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Federal Hall National Memorial - 1703 - Overshadowed today by its towering neighbors, the Greek Revival temple stands on what the New Yorker's Eric Homberger called "sacred ground for the making of the American republic" —where George Washington was inaugurated, where the first Congress convened, and where the flesh, including what would become the Bill of Rights, was placed on the bare bones of the Constitution (a forty-five-hundred-word document that never mentions the word "democracy") —during the 531 days when New York City was the nation's first capital. Even before that, it was the site of John Peter Zenger's trial, which provided the foundation for press freedoms; the Stamp Act Congress in 1765, where a formal coalition of the colonies was first suggested; and the Congress of the Confederation, from 1785 to 1789.The building would first be repurposed as a customs house, which, as New York dominated the nation's maritime trade, would generate most of the federal government's revenue by the mid-nineteenth century. Then the building would be transformed into a fortified branch of the United States Treasury, whose impregnable vaults would guard the largest repository of gold in the world.Its triple service-in the names of democracy, commerce, and capitalism-elevate Federal Hall to an unrivaled role in shaping the city's heritage. It symbolizes, the New York Times said, "Americas turbulent political babyhood and financial manhood. Decades after the new president and the first Congress reached one agreement after another on the enduring structure of the federal government, the diarist and former New York City mayor Philip Hone delivered a toast to the old Federal Hall that evoked the site's synonymy with the grand bargain: "It witnessed the greatest contract ever made in Wall Street." The national government's decision to decamp from Philadelphia and Trenton to New York, at least for the time being, was enthusiastically welcomed by the city's Common Council, which generously agreed to accommodate the out-of-towners by remodeling City Hall at Wall and Broad Streets. (The site was aptly named: Wall Street was the northern perimeter of where the Dutch stockade stood until the end of the seventeenth century; Broad Street was wider than most because it originally accommodated a canal that connected to the East River). 

July 25th,2025

Consider the world outside a museum. Imagine that the world that we live in is really another kind of museum where the works of art exist in the landscape itself. What if you could have a gallery guide which would tell you about the buildings and artworks you find around you. It would show you what the place used to look like and introduce you to some of the people who shaped it.

Our growing virtual collection of photographs and drawings, maps and documents, podcasts and videos tell the stories of how some of the more iconic places in our cities got to be the way they are and what they might become.

Explore buildings of the past, present and future. Look at the vast selection of artwork that graces the public realm. And discover how places have evolved over time. Deconstruct the layers of history that form the fabric of our urban landscape. Meet people who have made their mark on our cities and country who have lived in the past or are living now. Listen to their voices. Take (or make) a tour. And join us at an event either virtual or real.

Our curators are the artists, architects, photographers and historians who created the images, podcasts and videos to share their knowledge and insights. Our collaborators are museums, universities, cities, and civic organizations who are the stewards of our shared cultural history.

Use the guide online or take it with you on your phone…..

Like the cities we live in, this is a work in progress….. Enjoy!   

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