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00:05Entering this room is truly like stepping back in time. You can almost
00:09hear the Patriots sharing their ideas and ideals, and I love it every single time.
00:34I'm Sarah Gore, and welcome to Open House NYC, everyone. We are just about 100 days away from
00:40America's 250th birthday, and we are going to start the celebration right here, right now,
00:47with a sneak peek at what's coming this 4th of July. We are talking once-in-a-generation
00:51festivities all across the country and right here in New York. Sailforth 250 is organizing
00:57the largest flotilla of tall ships ever from all around the world. These majestic vessels will
01:05sail into New York Harbor, past the Statue of Liberty, and up the Hudson River, a breathtaking
01:11maritime parade. So we thought it fitting to begin the show with an inside look at one of those
01:17tall ships that we'll visit. And let me tell you, she is a beauty. Take a look.
01:26Hi, I'm Commander Elmar Bornkessel, and I'm the commanding officer of sail training ship
01:31Goich Fock from the German Navy, and welcome on board.
01:36Goich Fock is probably one of the most beautiful ships you will see in your whole life. We were
01:41built in 1958, and we are 89 meters long, have a width of 12 meters, and the most impressive
01:47thing are the masts, of course, and they are 45 meters high.
01:54We have an open bridge, so it's no bridge house, so we are here exposed to all weather conditions.
02:01And here we also see the steering wheel, which is a hand mechanic steering wheel that we need
02:05when we are out at sea at least four persons to control this steering wheel, because it's really
02:10hard work and you really need the power actually to move the rudder. Here we see the traditional
02:14engine order telegraph on a short version EOT. We are a sail training ship, therefore, of course,
02:20we really don't like to use the engine, but if I would like to have it, I can order full
02:26speed ahead.
02:27But what really keeps us going are the three masts with the 23 sails, which gives us a maximum speed
02:32of 17 knots.
02:36So now you have seen the bridge, but the rest of the ship will be shown to you by Lieutenant
02:41J.G.
02:41Padpek. He's one of my sail training officers and is responsible for the training of the cadets.
02:46We have nearly 70 years of history behind us, and I want to show you what is our home and
02:52our ship.
02:56I welcome you here in the Commander's Stateroom, a place where high-ranking politicians,
03:00important women and men, and even some crowned ones, set in our 70 years of tradition.
03:11Now I welcome you here in this part we call German Schlosshof, where our history comes alive.
03:18First of all, the model of the original build of Gorch Fogg from 1958. And second point I want to
03:24talk
03:24about is the built man's pie, gifted to us by Prince Philip of England. And the man who made all
03:31this,
03:31Gorch Fogg. A German poet that was famous for writing about living with and from the sea.
03:42Hi, glad to see you again. Here we are now in my stateroom. It's my working and living room.
03:47During our last port visit in Hamburg, I received a collector book. It's about the operation sail 76,
03:54which was the sail for the 200th anniversary of the United States of America. Also the American
04:00president, President Ford, was 1976 on board Gorch Fogg. So since this is my room and I spent so many
04:07hours
04:07here, I've personalized a little bit, of course. I have 16 years of sea duty and this is pretty much
04:13represented in all the batches here. We have a hull plate and rivets from Eagle, which is one of our
04:18sister ships. So last but not least, actually the most important to me, my family, my kids,
04:24and they are here so that I have them always with me and can always take a look at them
04:28when I work.
04:33Welcome you on the Ford deck, a part of the ship where you have the most beautiful view in the
04:39world.
04:39Behind me you can see the beautiful port of Amsterdam.
04:50I hope you enjoyed the tour and see what we see in the Gorch Fogg,
04:53living part of German naval tradition. And I hope to see you in New York in July.
05:00When she docks in New York City on July 4th, you'll be able to visit.
05:04So be sure to check in at sailforth250.org for more information. Coming up just after the break,
05:11how the oldest tavern in the city played a larger than life role in the nation's founding. We'll be right
05:16back.
05:25Welcome back, everyone. We're going to have some more of those tall ships in just a bit,
05:29but it's worth remembering that in New York, history is never far away. And one of the most
05:34historic places is Francis Tavern in Lower Manhattan, a national historic landmark and home to the city's
05:40oldest bar. This was a favorite gathering spot for the founding fathers, including George Washington.
05:46And here's something you may not know. It's also a museum that you should definitely check out. See why.
05:54Hello, my name is Melissa Lauer, and I'm the Education and Public Programs Manager here at Francis Tavern
06:01Museum. This is the oldest remaining building in Manhattan, originally built in 1719. It's built in
06:07this Dutch-inspired style, and you can actually see the original Dutch yellow brick on the outside walls.
06:14It's a historic site that experienced so many moments before, during, and after the American Revolution.
06:24Welcome to the long room. This room shows you what the tavern would have looked like
06:29when Samuel Francis opened the building in 1762. Samuel Francis himself quickly became a patriot,
06:36who served a patriot clientele, including the Sons of Liberty, who were coming into this room to eat,
06:42drink, and discuss the plans that would lead to the American Revolution. Everything in this room,
06:48with just a few exceptions, is a real artifact from the time of the American Revolution. From the chairs,
06:53to the tables, to the dishes. Other objects you see in here are brown best muskets used by both sides
07:00when the war breaks out. Even the floors we're standing on are original to the time. Entering this
07:06room is truly like stepping back in time. You can almost hear the patriots sharing their ideas and ideals,
07:12and I love it every single time.
07:19In this gallery, we've stepped into our special exhibition for the 250th. In this room,
07:25we're telling the full story of the American Revolution from the beginning of the war in 1775
07:31until the war ends in 1783. This room is filled with original paintings, prints, and maps.
07:38Here we have the painting Retreat to Victory, which is telling the story of the Battle for New York.
07:44The Americans get cornered at Brooklyn Heights, and Washington ends up staging this very daring
07:50retreat across the river into Manhattan to escape. This print is showing the tearing down of the statue
07:57of King George III at Bowling Green. Underneath it, you'll see a fragment of the fence that was erected
08:04to protect the statue, as well as part of a tree that witnessed the entire event.
08:13I like to think of this room as our treasure chest. Here you can see private dining, which shows you
08:20what Samuel Francis could offer to a wealthier clientele, as well as some of our favorite artifacts,
08:25including Martha Washington's slipper and a lock of George Washington's hair. Now let's head back to the
08:31long room for Francis Tavern's most famous story.
08:38And this is evacuation day. The final British ships sail out of New York Harbor, and the Continental
08:43Army parade through the streets, and they wind up right back here in the long room at Francis Tavern
08:49to celebrate the end of the war. George Washington breaks the news to them that he's going to step down,
08:56give up his power, and retire. But believe it or not, the story doesn't end here.
09:05After the war, New York City becomes the first capital of the United States. And New York City
09:10doesn't have any office space. So what do they do? They come back to Francis Tavern and they rent rooms
09:15in the building to actually operate the government. Where we're standing here is the Department of Foreign
09:21Affairs. This room is full of artifacts from the period, from the furniture to the book press on the
09:27table, your original copy machine, all the way to Lafayette's original writing desk.
09:37Thank you for coming with me on this journey through one of the most fascinating buildings in
09:42the United States. We hope to see you here soon where you can experience these stories and so much more
09:48for yourself. Happy 250th. Definitely put the Francis Tavern Museum on your must-visit list. And when
09:58you're done touring, you can even grab lunch at one of the tavern's iconic bars. Don't batten down the
10:04hatches just yet, because coming up, we are back on one of those ships that's going to visit on July
10:084th.
10:09And this one's from Portugal. You're not going to want to miss it.
10:20Welcome back sailors and landlubbers alike. Now we are aboard the NRP Sagres, a three-masted legend
10:27from Portugal, heading straight for the New York Harbor in celebration of America's 250th birthday.
10:33Built in 1937, she's trained generations of naval cadets and completed three circumnavigations of the
10:40globe. Take a look. Welcome aboard of Tall Ship Sagres from Portuguese Navy. My name is Commander
10:49José Luiz. I'm the commanding officer of this beautiful ship. And this is Tenente Moreira,
10:55the public affairs officer of Sagres. We are in Amsterdam in the very big event of tall ships. When we
11:01board in a foreign country, we open to visits to promote the Portuguese culture and the Portuguese
11:08maritime tradition. Today you'll show you around, and I will see you later.
11:16We have 155 people on board. This is a ship that was built in 1937 in Hamburg, in Germany,
11:23and has 89 meters long, 46 meters high, and is a training ship. Starting from the top of the ship,
11:29this place right here is called Castello, which would mean castle. From here you can see every mast,
11:34and in total we have 23 sails, 10 square sails, which are the famous sails of the ship because they
11:41have the Christ's cross, and we have other 13 Latin sails. We have two bells, one right here,
11:47when you have an emergency, like a man overboard, or if you see a fire. So this is a bell
11:51we hope to
11:52never ring. So right here we have our passage, it's a name in Portuguese, and we use them for salvage.
11:57This may look like a real gun, but we don't use it as a weapon. This is the most important
12:04part of the
12:04ship, the galley. There are only five cooks, so these guys work a lot. This area is called Poço,
12:12and it's the most spacious area of the ship, and actually this is our common space for everyone.
12:17So this bell is similar to the other one, and we mark every hour with this bell.
12:26Welcome to the bridge, this is where everything happens. We have our helm in here. Usually people
12:30are curious about why we have three wheels instead of one, but with three wheels we can put more people
12:36over there and cure the ship a lot safer. This right here is what we call telegraph, and this is
12:41what
12:41allows us to send orders to the engine room. In the engine room we have the same system, and we
12:46always
12:46have someone down there when we are sailing, and this arrow will move to the order I gave.
12:51And right here we have a phrase that is a patria honraica patria vos conte lempa. Basically this
12:57means that if you honor your country, your country will always reward you. And this phrase is present
13:02on every single ship of the Portuguese Navy.
13:07In here we have a lot of what we call crestas, which basically are offerings that the ship gets from
13:14other ships or from military units, and actually it's a tradition to exchange crestas.
13:23Welcome to the captain's office. Here in the captain's office is where the commander works,
13:28and also it's more a private space for him. We have several offerings made to the ship.
13:33The Coração de Viana, which basically means the heart of Viana, which is a small city
13:38on the north of Portugal, and the city offered this to us.
13:44So right here we are at the dinner room of the captain's cabin, and this is where the commanding
13:50officer welcomes ambassadors, kings, queens, chiefs of staff, presidents, and so on. Here we have this
13:56book, which is Sagres Construindo a Lenda, which means building the legend. And right here we have every
14:02trip the ship ever made, and also a lot of the noble people who already came on board.
14:10For the Sail Amsterdam 2025, the sail parade was marvelous. We are so proud to be part of it,
14:17because we have hundreds and hundreds of small vessels with us, and it's an honor to be here.
14:24Thank you so much for taking the tour today. And I see you in New York.
14:31Don't forget to visit NRP Sagres when she's here in New York. And right after that,
14:36she's heading up to Boston for Sail Boston 2026. Coming up just after the break,
14:41a home that helped inspire a certain Broadway phenomenon. What could it be? We'll see you in just a few.
14:56Welcome back. New York is filled with reminders of the Revolutionary Era,
15:01from the Conference House in Staten Island to historic estates in Brooklyn and Queens.
15:05The Bronx has Van Cortlandt House and Alexander Hamilton once summered at his country retreat
15:11in what was then bucolic Harlem. But the grandest of them all may be the Morris Jamel
15:18Mansion in Washington Heights, a storied home where the histories of New York and a young nation
15:23collide. See what I mean?
15:31My name is Meg Lynch. I'm the manager of operations here at Manhattan's oldest remaining house.
15:37Welcome to the Morris Jamel Mansion. This house was originally built in 1765
15:42for the Morris family. The house sits on the second highest point of all of Manhattan,
15:47and is one of the reasons why Washington chose it as his headquarters during the American Revolution.
15:59This house is like stepping through a portal to the past. But the story of the house is actually the
16:04story of this woman, Eliza Jamel, who was born in poverty in Providence, Rhode Island, and like many
16:10people moved to New York to reinvent herself. History often overlooks women, and one of the current
16:15missions of the museum is to expand these overlooked narratives.
16:23This room is referred to as the octagon room for obvious reasons. This shaped room allowed more light
16:29to enter, cross-sectional breezes, and would have amplified sound. And frankly, they were just showing
16:35off because this is believed to be one of the first octagonal shaped rooms in America. So the house
16:41itself was a New York trendsetter, as were its inhabitants, as you can see from the bold choices in
16:47wallpaper and furniture design.
16:53Here on the second floor, the museum is all about community and supporting the arts. But there's still a
16:58vast amount of history here on this floor, including the room that Washington used as his office
17:03during the American Revolution.
17:10Another member of our community is Lin Manuel Miranda, who wrote parts of Hamilton sitting in
17:15this very chair. I refer to this room as the room where it happened, happened. And he picked this room
17:21for a reason. This is the room that Eliza Jamel's second husband, Aaron Burr, would have slept in. But
17:26this was long after his infamous duel with Hamilton. But Hamilton also plays a role in the house's history.
17:31He was stationed here in 1776. He was here for the dinner that George Washington hosted in 1790.
17:38And many years later, Eliza Jamel hired his son to divorce Aaron Burr.
17:49The Morris Jamel Mansion is a historic house about the history of New York and one woman in particular
17:54who was ahead of her time. But this is also a house for New Yorkers. And we're open to the
18:00public,
18:00so please come visit.
18:06Don't go anywhere because just after the break, we are going to board another one of those tall ships,
18:11joining the flotilla for sail for 250. We'll be right back.
18:23Welcome back, everyone. Now we're visiting the Dutch tall ship Oosterskelde. Please forgive my
18:29pronunciation as it's probably wrong. This three-masted schooner circled the globe three times and visited
18:36over 50 countries. And she's headed to New York for sail forth 250 where you can see her just gliding
18:43up the Hudson.
18:43What a birthday present. Check it out.
18:51My name is Captain Bos, Captain of the Oosterskelde. Welcome to Amsterdam.
18:56The Oosterskelde is built in 1917 in the Netherlands. The ship was originally built as a sailing cargo ship
19:0235 years ago. The ship is fully restored into its original glory. The ship is 15 meters long
19:07and our masts are 34 meters high. Come on board and I will show you our arms. Let's go.
19:15Welcome on board. The ship is named after an estuary where the river Schelde goes into the
19:20North Sea. The Oosterskelde. The first thing you notice when you step on board is a lot of ropes. All
19:25our
19:26sails are big and heavy. It takes about six persons to hoist a sail. Everywhere on this ship you will
19:31see
19:32these blocks. You cannot just buy them in a shop somewhere. They're all custom made for this ship. We have
19:36a crew of
19:37seven. A captain, a first mate, four deckhands and a cook. On longer voyages we take 24 guests with us.
19:43You're not just a guest on board, you're part of the crew. You are really involved in sailing the ship.
19:49Sailing with these kind of ships on the open ocean is a great feeling. Being pushed forward by the wind,
19:54no sound of engines. Especially here on the bow, it's a great spot to also go into the jibboom net
20:00and if you're
20:01very lucky you might even see some dolphins swimming in front of the ship. It's a thrill for me as
20:06a
20:06captain to see people experiencing their first trip on board ships like this.
20:12Behind the bar here is the galley and we have a professional cook cooking all the meals for
20:17everybody on board. When you're at sea there's always one good moment and that's when you hear
20:22the bell and that's how you know that it is time to eat. This wooden pole here in the middle,
20:27this is one
20:28of our free masts. The masts they are not just standing on the deck but the masts they go through
20:32the deck, through the floor and they're standing on the keel of the ship. This is a very special picture
20:37because this is the first time the ship sailing after the restoration in 1992. It's important to
20:42maintain and restore these sailing ships because they connect us with our past and the best way to
20:47maintain sailing ships is to use them and to sail with them.
20:54That was the tour of the Oosterschelde, one of the most beautiful sailing ships in the world.
20:59I hope to see you one day on board and otherwise I'll see you in New York.
21:09Well, we hope you enjoyed this preview of Tall Ships today. If you knew nothing about Tall Ships
21:13before, we are just hoping that you are sailing away with a little more knowledge of them and don't
21:18forget you can check them out in person on July 4th, 2026 right here in New York City. And if
21:24you
21:24want to see more home design, we'll be back next week with more of that. Do check us out on
21:28our
21:28Instagram page and our YouTube channel where we're adding new stuff all the time at OpenHouse TV.
21:34Thank you so much for popping in on this tour today and we'll see you next week.
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