Alice Austen House Museum

What Alice Austen House Museum does

The Alice Austen House Museum is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit historic house museum operating from Clear Comfort, a Victorian Gothic cottage at 2 Hylan Blvd in Staten Island, NY. Founded as a museum in 1985 by the Friends of Alice Austen House Inc. (incorporated 1979), the museum preserves the home and photographic legacy of American photographer Alice Austen (1866-1952), who captured over 7,000 images documenting turn-of-the-20th-century New York City. The site carries multiple historic designations including National Register of Historic Places (1970), NYC Landmark (1971), National Historic Landmark (1993), and National Site of LGBTQ+ History (2017), and is owned by the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation while operated by the Friends under a Historic House Trust agreement.

The museum offers a layered product mix spanning a permanent exhibition ("New Eyes on Alice Austen"), three annual contemporary photography exhibitions (currently "Radical Botany: The Politics of Flowers"), K-12 educational programs aligned to NYS standards, the mobile Roaming Image Lab, workshops including the Aura Photography Studio and Subtle Bodies, virtual tours via DreamOverture, venue rentals ($500/hr), and the Staten Island Triennial of Photography in partnership with Photoville NYC. Educational channels target NYC public schools, GSAs, and LGBTQ+ community groups, with a recent program expansion into intergenerational storytelling with Staten Island SAGE. The 2025 repatriation of Alice Austen's complete photographic archive from Historic Richmond Town materially expanded the collection.

The business model is a hybrid nonprofit revenue stack: pay-what-you-wish admissions at a suggested $5; seven-tier membership program ($20-$1,000 annual); one-time venue rentals and photo permits; ticketed workshops; and grants from NYSCA ($40,000 FY25), NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, NEA, NEH, Teiger Foundation, Ruth Foundation for the Arts, Humanities New York, and individual donors. Marketing is multi-channel through a website (aliceausten.org), Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, an email newsletter via Mailchimp, earned media, community partnerships, and on-site events including concerts, yoga, and the annual Queer Maker Day.

Name

Alice Austen House Museum

Legal name

Friends of Alice Austen House Inc

Website

https://aliceausten.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Alice Austen House Museum is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit historic house museum on Staten Island preserving the home and 7,000+ photograph archive of pioneering American photographer Alice Austen, serving K-12 students, LGBTQ+ community members, and cultural visitors through exhibitions, educational programming, venue rentals, and community events.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Historic House Museum & Cultural Heritage Services

NAICS

Museums (712110), Historical Sites (71212)

akta.pro primary industry

Art Museums (THAJADAA)

Keywords

• Historic house museum
• Photography exhibitions
• Cultural heritage preservation
• Educational programming
• LGBTQ+ history site

Headquarters

HQ city

Staten Island

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Museum Admissions: General admission suggested at $5 per visitor, with free admission for members, SNAP recipients (up to 4 people), and affiliates of partner organizations including Museums Council of NYC, Historic House Trust, AAM, and Culture Pass.
2. Membership Program: Annual memberships at seven tiers: Students/Seniors $20, Friend $30, Family $50, Austen Ally $100, Photography Patron $250, Preservation Visionary $500, Curator's Circle $1,000. Includes reciprocal benefits with Historic Richmond Town.
3. Event Rentals: Venue rentals for wedding ceremonies, film/photo shoots at $500/hr. Photo permits at $75 flat rate for still photography, $300/hr for video.
4. Workshops and Programs: Aura Photography Studio sessions at $20 including portrait photograph and interpretation guide. Seasonal workshops like Subtle Bodies at $30 per session.
5. Donations and Grants: 501(c)(3) nonprofit relying on individual donations, corporate sponsorships, and government grants from NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, NYSCA ($40,000 FY25 grant), NEA, NEH, and foundations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Alice Austen House Museum operates a National Historic Landmark Victorian Gothic cottage (Clear Comfort) in Staten Island, NYC, preserving and interpreting the life and photographic work of American photographer Alice Austen (1866–1952). The museum offers permanent and rotating contemporary photography exhibitions, K-12 educational programs, photography workshops, virtual tours, venue rentals for events, and community programming centered on LGBTQ+ history.

Product overview

The Alice Austen House Museum operates as a living photographic museum centered on the life and work of pioneering American photographer Alice Austen (1866-1952). The museum offers a unified experience combining a National Historic Landmark Victorian Gothic cottage (Clear Comfort) with rotating contemporary exhibitions, permanent installations, and comprehensive educational programming. Core offerings include the permanent exhibition 'New Eyes on Alice Austen' and rotating shows like 'Radical Botany: The Politics of Flowers.' Educational products span K-12 school programs (Through Alice's Eyes, Immigrant Stories, LGBTQ+ Photographic Storytelling), the mobile Roaming Image Lab, workshops (Aura Photography Studio, Subtle Bodies), and virtual tours. The museum also provides venue rentals, community events (Queer Maker Day, concerts), digital content (My Dear Alice podcast), and partners with Photoville for the Staten Island Triennial of Photography. The museum is operated by Friends of Alice Austen House Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Programs serve most underserved and racially diverse populations in Staten Island and NYC
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Historic Richmond TowncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 June 2025Historic Richmond Town repatriated Alice Austen's near-complete photographic archive to the Alice Austen House after more than 80 years. The transfer includes 2,600+ cellulose nitrate negatives, 2,000+ glass plate negatives, 1,500+ photographic prints, and 300+ yet-to-be-digitized items. This marks the most comprehensive record of Austen's work returning to her beloved former home.
• NYC Department of Parks and RecreationcoreOthersThe Alice Austen House and grounds are owned by the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation. The museum is situated in Alice Austen Park, a public park operated by NYC Parks.
• Historic House Trust of New York CitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Alice Austen House is a member of the Historic House Trust of NYC, which supports historic house museums throughout the city. The trust provides operational support and advocacy for member sites.
• Friends of Alice Austen House, Inc.coreOthersThe 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that operates the Alice Austen House in agreement with NYC Department of Parks and Recreation. Incorporated in 1979, the Friends promote Clear Comfort and Alice Austen's accomplishments.
• Photoville NYCmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Alice Austen House presents the Staten Island edition of Photoville, NYC's outdoor photo festival. The partnership provides accessible venues for photographers and audiences to connect through photography exhibitions across all five boroughs.
• Historic Richmond Town (Reciprocity)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorReciprocal admissions benefits for members - Alice Austen House members receive general admission access to Historic Richmond Town and vice versa, based on membership level coverage.
• Fort Wadsworth (NPS)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative programming partner for 'Four Seasons: Art in the Park' creating community murals and celebrating shared green spaces in the 15-acre Alice Austen Park.
• The Metropolitan Museum of ArtminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlice Austen was included in The Met's exhibition 'The New Art: American Photography, 1839-1910,' positioning her work within dialogue of canonical and overlooked figures in American photography history.
• GOGO ChartersminorOthersRecommended charter bus rental service for groups traveling to the Alice Austen House from New York and surrounding areas.
• Queer Ecologies ProjectmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative project creating outdoor garden spaces celebrating diversity, inclusion, and connection to nature within Alice Austen Park. Features non-binary, intersex, and self-seeding plants alongside symbolically queer flora.
• TYSA Behavioral Health CoalitionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOver 50 organizations dedicated to reducing youth substance misuse and improving youth mental health. Alice Austen House educator Lexy Trujillo-Hall recognized at annual Staten Island Youth Awards.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Dyckman Farmhouse Museum: Manhattan historic house museum operated as a nonprofit with educational programming and community events. Comparable as a NYC Historic House Trust peer at similar scale and operational model.
• Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center: East Hampton, NY historic home and studio of painters Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner. Directly comparable as a member of the National Trust's Historic Artists' Homes and Studios collective, offering artist-focused programming and public tours in a small-staff nonprofit model.
• Merchant's House Museum: Noho historic house museum preserved as a 19th-century merchant home. Directly comparable as a NYC Historic House Trust peer offering public tours, education, and rentals in a small-staff nonprofit operating model.
• Lower East Side Tenement Museum: NYC historic site museum interpreting immigrant and social history through preserved urban spaces and guided tours. Comparable as a NYC nonprofit historic site focused on social/cultural history with strong K-12 educational programming and ticketed tours.
• Wyckoff House Museum: Brooklyn's oldest structure and a NYC historic house museum operated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Directly comparable as a peer-sized historic house museum with education programs, public programming, and a NYC public park setting.
• Whistler House Museum of Art: Lowell, MA birthplace of painter/etcher James McNeill Whistler, operating as a historic artists' home and studio with rotating exhibitions. Comparable as a Historic Artists' Homes and Studios member focused on a single American artist's legacy with exhibitions and education programming.
• Historic Richmond Town: Staten Island-based historic site and museum complex operated by a nonprofit. Directly comparable as a regional NYC historic site/museum; the two institutions are reciprocal membership partners and Historic Richmond Town repatriated Alice Austen's photographic archive to the Alice Austen House in 2025.

Emerging players

• Center for LGBTQ+ History (formerly Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies): Academic/archival LGBTQ+ history organization based in NYC. Comparable thematic overlap as a NYC-focused institution preserving and interpreting LGBTQ+ history, though operating primarily as research/academic entity rather than a museum site.
• The Lesbian Herstory Archives: Brooklyn-based nonprofit housing the world's largest collection of materials by and about lesbians. Comparable as a NYC nonprofit dedicated to LGBTQ+ archival preservation and interpretation, intersecting with the Alice Austen House's archive repatriation and LGBTQ+ history mission.

Broad incumbents

• The Metropolitan Museum of Art: The Met is the broad incumbent NYC art museum that featured Alice Austen's work in its 2010 exhibition 'The New Art: American Photography, 1839-1910.' Comparable in adjacent category (photography exhibition programming and collection stewardship) but operates at vastly larger scale as a multi-department encyclopedic museum.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCcIN22zcE6dQfeFt2a_sWmg?
• Facebookfacebook.com/aliceaustenhousemuseum
• Instagraminstagram.com/aliceaustenhouse
• Xx.com/ialiceausten
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/alice-austen-house-museum

Compliance7 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Alice Austen House Museum