6. There are More Than 2000 Works of Medieval European Art Housed Inside the Park

Medieval gardens in front of the Cloisters

The Cloisters is a branch of The Metropolitan Museum of Art sitting on a four acre lot overlooking the Hudson River. Donated by philanthropist John D. Rockefeller Jr., the museum was intended to display the medieval art collection he acquired from art collector George Grey Barnard. The museum is a combination of a medieval monastery which was reconstructed stone-by-stone on site, and a new construction designed in the medieval style. It houses more than 2000 works of medieval European art and artifacts. One of the noteworthy pieces is the Unicorn Tapestries, a series of seven which Rockefeller bought in 1922 for about one million dollars.