modern day firefighting equipment are also on permanent display at the museum.

The New York Police Museum is housed in the historic building that contained NYPD's 1st Precinct. Gives visitors an insider's look at the history and culture of the largest police force in the country. Exhibits include vehicles, weapons, and law enforcement techniques.

The New York Public Library's Humanities and Social Sciences Library encourages the preservation and cultivation of the documentary evidence of human behavior, social life and culture, by acquiring, organizing and making accessible materials for study in the fields of history, languages and literature, art, popular culture, philosophy, religion, psychology, sociology, anthropology, theology, geography and politics.

For a well-presented historical survey of the New York City Transit System, visit this museum housed in an authentic 30's station. A great place to take kids, the museum offers artifacts from yesteryear including vintage subway cars, antique turnstiles, and much more.

The permanent collection includes fine examples of 20th-century painting and photography, as well as an archive of World's Fair memorabilia, much of it on display in A Panoramic View: The History of the New York City Building and Its Site. Educational workshops, The Looking Series (Thursdays), lectures and film series (Saturdays) and Drop-In Workshops (Sundays) enhance, by way of relevant programming, each exhibition for children and adults alike. Situated adjacent to the museum is the Unisphere, a 120-foot-high steel globe created for the 1964 World's Fair.

The Seamen's Church Institute (SCI) has existed since 1834 to care for seafarer's practical and spiritual needs and continues to work through the centre in New York and its "Ministry on the river" serving the US inland waterways. The institute runs sunday services and organises events at christmas.