Overview
A brief introduction to Federal Hall National Memorial
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.
Federal Hall is a memorial and historic site at 26 Wall Street in the Financial District of Manhattan in New York City. The current Greek Revival–style building, completed in 1842 as the Custom House, is owned by the United States federal government and operated by the National Park Service as a national memorial called the Federal Hall National Memorial. The memorial is named for an earlier Federal style building on this same site, completed in 1703 as City Hall, which the government of the newly independent United States used as its capital building and called Federal Hall during the 1780s.
The 1703 building had served as New York's City Hall and hosted the 1765 Stamp Act Congress before the American Revolution. After the United States became an independent nation, it served as the meeting place for the Congress of the Confederation, the nation's first central government under the Articles of Confederation, from 1785 to 1789, and the building was expanded and updated. With the establishment of the United States federal government in 1789, it hosted the 1st Congress and was where George Washington was sworn in as the nation's first president. It was demolished in 1812 to make way for another government building.
The current structure, designed by Ithiel Town and Alexander Jackson Davis, was built as the U.S. Custom House for the Port of New York before serving as a Subtreasury building from 1862 to 1925. The current national memorial commemorates the historic events that occurred at the previous structure. The memorial building is constructed of Tuckahoe marble. Its architectural features include a colonnade of Doric columns, as well as a domed rotunda designed by the sculptor John Frazee. The facade and part of the interior are New York City designated landmarks, and the building is also a contributing property to the Wall Street Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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Other nearby parks
Open to camping at other nearby parks? Here are a few other parks you'll find in the vicinity.
- African Burial Ground National Monument
- Governors Island National Monument
- Greenwood Park
- General Grant National Memorial
- Hamilton Grange National Memorial
- Gateway National Recreation Area
- Thomas Edison National Historical Park
- Saint Pauls Church National Historic Site
- Valley Stream State Park
- Hempstead Lake State Park
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