The Occupied City

Marking the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, this major exhibition—developed in partnership with the Gotham Center for New York City History—transforms the Museum’s entire third floor into a 7,000-square-foot immersive journey through Revolutionary-era New York. Framing the Revolution as a story of civic choice and consequence, the exhibition underscores how decisions made by New Yorkers 250 years ago continue to reverberate across the city and the nation today.

Visitors will trace New York’s pivotal role in the conflict, from the first sparks of rebellion in 1763 to its emergence as the new nation’s first capital in 1790. A crucial strategic site for both the Patriots and the British, New York’s revolutionary experience comes vividly to life through historical objects, multimedia installations, and interactive environments. The Occupied City tells the powerful and complex stories of revolutionaries and loyalists, enslaved and free Black New Yorkers, women, Native peoples, and others who shaped and were shaped by this turbulent time. The exhibition highlights the resilience of New Yorkers, who endured seven years of British occupation, devastating fires, and violent battles, only to emerge as residents of the nation’s new capital.

Highlights include a recreated 18th-century tavern and a walk-through experience of “Canvas Town,” along with digital dramatizations of key events like the Battle of New York. Visitors will explore immersive installations, including a recreation of New York City in the Revolutionary Era through scenes drawn from the video game Assassin’s Creed III. This exhibition invites visitors to see the Revolution not as a distant myth, but as a lived—and deeply contested—urban experience.

Featured Image: Franz Xaver Habermann (1721-1796), The Triumphal Entry of Royal Troops into New York. (L'Entré Triumphale de Troupes Royales a Nouvelle Yorck). Print. Collection of the Museum of the City of New York. 29.100.2024

The Occupied City: New York and the American Revolution is made possible by presenting partners, the Andrew Carnegie Foundation, an Anonymous Family Foundation, Kenneth C. Griffin and Griffin Catalyst, and The Hearthland Foundation.

Special thanks to our benefactors, Elizabeth K. Belfer, Matt and Marisa Brown, The National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and The Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation.

Additional support provided by advocates, The Achelis and Bodman Foundation, Chris Brown, Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF), Heather and William Vrattos. Thank you to sponsors, Daryl B. Uber and New York State Council on the Arts; and friends, Matthew Breitenbach and Terry Schwartz Breitenbach, The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, and Peck Stacpoole Foundation.

Curatorial and collections work on this exhibition is provided by the Laura and Ray Johnson Fund and Robert A. and Elizabeth R. Jeffe.

Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this exhibition do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Inspired by our latest exhibition, The Occupied City: New York and the American Revolution, this day of professional learning explores perspectives on the American Revolution that have been historically excluded or underrepresented.

Join us during Juneteenth weekend for the world premiere screening of Declarations: Black Americans and the Revolutionary War.

Explore how the Revolution has been memorialized in public history and media, what narratives are elevated or omitted, and who ultimately shapes collective memory.