The Written Word: Reading & Writing at the Mount Vernon Hotel

Join us to celebrate 200 years of the Mount Vernon Hotel with our first featured program of the year, “The Written Word: Reading & Writing at the Mount Vernon Hotel.”

Today, we think nothing of picking up a newspaper or reading a magazine online, or searching for a book or movie review. We don’t think twice about writing a birthday card or drafting a business email. But in 1826, printed materials of all types were prized commodities, and writing a letter of any kind took time, effort, special materials, and the space to do it.

Opened in 1826, the Mount Vernon Hotel offered New Yorkers a day of leisure in the Manhattan countryside, including opportunities to read (newspapers, magazines, letters, books) and write (personal letters, diaries, business correspondence). Step back 200 years to experience what life would have been like when newspapers were all-important, how the skill of reading signaled your place in society, and why writing was a crucial skill to your future opportunities.

Showcasing items from our collection, this tour will explore what guests would have been reading and writing for pleasure and how staff might have used written materials in the daily operations of the day hotel. We will also consider the differences between how and what men and women read and wrote, how reading material shaped both business and culture, and how that compares to today.

Experience life at the Mount Vernon Hotel through what people would have read and written in 1826!

This program is new for winter 2026 and will first be offered on Wednesday, January 28th at 11 am. Additional dates are Thursday, February 19 at 3 pm and Friday, March 6 at 12 noon for our First Friday of the Month series.

1826-2026: Celebrating 200 Years of the Mount Vernon Hotel

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Host or Publisher Mount Vernon Hotel Museum & Garden