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9 Places to Remember Edgar Allan Poe in NYC

9 Places to Remember Edgar Allan Poe in NYC
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164 years ago today, Edgar Allan Poe mysteriously died. Despite having departed over a century and a half ago, Poe has not been forgotten. New York City goes above other cities in memorializing this great American author. Below are 9 sites in NYC where you can remember Poe:

1. Raven Mantel

Edgar Allen Poe Raven Mantle-Butler Library-Columbia University-University Archives

Located in Butler Library at Columbia University, the Raven Mantel was located in Poe’s room at the Brennan farmhouse. It was saved when the farmhouse was demolished because it had a cameo in the poem and Poe even allegedly etched his initials into it. Check out our previous coverage of the Mantel’s odyssey from farmhouse to Columbia, where Untapped Cities discovered it lying fallow in a storage room. It was later moved to a more visible location after articles by Untapped staff in Columbia Magazine and The New York Times.

2. Poe Cottage


The Edgar Allan Poe Cottage was built in 1812 in what was then the village of Fordham. Today, the house is part of the Historic House Trust and is administered by the Bronx Historical Society and is one of the Bronx’s most interesting house museums.

3. Brennan Farmhouse Site

While living in the Brennan Farmhouse, Poe composed “The Raven.” Two competing plaques commemorate the farmhouse. Both are located on 84th Street (with an honorary street name of Edgar Allan Poe Street) and Broadway, though one is east of Broadway and the other west.

4. Edgar Allan Poe Bust at The Players Club

The Players_Club_Edgar Allan Poe-Gramercy Park-NYC

Located in the library of The Players Club next to Gramercy Park, this Edgar Allan Poe bust watches over a vast collection of books and artifacts. The rest of the Players Club is full of fun artifacts and rooms, like Mark Twain’s pool cue and the preserved room of founder Edwin Booth.

5. Former The Evening Mirror Building at 26 Ann Street

26 Ann Street, the former Evening Mirror Building where Poe worked, is currently a residential building and was rechristened the Edgar House. There is a plaque memorializing Poe in the building, but it is inaccessible to the general public.

6. Fordham University

This plaque can be found at Fordham University whose church bell is thought to have inspired Poe’s poem, “The Bells.” The 19th century bell, now in storage, was renamed Old Edgar Allan in Poe’s honor.

7. The Hall of Fame of Great Americans

In 1910, Poe was inducted into the Hall of Fame of Great Americans located on New York University’s former Bronx campus (now Bronx Community College). Poe’s induction as part of the third class of inductees signifies how highly regarded he was, joining people like Abraham Lincoln and George Washington.

8. Grand Concourse Mural

Even street art decorating the Grand Concourse in the Bronx commemorates Poe’s connection with the borough, depicting Poe cottage.

9. Edgar Allan Poe Street

In 1980, the City memorialized Poe’s presence in the area by renaming West 84th Street, from Riverside Drive to Broadway, Edgar Allan Poe Street.

Next, read about the Top 10 Secrets of the Grand Concourse in the Bronx.

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