On Saturday, October 24, the Alice Austen House begins its last Archtober architecture tour of the season at 2 p.m. At 2 p.m. that same afternoon, the Garibaldi-Meucci Museum on Tompkins Avenue opens a two-hour lecture on Caravaggio. Rosebank has two house museums, and on that Saturday they've scheduled their best programs against each other. The Archtober tour also runs the Saturday before, on a day when Alice Austen House has more on its schedule, which leaves October 24 for Tompkins Avenue.
The 2 p.m. Overlap on October 24
The Garibaldi-Meucci lecture is billed as "Caravaggio," presented by Dr. Snjezana Smodlaka and Anita Sanseverino. It runs from 2 to 4 p.m. at 420 Tompkins Ave. According to the museum's event page, the talk covers the painter's life, his use of light and shadow, and his influence on Baroque painting. It's a ticketed event.
The Alice Austen House sits at 2 Hylan Boulevard. Its 2 p.m. Archtober tour is called "Dutch Farmhouse to Victorian Gothic Cottage." It traces how the Alice Austen House started as a Dutch farmhouse and became the Gothic cottage that stands on the Narrows today. The museum is also running its "Subtle Bodies" aura-photography workshop that day from noon to 2 p.m. If you stay through the workshop and then make the tour, you've spent the whole afternoon on Hylan Boulevard, and the Caravaggio talk is half over.
The Archtober page lists the tour for every October Saturday at 2 p.m., namely October 3, 10, 17 and 24. October 31 is left out. So the 24th is the last chance this season, but it isn't the only one left. October 17 is still open, and that day carries more of Alice Austen's calendar than any other this month.
October 17 Is Alice Austen's Busiest Saturday
On October 17, the Alice Austen House is part of Open House New York weekend. It's offering tours every hour from noon to 3 p.m. Each tour lasts about 30 minutes, and you don't need to register. The regular 2 p.m. Archtober tour falls in the middle of that window. After that, the museum hosts a reading by Danielle Wilde from 3 to 5 p.m.
That makes October 17 the fuller day on Hylan Boulevard. You can take an open-house tour, then the architecture tour, then stay for the reading, all within one afternoon. A week later, Tompkins Avenue gets your full attention.
| Saturday, October 17 | Saturday, October 24 | |
|---|---|---|
| Alice Austen House, 2 Hylan Blvd | OHNY tours hourly, noon to 3 p.m.; Archtober tour at 2 p.m.; Danielle Wilde reading, 3 to 5 p.m. | "Subtle Bodies" workshop, noon to 2 p.m.; final Archtober tour at 2 p.m. |
| Garibaldi-Meucci Museum, 420 Tompkins Ave | Regular Saturday hours, 1 to 5 p.m. | Caravaggio lecture, 2 to 4 p.m. |
| What you'd miss doing it all on the 24th | Nothing | The lecture or the tour, since they start at the same time |
The Two Museums Keep Different Hours
Splitting the days also works because the two museums open at different times. The Alice Austen House visitor page lists hours of Wednesday through Friday, noon to 5 p.m., and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. It's closed Sunday through Tuesday, and admission is a $5 suggested donation. The Historic House Trust has published a different schedule that includes Tuesday and Sunday. Before you make a special trip on a weekday or a Sunday, check with the museum.
The Garibaldi-Meucci Museum opens later and has a firmer cutoff. It's open Wednesday through Saturday from 1 to 5 p.m., with last entry at 4:30 p.m. Admission is $10 for anyone 12 or older and free for members. On October 24, the Caravaggio lecture ends at 4 p.m., which still leaves time to walk through the permanent rooms before last entry.
The grounds work differently. NYC Parks manages Alice Austen Park, which overlooks Buono Beach. City parks generally open at 6 a.m. and close at 10 p.m. or 1 a.m., depending on the park, and Parks points visitors to the signs posted at each entrance. That means you can enjoy the Narrows view outside the house's opening hours, but the posted sign on site is the final word.
Both Museums Have Italian Subjects This Fall
This fall, the two museums also happen to share a theme. Alice Austen House's current exhibition is "Andrea Modica: Italian Story," on view from September 12, 2026, through February 20, 2027. Modica is a photographer born in New York City who teaches at Drexel University. She shot these images on an 8 × 10 inch large-format camera using Kodak Tri-X film and printed each one by hand in platinum-palladium. Victoria Munro curated the show. In the house's exhibitions listing, it appears alongside "Lost Body," an ongoing outdoor exhibition, and the permanent exhibition "New Eyes on Alice Austen."
At the Garibaldi-Meucci Museum, the Italian story is part of the building itself. Its permanent displays include the Meucci Room, the Garibaldi Bedroom, the Garibaldi Room on the unification of Italy, a collection of artifacts, and a showcase of the teletrofono. The museum's rotating exhibition, Robert Geronimo's illustration show "Art of Legend & Light," closes October 16. That's the day before the first of these two Saturdays. The exhibitions page says a new rolling exhibit is "coming soon" but hasn't named it. Visitors on October 24 will most likely see the permanent rooms and the lecture, so that's what to plan around.
Taken together, the two Saturdays give you Modica's platinum prints one week and a talk on an Italian painter in a house dedicated to Garibaldi and Meucci the next. Both stops are a short trip from Bay Street.
Where the Afternoon Ends on Bay Street
Rosebank has a new place for dinner this fall. SILive reported that Folea Tavern, a family-run bar and grill, opened October 2 at 1258 Bay St., in the space that used to be the Rosebank Tavern. According to that report, owner Kosta Qosja named the place after the Greek word for "bird's nest." The menu runs from charred octopus to house-made baklava, and his daughter Kat put it together. SILive also reports a full bar and wine list.
Here's one way to plan the 24th:
- Arrive at the Garibaldi-Meucci Museum a little before 2 p.m. for the Caravaggio lecture.
- When the lecture ends at 4 p.m., spend the time before the 4:30 p.m. last entry in the Meucci Room and the Garibaldi Bedroom.
- Head to Bay Street and finish the day at Folea Tavern.
On October 17, start at Alice Austen House with an OHNY tour at noon or 1 p.m., join the 2 p.m. Archtober tour, and stay for the Danielle Wilde reading at 3 p.m.
What the Calendar Shows After October 24
After October 24, both calendars thin out. Archtober doesn't run a tour on October 31. As of now, Alice Austen House's events listing ends on October 24, with no Halloween or November program posted. The Garibaldi-Meucci upcoming-events page doesn't list a Halloween event either.
The next date on Tompkins Avenue's calendar takes place off-site. The Garibaldi-Meucci Museum's 38th Annual Fundraiser Luncheon is on Saturday, November 7, at LiGreci's Staaten, with tickets listed at $125. The museum's event pages list different start times, noon on one and 1 p.m. on the other, so confirm the time on the upcoming events page before you buy a ticket.
Our team at GAMA. Team follows Rosebank week by week, from new openings on Bay Street to the calendars at its two house museums. If you have questions about life in the neighborhood or want a local perspective on Staten Island's North Shore, reach out to us and Get Started Today.
