Hamilton Grange National Memorial
Encyclopedia
Hamilton Grange National Memorial is a National Park Service
site in St. Nicholas Park
, New York City
that preserves the early 19th-century home of American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton
.
). During his career, Hamilton was a military officer, lawyer, member of the United States Constitutional Convention
, American statesman
, and the first United States Secretary of the Treasury
.
Hamilton commissioned architect John McComb Jr.
to design a country home on Hamilton's 32 acre (0.13 km²) estate in upper Manhattan. The two-story frame Federal style
house was completed in 1802, just two years before Hamilton's death during a duel with political rival Aaron Burr
on July 11, 1804. The house was named "The Grange" after Hamilton's grandfather's estate in Scotland. (A grange
was originally a place where food was grown for a monastery.) The Grange was the only home ever owned by Hamilton and it remained in his family for 30 years after his death.
The Hamilton Heights neighborhood of Harlem
derived its name from Hamilton and the Grange.
In 1889, the congregation of St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Greenwich Village
decided to move uptown and purchased land in Hamilton Heights that included The Grange. The church moved the house four blocks west to a site at 287 Convent Avenue in order to free space for a profitable row house development. The original porches and other features were removed for the move. The staircase was removed and retrofitted to accommodate a makeshift entrance on the side of the house and original grand federal style entrance was boarded up.
St. Luke's used the house for services and subsequently erected a Richardsonian Romanesque
building on the site between 1892 and 1895 that wrapped around the house slightly, thus when an six-story apartment building was built c. 1910 flush on the opposite side it was tightly enclosed and many of its features hidden. The American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society bought the Grange and turned it into a public museum in 1924. Furniture and decorative objects associated with the Hamilton family were displayed.
The Grange was designated a National Historic Landmark
on December 1960. The private National Park Foundation
purchased the house and property and transferred it to the National Park Service. Congress
authorized the National Memorial
on April 27 1962, requiring that it be relocated and then the house restored to appear as Hamilton knew it in 1802 – 1804, which is considered its period of historic significance. It was at the time determined that the claustrophobic Convent Avenue setting was inappropriate and that the country house should be viewed as freestanding building. However, the house was not relocated in 1962 because of overwhelming local opposition to options offered that required moving it out of the neighborhood. The Grange was administratively listed on the National Register of Historic Places
on October 15, 1966.
. The park location was judged a more appropriate setting for display that would permit restoration of features lost in the 1889 move. The new location would also keep the house in the neighborhood and keep it on land that was within the boundary of Hamilton's original 32 acres (129,499.5 m²) estate.
Work in St. Nicholas Park for tree removal and foundation construction began in February 2008. The actual move of the Grange began with elevation of the building in one piece over the loggia
of St. Luke's Church and onto Convent Avenue. The Grange was placed on specially-built stilts that held the entire house approximately ten feet off the ground in the middle of Convent Avenue, between W. 145th and 142nd Street while traffic was routed around the house. The house completed its journey on June 7, 2008 by being rolled one block south on Convent Avenue and then one block east on 141st Street (down a 6% grade) to the new St. Nicholas Park location. The six-hour event was a popular neighborhood attraction covered extensively in the press.
The house was secured to its new foundation, original porches were rebuilt and the original main entrance doorway and main staircase within the entry foyer were restored.
Landscaping around the Grange's new home includes tree plantings, a stone wall and paths.
The Grange has security detail during the day and possible video monitoring during the evening hours. The building relocation was performed by Wolfe House and Building Movers of Bernville, PA.
The Grange is situated next to the City College
of the City University of New York
.
The Grange re-opened to the general public on September 17, 2011. A ceremony was held with Hamilton descendants in attendance and tours of the restored interiors took place through the day. A visitor's center is located in the entirely newly constructed ground floor, where the kitchen, laundry and servants' rooms would have been.
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
site in St. Nicholas Park
St. Nicholas Park
Saint Nicholas Park is a New York City public park located in Harlem at the intersection of Manhattan neighborhoods Hamilton Heights and Manhattanville. The nearly park is contained by 141st Street to the north, 128th Street to the south, St. Nicholas Terrace to the west, and St. Nicholas Avenue...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
that preserves the early 19th-century home of American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton was a Founding Father, soldier, economist, political philosopher, one of America's first constitutional lawyers and the first United States Secretary of the Treasury...
.
History
Alexander Hamilton was born and raised in the West Indies and came to New York in 1772 at age 17 to study at King's College (now Columbia UniversityColumbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
). During his career, Hamilton was a military officer, lawyer, member of the United States Constitutional Convention
Philadelphia Convention
The Constitutional Convention took place from May 14 to September 17, 1787, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to address problems in governing the United States of America, which had been operating under the Articles of Confederation following independence from...
, American statesman
Statesman
A statesman is usually a politician or other notable public figure who has had a long and respected career in politics or government at the national and international level. As a term of respect, it is usually left to supporters or commentators to use the term...
, and the first United States Secretary of the Treasury
United States Secretary of the Treasury
The Secretary of the Treasury of the United States is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, which is concerned with financial and monetary matters, and, until 2003, also with some issues of national security and defense. This position in the Federal Government of the United...
.
John McComb Jr.
John McComb, Jr. was an American architect who designed many landmarks in the 18th and 19th centuries.McComb's father John McComb, Sr...
to design a country home on Hamilton's 32 acre (0.13 km²) estate in upper Manhattan. The two-story frame Federal style
Federal architecture
Federal-style architecture is the name for the classicizing architecture built in the United States between c. 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815. This style shares its name with its era, the Federal Period. The name Federal style is also used in association with furniture design...
house was completed in 1802, just two years before Hamilton's death during a duel with political rival Aaron Burr
Aaron Burr
Aaron Burr, Jr. was an important political figure in the early history of the United States of America. After serving as a Continental Army officer in the Revolutionary War, Burr became a successful lawyer and politician...
on July 11, 1804. The house was named "The Grange" after Hamilton's grandfather's estate in Scotland. (A grange
Grange (mediæval)
A monastic grange was a manor or other centre of an outlying farming estate belonging to a monastery and used for food production in Great Britain, Ireland, or Austria. In France such a supporting satellite farm, often a replica on a reduced scale of the mother house, was a doyenné, which is to...
was originally a place where food was grown for a monastery.) The Grange was the only home ever owned by Hamilton and it remained in his family for 30 years after his death.
The Hamilton Heights neighborhood of Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
derived its name from Hamilton and the Grange.
First Relocation
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
decided to move uptown and purchased land in Hamilton Heights that included The Grange. The church moved the house four blocks west to a site at 287 Convent Avenue in order to free space for a profitable row house development. The original porches and other features were removed for the move. The staircase was removed and retrofitted to accommodate a makeshift entrance on the side of the house and original grand federal style entrance was boarded up.
St. Luke's used the house for services and subsequently erected a Richardsonian Romanesque
Richardsonian Romanesque
Richardsonian Romanesque is a style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after architect Henry Hobson Richardson, whose masterpiece is Trinity Church, Boston , designated a National Historic Landmark...
building on the site between 1892 and 1895 that wrapped around the house slightly, thus when an six-story apartment building was built c. 1910 flush on the opposite side it was tightly enclosed and many of its features hidden. The American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society bought the Grange and turned it into a public museum in 1924. Furniture and decorative objects associated with the Hamilton family were displayed.
The Grange was designated a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
on December 1960. The private National Park Foundation
National Park Foundation
Chartered by Congress, the National Park Foundation is the official charity of America’s nearly 400 national parks. Funds contributed to the Foundation are invested directly into the national parks...
purchased the house and property and transferred it to the National Park Service. Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
authorized the National Memorial
National Memorial
National Memorial is a designation in the United States for a protected area that memorializes a historic person or event. National memorials are authorized by the United States Congress...
on April 27 1962, requiring that it be relocated and then the house restored to appear as Hamilton knew it in 1802 – 1804, which is considered its period of historic significance. It was at the time determined that the claustrophobic Convent Avenue setting was inappropriate and that the country house should be viewed as freestanding building. However, the house was not relocated in 1962 because of overwhelming local opposition to options offered that required moving it out of the neighborhood. The Grange was administratively listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on October 15, 1966.
Second Relocation
On May 9, 2006, The Hamilton Grange Memorial was closed to the public to allow for extensive architectural and structural investigations as part of a long term plan to move the house to nearby St. Nicholas ParkSt. Nicholas Park
Saint Nicholas Park is a New York City public park located in Harlem at the intersection of Manhattan neighborhoods Hamilton Heights and Manhattanville. The nearly park is contained by 141st Street to the north, 128th Street to the south, St. Nicholas Terrace to the west, and St. Nicholas Avenue...
. The park location was judged a more appropriate setting for display that would permit restoration of features lost in the 1889 move. The new location would also keep the house in the neighborhood and keep it on land that was within the boundary of Hamilton's original 32 acres (129,499.5 m²) estate.
Work in St. Nicholas Park for tree removal and foundation construction began in February 2008. The actual move of the Grange began with elevation of the building in one piece over the loggia
Loggia
Loggia is the name given to an architectural feature, originally of Minoan design. They are often a gallery or corridor at ground level, sometimes higher, on the facade of a building and open to the air on one side, where it is supported by columns or pierced openings in the wall...
of St. Luke's Church and onto Convent Avenue. The Grange was placed on specially-built stilts that held the entire house approximately ten feet off the ground in the middle of Convent Avenue, between W. 145th and 142nd Street while traffic was routed around the house. The house completed its journey on June 7, 2008 by being rolled one block south on Convent Avenue and then one block east on 141st Street (down a 6% grade) to the new St. Nicholas Park location. The six-hour event was a popular neighborhood attraction covered extensively in the press.
The house was secured to its new foundation, original porches were rebuilt and the original main entrance doorway and main staircase within the entry foyer were restored.
Landscaping around the Grange's new home includes tree plantings, a stone wall and paths.
The Grange has security detail during the day and possible video monitoring during the evening hours. The building relocation was performed by Wolfe House and Building Movers of Bernville, PA.
The Grange is situated next to the City College
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
of the City University of New York
City University of New York
The City University of New York is the public university system of New York City, with its administrative offices in Yorkville in Manhattan. It is the largest urban university in the United States, consisting of 23 institutions: 11 senior colleges, six community colleges, the William E...
.
The Grange re-opened to the general public on September 17, 2011. A ceremony was held with Hamilton descendants in attendance and tours of the restored interiors took place through the day. A visitor's center is located in the entirely newly constructed ground floor, where the kitchen, laundry and servants' rooms would have been.
External links
- Official NPS website: Hamilton Grange National Memorial
- The National Parks: Index 2001–2003. Washington: U.S. Department of the InteriorUnited States Department of the InteriorThe United States Department of the Interior is the United States federal executive department of the U.S. government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land and natural resources, and the administration of programs relating to Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native...
. - Hamilton Grange (Alexander Hamilton House) NHL information
- Friends of St. Nicholas Park
- Official Facebook Fanpage