The Best New York Hang Is Happening Inside Gloria Steinems Townhouse

An evening inside the feminist icon’s home.

There are certain moments in life that are so surreal they hardly seem to sink in. Moments we hover above, like oil resting on water, willing ourselves to absorb each detail while suspended in disbelief. On a recent balmy day in New York, I experienced one such moment, sitting in the living room of the multi-hyphenate feminist leader, women’s rights activist, journalist, author, and historical icon: Gloria Steinem.

If our homes reveal who we are and what we value, then Steinem’s is a beautiful curation of a life well lived. Found on a quiet side street on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, Steinem’s unassuming brownstone gives way to another world entirely. Warm, welcoming, and unafraid of color and texture, it is a harmonious blend of art and literature, framed memories and extraordinary accomplishments. It is a place where every tabletop feels like a miniature museum, lovingly displaying stones, keepsakes, and mementos gathered over a lifetime. It is a world where the walls are decorated with photographs alongside artwork collected from around the globe. All of it a reflection of the iconic woman who lives there.

Since Steinem moved into her townhouse in the late 1960s, her home has borne witness to grassroots activism and world-shaping movements. Welcoming countless guests into her living room, Steinem has transformed her space into something akin to a gathering place and perhaps New York’s best-kept secret.

The Enduring Legacy of Gloria Steinem

At 92, Steinem is petite but commanding. She wears a black top paired with dark denim, her signature honey-brown hair cut into a shoulder-length bob. I meet Ms. Steinem in her bedroom, a large space lined with dark wooden shelves overflowing with books. Immediately, my eyes land on Gloria’s nightstand and the two pairs of aviator-style glasses resting atop its wooden surface. Oh my God, the glasses, I think to myself, trying to play it cool. Almost every photo I’ve seen of the woman before me has shown her wearing these same glasses, whether addressing massive crowds, standing alongside dignitaries, or in portraits that are now historical time capsules of her revolutionary work.

Steinem began her career as a journalist before emerging as a leader of second-wave feminism in the 1960s and 1970s, a movement that sought to broaden women’s rights beyond voting and address social, political, and economic inequalities. Through her activism and by wielding the power of her pen, Steinem challenged deeply entrenched sexist laws and cultural norms of the time.

In 1971, she co-founded Ms. Magazine, the first national feminist magazine that was owned, run, and written by a team of women. Through its pages, Ms. shone light on issues that existed only in the shadows: abortion, domestic violence, sexual freedom, workplace inequality. The concept was so revolutionary that TV broadcaster Harry Reasoner famously predicted the magazine wouldn’t last more than an issue or two, only to find himself apologizing for his statement. Over five decades later, Ms. Magazine continues its work in print and digital.

Steinem’s legacy reverberates throughout history. She co-founded the National Women’s Political Caucus alongside Congresswoman Bella Abzug, Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, and feminist Betty Friedan, helping lay the foundation for greater women’s participation in politics. In the 1990s, she helped establish Take Our Daughters to Work Day, to encourage young girls to imagine broader career possibilities. In the early 2000s, she co-founded the Women’s Media Center alongside Jane Fonda and Robin Morgan to champion women’s portrayals in media and ensure women’s voices are platformed. In 2013, she was awarded the highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, by President Barack Obama for her lifelong advocacy work. The list goes on and on.

There is a photo symbolic of Steinem, framed on her wall, resting, of all places, near the first-floor bathroom. It’s a photo you’ve likely seen before; one now immortalized in the National Portrait Gallery at the Smithsonian Institution. Taken in the early 1970s, it depicts a young Gloria Steinem standing alongside activist Dorothy Pitman Hughes, the two women facing the camera, steely defiance reflected on both faces. Both in turtlenecks, they stand with their fists thrust into the air, a silent call to action for women to stand up and fight for their rights. It’s just one of the many enduring images of Gloria Steinem that, over time, has elevated her to a near-mythical status. To meet Steinem now, I find myself living in the surreality of the moment. Gloria extends out her hand, which I shake warmly.

An Evening Inside Gloria Steinem’s Home

I find myself now stepping into Steinem’s world for a Talking Circle I’ve organized in collaboration with Gloria’s Foundation as an extension of Femme Circle, a series I host that brings together women and their allies for candid conversations inspired by creative industries.

Talking Circles are exactly what their name suggests: gatherings where people come together to listen, exchange ideas, and discover common ground through the power of conversation. In an era dominated by inflammatory online discourse, the act of logging off, sitting together, and engaging in an honest dialogue feels both radical and sorely needed.

“If I had to name the most important discovery of my life, it would be the portable community of talking circles; groups that gather with all five senses, and allow for consciousness to change,” wrote Steinem in her 2015 memoir, My Life on the Road.

For this Talking Circle-meets-Femme Circle event, I worked closely with Gloria’s Foundation to bring together a group of women connected by a shared interest in travel. Women like travel host Samantha Brown, whose Emmy-winning PBS show, Samantha Brown’s Places to Love, has been on-air for nine seasons; Emmy-winning storyteller and founder of the largest Black and Brown travel community, Nomadness, Evita Robinson; and co-owner of She Shapes Travel, Nikki Padilla, who pours her love of history into NYC walking tours that spotlight women’s stories.

The theme of travel feels especially pertinent, as the philosophy behind Talking Circles was shaped in many ways by Steinem’s own travels. After graduating magna cum laude from Smith College in 1956, she received the Chester Bowles Fellowship, which allowed her to spend two years traveling throughout India. Moving from village to village, a young Gloria encountered communal forms of discussion that would deeply shape her worldview and introduce her to the practice of talking circles.

Later, through her friendship with Wilma Mankiller, the former Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, Steinem came to understand talking circles as an ancient tradition grounded in community-building and democratic decision-making, and, ultimately, a practice that could help facilitate conversation and change within the feminist movement.

“I hope that we understand the possibility of circles instead of hierarchies,” Steinem explains to me. We are sitting in her bedroom, waiting for this evening’s guests to arrive. As she speaks, I gently flip through the pages of Steinem’s old passports, admiring each dated stamp, handling the books as though holding a priceless artifact. “The corporate world probably is still more organized by hierarchy and by who’s on the board and who’s on the staff and all of that, so at least we can, with talking circles, provide a relief from that.”

I immediately understand what Steinem is saying. In a world where people are often measured by title and status, the concept of a Talking Circle creates a space where hierarchy is suspended on the altar of human connection. In short, it places emphasis on what we have to say versus who we are.

The Power of Talking Circles

As the women begin to arrive for this evening’s Talking Circle, taking seats on the sofa and in chairs arranged in a large circle in the living room, Steinem settles comfortably into her red armchair, a warm smile spreading across her face. As the organizer of this evening’s event, my role is a simple but important one: I am meant to help facilitate the conversation. I pose a question to the group and invite others to chime in before turning towards our gracious host and her fountain of wisdom. I find myself hosting the conversation as though choreographing a ballet, delicately drawing women into the dialogue, asking questions to keep the discourse flowing, all while letting it unfold naturally, taking us on a journey to unexpected places.

Throughout it all, I sit to the left of Gloria, who is listening intently. It would be too easy for Steinem to have us gather at her feet, staring at her with unwavering attention, listening to stories from her past. But instead of centering herself, remarkably, Steinem takes a back seat to the Talking Circle, chiming in every now and then but largely letting the rest of us speak. I realize that, true to her life’s work, Talking Circles are her way of platforming others’ voices and creating space for women to discuss issues that matter to them.

Her Talking Circles are fluid; there is no agenda or list of topics to cover. For all the preparation I put into this evening’s event, planning a list of questions to ask, I find myself throwing my mental checklist out the window. Talking Circles are organic and unrestrained; they take you where you need to go, and tonight’s conversation is no exception.

What begins with a question rooted in travel and the women we’ve met along the way leads us to more profound questions about the ethics of storytelling, who has the right to tell which story, and how we, as women, can better platform other women’s voices in today’s media landscape.

“It always works, I mean, the substance may be different, but the basic rule of the Talking Circle is that everybody gets to talk while everybody listens,” Steinem muses.

At one point, a question arises about the systems in place that hold women back and how we can counter them, to which Gloria chimes in: “F–k the system,” earning a laugh from the women in the room.

In the past three years, according to Gloria’s Foundation, she has hosted over 200 people for Talking Circles in her home. As I watch Steinem now, I recognize the beauty of what she has managed to create: a home where connection is paramount, dialogue is encouraged, and community blossoms.

“All our lives are stories that should be told, whoever we are,” Steinem tells me, her words of wisdom settling over my heart like a salve. “That’s how we learn, by listening to each other’s lives and stories.”

As our Talking Circle draws to a close, a buzzy elation fills the room. Tonight, these history-soaked walls have absorbed yet another memorable evening and, just like that, we’ve become a small part of Gloria’s inspiring world.

Back on the streets of Manhattan, the sidewalks seem to sizzle beneath the late evening sun. People brush past me, tote bags slung across shoulders, each eager to escape the heatwave and return to air-conditioned apartments. I stand outside Gloria Steinem’s brownstone, dumbfounded, looking up at its windows as though I can hardly believe I was just inside.

A few minutes ago, I was standing in her living room, taking in the view from her windows, and now I feel as though I’ve crossed back through a magical portal, returning to my reality. I hail a cab, casting one last glance at Gloria Steinem’s townhouse, already wishing I could step back inside. I can hardly believe New Yorkers stroll past a place of such significance, none the wiser.

Gloria Steinem’s new book, An Unexpected Life, releases September 22, 2026, and is available for pre-order now.