A MUST:

A Great Colonial Escape (FRANCIS MORRONE, February 16, 2007, NY Sun)

George Washington was a Virginian, but New York was a central city in his life. At the start of the revolution, the British made it a priority to take New York. They wanted it for its harbor, and because it separated the northern from the southern colonies. The Continental Congress had made Washington, a hero of the French and Indian War, commander of Continental forces. He attempted to defend New York from the British, who, in a muscle-flexing gesture, sent to New York Harbor the largest fleet any nation had ever sent to a foreign port. The British, aided by Hessian mercenaries, routed the colonials in the Battle of Brooklyn at the end of August 1776. Remarkably, Washington and most of his troops got away, across the East River to Manhattan, under the cover of fog, on August 31. In September and October Washington kept his headquarters at the commandeered home of a former British officer named Roger Morris.

Today we call the house the Morris-Jumel Mansion. [...]

The clapboarded house is a beauty of Georgian architecture, with a marvelous four-columned portico surmounted by a broad triangular pediment, and with lovely rooftop balustrades. The grounds steadily yielded to development. In 1882, for example, the very unusual street of wooden row houses, Sylvan Terrace, rose just to the west of the mansion.

The mansion is maintained as a historic house museum, and is a must to visit, especially as it can be combined with visits to other nearby Harlem attractions. Today from noon to 4 p.m. the museum is hosting a "Washington's Birthday Celebration," with music, talks, demonstrations, and refreshments. Call 212-923-8008. Normal hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., except Mondays and Tuesdays when the house is open by appointment only.