Although some of the trees around the Morris-Jumel Mansion were knocked down, the house itself seems to have made it through the storm unscathed.
The mansion is perched on one of the highest points in Manhattan, just east of Saint Nicholas Avenue and 161st Street in the aptly named Washington Heights; from the balcony shown above, George Washington himself watched the British invade the island during the Revolutionary War, which of course is like watching a different kind of hurricane. I don’t actually know if it’s true that George Washington watched a losing battle from the balcony, but it’s fun to think about him standing there.
In the fading light, I may or may not have seen the shadow of his ghost flickering against the walls.
