A Tour of Poe Cottage

Join us

on a tour of Edgar Allan Poe’s Cottage, guided by Dr. Steven Payne, Director of the Bronx County Historical Society.

We’re at the very beginning of a seismic shift for Poe Cottage, and Dr. Payne talks about the various stages of future development and what we have in place right now.

This new shift is called “The Eureka Project,” based on Poe’s take on “cottage-core.” He had ideas for decoration and what a good and happy home would look like, so we’re using his writing as a reference, and of course, we are inspired by his magnum opus, “Eureka.”

Briefly, Poe’s needs for home life were not at all macabre. He desired a safe, clean, bright, and stable home from which he could plumb the depths of horror or reach for the stars to ponder the origins of the universe.

Our goal is to transform Poe Cottage from a bleak mausoleum of loss into something that it equally was; a place of great literary creativity. Poe composed prodigiously while living here and tending to Virginia with his aunt/mother, Maria.

We acknowledge the passing of Virginia and Edgar and honor their memory by re-envisioning the place as a literary center and intimate performance space, inviting visitors to sit down and read Poe’s works, his influences, and his favorite contemporaries.

At Poe Cottage you’ll have a chance to experience the macabre side of Poe and learn more about Poe the mystic wild philosopher; Poe the astronomer, Poe the interior designer, Poe the socialite and lover of his women friends; and a few of Poe’s male “frenemies.”

The idea is for museum visitors to come away with a much richer understanding of Edgar Allan Poe. Ride along with us as we document the very beginning of our re-beginning!

Filmed on September 1, 2026.

Dr. Steven Payne in front of Poe Cottage