Federal Hall
On this spot George Washington became the first President of the United States
The story
Before you is Federal Hall on Wall Street. Between 1699 and 1703, the city hall of the English colony of New York was built on this site. Here the journalist John Peter Zenger was tried for articles about official wrongdoing, and the jury acquitted him. In October 1765 the Stamp Act Congress met here to protest taxation without representation. After the Revolution, New York became the first capital of the United States, and the city hall became Federal Hall. On the thirtieth of April 1789, on the second-floor balcony, George Washington took the oath of office as the first President. The crowd in the street watched from below. The Bible was borrowed at the last minute from a Masonic lodge. The First Congress also met here and wrote the Bill of Rights, the first amendments to the Constitution. The old building was torn down in 1812. The present one, with its columns, opened in 1842 as the Custom House. Later it became the Sub-Treasury, and until 1920 gold and silver were kept in its vaults. The bronze Washington on the steps is by the sculptor John Quincy Adams Ward. It stands roughly where the President took the oath. Inside, in the rotunda, is a stone slab from that very balcony. Across the street is the New York Stock Exchange.
Visiting
26 Wall Street. Open Monday to Friday, free admission. The step-free entrance with an elevator is at the back, 15 Pine Street. Hours and tours are on nps.gov/feha; information: +1 212 825 6990. No eating or drinking inside.
Photos
Sources
- National Park Service — Federal Hall: History & Culture
- National Park Service — The George Washington Inaugural Bible
- National Park Service — George Washington Statue
- National Park Service — Federal Hall: Basic Information
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