Museum of the City of New York
The Museum of the City of New York is a private nonprofit founded in 1923 that preserves and interprets NYC's history, art, and civic life. It serves visitors, K-12 students, researchers, and media partners through exhibitions, a 750,000-object collection, educational programs, and digital licensing.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1923
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Museum of the City of New York does
The Museum of the City of New York is a private nonprofit cultural institution incorporated in New York State and founded in 1923 to preserve and interpret New York City's history, art, and civic life. Operating from a single headquarters on Museum Mile at 1220 Fifth Avenue and supported by 51–100 employees, the museum serves a diverse audience including general-public visitors, K–12 students and educators, families, academic researchers, and media/licensing partners. Its permanent collection of more than 750,000 objects — encompassing costumes, decorative arts, manuscripts, photography, street art, and ephemera — underpins rotating and permanent exhibitions such as "Another Wonderland," "Songs of New York: 100 Years of Imagining the City Through Music," and the 7,000-square-foot "The Occupied City: New York and the American Revolution" (opened May 2026).
Core products and services span physical visitor experiences (exhibitions, public programs, school field trips, family workshops, venue rentals, and a museum shop) and digital offerings, including the MCNY Collections Portal with more than 190,000 digitized objects supporting image licensing, an e-commerce store, and a multilingual website available in seven languages. The Collections Portal and licensing infrastructure function as the institution's primary technology assets.
The business model combines subscription-based admissions and memberships, individual and corporate donations (including planned giving, Patron Circle, and Abbott Circle programs), global consumer product licensing through the "City Canvas" program managed by Parham Santana, image and TV/streaming rights licensing, retail sales, venue rentals, and program sponsorships such as the annual $50,000 Gotham Book Prize. Revenue diversification across earned, contributed, and royalty streams reduces dependence on any single channel, while named institutional partnerships — including the NYC Department of Education (Hidden Voices curriculum), the Gotham Center at CUNY Graduate Center, the Puffin Foundation (Center for Social Activism), and the Netherlands Cultural Heritage Agency (Tyger research) — extend programmatic reach.
Museum of the City of New York firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Museum of the City of New York
- Legal name
- Museum of the City of New York
- Website
- https://mcny.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1923
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- The Museum of the City of New York is a private nonprofit founded in 1923 that preserves and interprets NYC's history, art, and civic life. It serves visitors, K-12 students, researchers, and media partners through exhibitions, a 750,000-object collection, educational programs, and digital licensing.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Museum of the City of New York industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Cultural Museum Services
- NAICS
- Museums (712110), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (7121), Historical Sites (712120)
- SIC
- Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)
- akta.pro primary industry
- History Museums (THAJADAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Art Museums (THAJADAA), Art Galleries & Exhibition Spaces (Commercial & Nonprofit) (THAJADAH), Museum & Landmark Guided Tours (Skip-the-line/Docent-led) (THAJAAAC), Museum, Zoo & Attraction Gift Shops (CRALAJAG)
Keywords
Where Museum of the City of New York is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Museum of the City of New York business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Admission and Membership: Revenue from ticket sales and membership subscriptions offering free or discounted admission, special event invitations, and member benefits.
- Donations and Planned Giving: Individual donations, corporate memberships, patron circle programs, and planned giving options.
- Licensing Revenue: Licensing of museum content including images, TV/streaming rights, and consumer products. Proceeds benefit preservation of collections, programs, and digital experiences.
- Retail Shop: Online store selling products inspired by New York City's history, art, and culture.
- Venue Rentals: Rental of museum spaces and venues for events.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | General Admission |
| Subscription | Annual | Membership Tiers |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels8 records
Museum of the City of New York product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Museum of the City of New York is a private nonprofit history museum that operates permanent and rotating exhibitions on the history and culture of New York City. It sells and delivers admissions-based museum visits, educational and public programs, group tours, museum memberships, retail merchandise through a museum shop, venue rental for events, and image and footage licensing of its collections to publishers, media, and film/TV clients.
Product overview
The Museum of the City of New York offers a diverse portfolio of cultural products and services centered on celebrating and interpreting New York City's history, art, and civic life. The museum's core offerings include rotating and permanent exhibitions (such as 'He Built This City,' 'Another Wonderland,' and 'The Occupied City'), a Collections Portal with over 750,000 digitized objects, licensing services for images and TV/streaming, consumer products through its City Canvas brand, a museum shop, membership programs, public programs and events, press releases, venue rentals, and group tours. The portfolio also includes the annual Gotham Book Prize literary award. The museum operates as a unified cultural institution with both physical visitor experiences and digital services including its Collections Portal, licensing platforms, and online retail.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Gotham Book Prize: Annual literary award created in 2020, co-founded by Bradley Tusk and Howard Wolfson, awarded to the best book about or set in New York City. Prize amount is $50,000.
- Gotham Dreams Gala
- Louis Auchincloss Prize
Products and services
- Museum Exhibitions
Quantifiable outcome
- Serving hundreds of thousands of visitors annually from around the world
Companies that use Museum of the City of New York
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Museum of the City of New York technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
Museum of the City of New York partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.
- Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed (Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands)coreInternational research collaboration led by MCNY and the RCE to undertake comprehensive study of ship timbers believed to belong to the Tyger, a Dutch vessel commanded by Adriaen Block. Prof. Martijn Manders and Dr. Marta Dominguez Delmas from the RCE will conduct dendrochronological analysis and wood species identification.
- Parham SantanacoreParham Santana – The Brand Extension Agency – announced in 2022 a new global licensing contract with MCNY for consumer product brand development, retail partnerships, and licensing sales. Parham Santana has developed licensed products for Discovery Channel, Better Homes and Gardens, Turner Classic Movies, PBS Kids, UNICEF, and Corita Art Center.
- Gotham Center for New York City History at CUNY Graduate CentercoreMCNY partnered with the Gotham Center for The Occupied City exhibition, a 7,000-square-foot presentation spanning the museum's entire third floor. The Gotham Center's Director Peter Aigner is co-director of the exhibition.
- NYC Department of EducationcoreHidden Voices curriculum developed by MCNY in partnership with the NYC Department of Education, successfully implemented in Bronx schools to teach Black figures and hidden histories.
- Gotham Book PrizeflagshipMCNY hosts the Gotham Book Prize awards ceremony annually. The $50,000 prize is awarded to the best book about or set in NYC. MCNY's Director Stephanie Hill Wilchfort serves on the jury.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Museum of the City of New York competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- The Tenement Museum: Lower East Side museum telling NYC immigrant and social history through narrative exhibitions and education programs; directly comparable in NYC-history focus, school-partnership model, and educational programming.
- Brooklyn Museum: Major NYC art and cultural-history museum with comparable rotating exhibitions, K-12 field-trip programming, membership model, and gift shop — competing for the same cultural-tourism and donor audiences across boroughs.
- Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum: NYC-based Smithsonian museum on Museum Mile with comparable scale (51–100 employee range), rotating exhibitions, licensing programs, and education mission — directly comparable as a mid-size NYC design/cultural museum.
- New-York Historical Society: NYC's oldest museum, also a history-focused institution with a comparable K-12 education mission, comparable revenue mix of admissions, memberships, and donations, and similar Museum Mile-adjacent positioning — the most direct functional peer to MCNY.
- Museum of the Moving Image: Specialty NYC museum focused on film, television, and digital media with rotating exhibitions, education programs, and event rentals — directly comparable operating model for a NYC specialty cultural institution.
Broad incumbents
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art: The dominant NYC museum on Museum Mile with far larger endowment, collection, and visitation; competes for tourist visitors, donor share, and event-rental revenue while anchoring the same geographic cluster.
- American Museum of Natural History: Large NYC museum with extensive K-12 school-group programming, rotating exhibitions, retail, and venue rentals — competes for the same family, school, and tourist audience across NYC.
- Whitney Museum of American Art: Major NYC art museum with stronger art-market positioning but overlapping audience for cultural tourism, memberships, and event rentals — a broader incumbent competing for similar visitor and donor dollars.
Emerging players
- Skyscraper Museum: Boutique NYC specialty museum focused on the built environment with a small staff and exhibition-driven model — comparable as a smaller thematic NYC museum competing in adjacent curatorial niches.
- Center for Jewish History: NYC cultural campus combining multiple institutions with shared collections, education programs, and event venues — comparable in operating a multi-tenant cultural model with archive-driven programming.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Museum of the City of New York social profiles
Digital presenceMuseum of the City of New York financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Museum of the City of New York leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Museum of the City of New York funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Museum of the City of New York M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Museum of the City of New York
What does Museum of the City of New York do?
The Museum of the City of New York is a private nonprofit history museum that operates permanent and rotating exhibitions on the history and culture of New York City. It sells and delivers admissions-based museum visits, educational and public programs, group tours, museum memberships, retail merchandise through a museum shop, venue rental for events, and image and footage licensing of its collections to publishers, media, and film/TV clients.
Is Museum of the City of New York a public or private company?
Museum of the City of New York is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Museum of the City of New York founded?
Museum of the City of New York was founded in 1923. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Museum of the City of New York based?
Museum of the City of New York is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does Museum of the City of New York make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Admission and Membership is the primary driver. The others are donations and Planned Giving, licensing Revenue, retail Shop and venue Rentals.
Who are Museum of the City of New York's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are The Tenement Museum, Brooklyn Museum, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, New-York Historical Society and Museum of the Moving Image. Broad incumbents are The Metropolitan Museum of Art, American Museum of Natural History and Whitney Museum of American Art. Emerging players are Skyscraper Museum and Center for Jewish History.
Does Museum of the City of New York have an API?
No public API is recorded for Museum of the City of New York.
What industry is Museum of the City of New York in?
Museum of the City of New York's product category is Cultural Museum Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAJADAB, History Museums, with a secondary code of THAJADAA, Art Museums. Its NAICS code is 712110 and its SIC code is 7990.