Federal Hall is a very historic building and has had many important points in history happen there. Including where the first United States Congress met, where George Washington was inaugurated President in 1789, and during the British colonial period it was the location of the original City Hall. It was also the site of the trial of printer John Peter Zenger, whose charges of seditious libel in 1735 was a precedent-setting case for freedom of the press. In 1765, the Stamp Act Congress met at historic Federal Hall to protest "taxation without representation."
The Federal Hall is located across from the New York Stock Exchange, on Wall Street in New York. The current building on the site completed in 1842 and was modeled after the Greek Parthenon.
On the front steps is a bronze statue of George Washington it was unveiled in 1883 to commemorate the first president's inauguration. On display inside is the bible used by Washington on inauguration day and a piece of the stone balcony on which he stood as he was sworn into office.
After the storm of revolution had passed, Federal Hall was remodeled by famed architect Pierre L'Enfant and Federal Hall became the first capitol of the new nation. It was there that the Bill of Rights and the Judiciary Act were passed.
The current building served as a U.S. Customs House and then a U.S. Sub-Treasury, from 1842 to 1920, housing gold and silver in its reinforced basement vaults. Today it is a memorial for all anyone to visit.
At Federal Hall we stopped to sit on the steps and take some pictures. The statue of George Washington was a lot bigger than I imagined. Then after being persuaded by a worker, we went inside and took a few pictures of the rotunda and left;.
Day 5 >