6 Best Sights in New York City, New York

The life and legacy of Jackie Robinson, the trailblazing Black baseball player who broke the color barrier when he signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, is the focus of this new, $42 million interactive museum on the western edge of SoHo. Besides memorabilia—Robinson’s Dodgers uniform, rookie contract, and Rookie of the Year award are among hundreds of archival major-league artifacts on display—Robinson’s Civil Rights legacy is given equal due. The intense racial discrimination the Hall of Famer endured both on and off the field is powerfully narrated through photos and videos, including one clip that vividly recounts the segregation he and his wife, Rachel, experienced en route to Florida spring training as the South was under Jim Crow laws.

A five-story cast-iron building from 1870, 101 Spring Street was the New York home and studio of minimalist artist Donald Judd. Although SoHo used to be home to many single-use cast-iron buildings, this designated historic building is one of the few that remain. Judd bought it in 1968, and today, guided 75-minute tours (book online, as early as possible, since tours sell out weeks in advance) explore his living and working spaces, offset with art installations arranged prior to his death in 1994. Note that climbing five flights of stairs is required and photos aren’t allowed.

Founded in 1969 in a basement on Prince Street, the museum has its roots in the collection of its founders, Charles Leslie and Fritz Lohman, two lifelong champions of LGBTQ+ artists. The well-curated exhibits in the spacious first-floor galleries are usually photographic (and sometimes sexually charged), though the museum's impressive archive leads to new exhibitions in various media as often as six times a year.

In the former headquarters of Engine 30, a handsome Beaux-Arts building dating from 1904, retired firefighters volunteer their time in the morning and early afternoon to answer visitors' questions. The collection of firefighting tools from the 18th century to the present includes hand-pulled and horse-drawn engines, speaking trumpets, pumps, and uniforms. A memorial exhibit with photos, paintings, children's artwork, and found objects relating to the September 11, 2001, attacks is also on view—a poignant reminder and tribute to the 343 firefighters who died on 9/11.

Noted American artist and sculptor Walter De Maria's 1977 avant-garde installation consists, quite simply, of 280,000 pounds of gently sculpted soil filling 3,600 square feet of a second-floor loft maintained by the Dia Art Foundation since 1980. You can't touch or walk on the dirt, nor can you take photos, but looking at it is quite peaceful. De Maria's equally odd and impressive work The Broken Kilometer, an 18.75-ton installation that consists of five columns of a total of 1,000 meter-long brass rods covering the wooden floors of an open loft space, is a few blocks away (  393 W. Broadway) and is a good complement. The two installations have the same hours.

At this nonprofit organization, the focus is on drawings—contemporary and historical. The frequently changing exhibits often push the envelope on what's considered drawing so there's usually some thought-provoking material. Many projects are commissioned by the center.