181st & Fort Washington Ave, Northeast Corner near Fort Washington Collegiate Church

What would you do if your country forced you out, to leave behind everything you loved? Where would you go?

"Mendelssohn on the Hudson" is a historical musical walking tour about the refugees from Nazi Germany, who fled fascism, persecution, and violence in Europe to create new lives in Washington Heights - and transformed a neighborhood.

Our tour takes you on a journey through the past by walking through the present. You can go at your own pace. You'll hear more about composer, artist, and conductor Felix Mendelssohn, as well as ten true stories set to his music, taken from oral histories of local residents who lived in "Frankfurt on the Hudson." Plus, you’ll discover other local history, geography, and architecture unique to Northern Manhattan.