Walt Whitman Birthplace

Description:

• You don't have to be a Leaves of Grass fan to enjoy this famous poet's birthplace, a tiny historic home that looks oddly out of place in the heart of strip-mall country. Though Whitman left here at an early age, Long Island was always home for him. An interpretation center has a good collection of his manuscripts and photographs, and a chronology of his career as journalist, editor, and Civil War correspondent, along with recordings of Whitman reading his own work. The home is an interesting step back in time, since it looks much as it did when Whitman was born in 1819, though it has been outfitted with replacement furniture.

• © Frommer's 2012