4. American Art Union (Franklin Street on Broadway)
Herman Melville enjoyed spending his free time walking around his home in lower Manhattan and attending art galleries. Located on Franklin Street, Melville once attended the opening of the American Art Union where he had seen “few paintings” but had also met many of the city’s literati. Among the attendees was the iconic Walt Whitman, who was then a young editor reviewing the event. Although Whitman’s “Crossing the Brooklyn Ferry” indicates that both authors had probably spent equal amounts of time at South Street Seaport’s waterfront, the two authors strangely never crossed paths.