Stepping through the chiseled stone entrance of The Cloisters is a step through a time machine headed to the Medieval Ages as visitors are transported to a time of monastic art and architectural brilliance. The recreated site of kingly excellence is not hard to spot, guarded by the knotted trunks and crowned sentinels of Fort Tryon Park. Each column and flagstone seen within the museum originated from the hilly landscapes of Montpellier and Bordeaux, shipped over piece by piece into an aggregated display of artistry by John D Rockefeller. Roofed marble hallways and wooden doorways tipped with pointed arcs that add depth and size to these gateways lead visitors through Rockefeller’s private collection of art. Contributions from the American sculptor and collector George Gray Bernard, including tapestries and oil pastels against canvas, have since buffed the set to grant a more complete view of the past.

Explore Romanesque halls with columns topped by stone carved to resemble plumes of feathers, before venturing to the heart of the museum. Here, marble tinged rosy pink reflect the colors of the blossoms thriving within the Cuxa Cloister and Garden. Shadowy walkways to the side lead to a chamber of primitive stained glass inscriptions from 13th Century France. A row of windows frame the Hudson and basalt columns of the Palisade against their curved edges. With its aged stone and pedestals of art, every element and feature of the Cloisters is a relic of the past with a story to be teased out.