Mmuseumm: Smallest Museum in NYC

New York, New York

"Mmuseumm" is the petite pet project of a trio of friends who run a film company out of an office upstairs from this alley attraction. In 2012 Alex Kalman, along with brothers Josh and Benny Safdie, learned that their landlord was turning their building's elevator shaft into art studios. They jumped at the chance to rent a tiny ground-floor space that opens directly onto the street. Then they assembled a compact, neatly organized display of "modern day artifacts."

When we visited, the collection included mutilated money, Disney-themed bullet-proof backpacks, fake vomit from around the world, detailed sculptures of personal parts used to train people in the piercing profession, and ephemera retrieved from the storage unit of Screw magazine publisher Al Goldstein.

Plastic vomit.

Also on display was the newsworthy shoe that was thrown at George W. Bush at the Prime Minister's Palace in Baghdad (donor information confidential). The array of oddities displayed at Museum changes every year and, as you probably realize, not all of it is family-friendly.

The space features video programming (on one small screen, of course), a wall-mounted gift shop, and a minuscule espresso cafe.

A catalog is available for purchase, but you may prefer the audio guide, which is fun and free; simply dial the toll-free number posted on the wall, enter the number of the object you are viewing, and a calm, authoritative voice will describe its history and appearance.

Kosher toothpaste.

If you want to go inside, visit on weekends between 11 and 7; but you can view the museum at any time -- even the dead of night -- by peering through the metal door's slot-like windows. The backlit beauty of these curiosities beckons 24/7, mesmerizing seasoned travelers as well as puzzled local pedestrians who just happen upon this itty-bitty accumulation of the unusual.

[ADB]