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Federal Hall National Memorial

  • Also Known As: Site of the original Federal Hall
  • Also Known As: Subtreasury Building
  • Historically Known As: United States Custom House
  • Travel Genus: Sight
  • Sight Category: Building

Birthplace of American Government

Here on Wall Street, George Washington took the oath of office as our first President, and this site was home to the first Congress, Supreme Court, and Executive Branch offices. The current structure, a Customs House, later served as part of the US Sub-Treasury. Now, the building serves as a museum and memorial to our first President and the beginnings of the United States of America. - NPS


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Federal Hall National Memorial
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Timeline

Y/M/D Person Association Description Composition Food Event
Y/M/D Person Association Description Composition Food Event
1765/10/07 Justice Robert R Livingston Represented New York Stamp Act Congress opens Stamp Act Congress
1765/10/07 Thomas Lynch Sr Represented South Carolina Stamp Act Congress opens Stamp Act Congress
1765/10/07 Philip Livingston Represented New York Stamp Act Congress opens Stamp Act Congress
1765/10/07 Christopher Gadsden Represented South Carolina Stamp Act Congress opens Stamp Act Congress
1765/10/07 John Rutledge Represented South Carolina Stamp Act Congress opens Stamp Act Congress
1776/07/18 Joseph Winter Secretary, Committee for the City of New-York Joseph Winter reads the Declaration of Independence to the people of New York City while the Kings Arms are torn from the front of the City Hall. US Declaration of Independence
1785/01/11 Congress of the Confederation reconvenes at New York City Hall, New York City. Congress of the Confederation
1789/04/06 John Langdon Senator Congress counts the 69 Electoral Votes electing George Washington as President and John Adams as Vice President. President pro tempore of the Senate, John Langdon, writes a letter informing Washington that he has been unanimously elected President. Inauguration of the first President of the United States
1789/04/21 John Adams Vice President John Adams becomes first Vice President of the Unted States. Inauguration of the first President of the United States
1789/04/30 George Washington President George Washington is inaugurated as the first President of the United States. He was sworn in by Chancellor Robert Livingston on the balcony of Federal Hall (razed). Inauguration of the first President of the United States
1789/04/30 Robert Livingston Chancellor of the State of New York George Washington is inaugurated as the first President of the United States. He was sworn in by Chancellor Robert Livingston on the balcony of Federal Hall (razed). Inauguration of the first President of the United States
1789/09/25 James Madison Co-author Adopted United States Bill of Rights
1812/00/00 Original Federal Hall demolitioned
1834/00/00
1842/00/00 Frazee,John Architect Current building opens as a US customs house

Data »

Particulars for Federal Hall National Memorial:
Area of Significance Architecture
Criteria Architecture-Engineering
Sight Category Building
Historic Use Customhouse
Criteria Exemplar
Owner Federal
Historic Use Financial Institution
Architectural Style Greek Revival
Level of Significance National
Architectural Style Neo-Doric Style
Area of Significance Politics-government
Building Material Westchester, Inwood marble



US National Registry of Historic Places Data »

Accurate at time of registration: 15th October 1966

PLACE DETAILS
Registry Name: Federal Hall National Memorial
Registry Address: Wall and Nassau Sts.
Registry Number: 66000095
Resource Type: Building
Owner: Federal
Architect: Frazee,John
Architectural Style: Greek revival, Other
Attribute: Doric
Contributing Buildings: 1
Other Certification: Additional documentation
Certification: Listed in the National Register
Nominator Name: National Memorial
CULTURAL DETAILS
Level of Significance: National
Area of Significance: Politics-government, Architecture
Applicable Criteria: Event, Architecture-Engineering
Period of Significance: 1825-1849
Significant Year: 1834
Historic Function: Government, Commerce, Trade
Historic Sub-Function: Customhouse, Financial institution
Current Function: Recreation and Culture, Government
Current Sub-Function: Museum

History »

26 Wall Street was the site of New York City's 18th-century City Hall. Here John Peter Zenger was jailed, tried, and acquitted of libel for exposing government corruption in his newspaper - an early victory for freedom of the press. City Hall hosted the Stamp Act Congress, which assembled in October 1765 to protest "taxation without representation." After the American Revolution, the Continental Congress met at City Hall and, in 1787, adopted the Northwest Ordinance, establishing procedures for creating new states.

When the Constitution was ratified in 1788, New York remained the national capital. Pierre L'Enfant was commissioned to remodel the City Hall for the new federal government. The First Congress met in the now Federal Hall and wrote the Bill of Rights. George Washington was inaugurated here as the country's first President on April 30, 1789. When the capital moved to Philadelphia in 1790, the building again housed city government until 1812, when Federal Hall was demolished.

The current structure on the site was built as a Customs House, opening in 1842. In 1862, Customs moved to 55 Wall Street, and the building became the US Sub-Treasury. Millions of dollars of gold and silver were kept in the basement vaults, until the Federal Reserve Bank replaced the Sub-Treasury system in 1920. - NPS

Creative Works »

WorkTypeAsNotedInCreatorNote
On the Town Film Stanley Donen "On the Town" is set and was filmed at Federal Hall

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