Federal Hall, New York City, Guia do visitante e o que fazer por perto

Federal Hall is a Greek Revival museum and national memorial at 26 Wall Street in New York City, run by the National Park Service. It stands on the site where George Washington took the oath of office as the first US president in 1789 and where the first United States Congress met. Few single addresses in the country carry as much early American history.

The story behind it

The ground has been used for government since the early 1700s, when the British colonial City Hall stood here. In 1735 the printer John Peter Zenger was tried in that building, and his acquittal became an important precedent for freedom of the press. In 1765 delegates to the Stamp Act Congress met here to draft a protest against taxation without representation.

After independence the building was remodelled and became the first Capitol of the new nation. Congress met here, the first president was sworn in on its balcony in 1789, and the Congress that sat here approved the amendments that became the Bill of Rights. The old building was torn down in 1812. The present one was finished in 1842 and served as a customs house. Years earlier, in 1800, Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr had worked together on the defense in the so-called Manhattan Well Murder trial, and the defendant was acquitted.

What to look for

• The bronze statue of George Washington on the front steps marks the spot where he is said to have taken his oath, and it is the best-known photo stop on the site.
• The columned Greek Revival facade, modelled on a classical temple, looks strikingly formal against the glass towers of the Financial District.
• Inside, the rotunda with its domed ceiling gives a sense of the building's later life as a customs house.
• Look across the street at the New York Stock Exchange, whose columns and flags make Wall Street feel like a stage set.

Tips for your visit

• Allow about 20 minutes for the outside and the statue, or an hour if you want to go inside the museum. Check current opening hours before you go.
• Early morning is the quietest time for photos on the steps, before the weekday crowds arrive on Wall Street.
• Trinity Church, the Stock Exchange and the narrow lanes of the Financial District are all within a few minutes on foot.
• Wall Street is busy and often narrow, so keep an eye on traffic and barriers when you stop to take pictures.

See it on a quest

Alexander Hamilton New York: Walk in His Footsteps brings you to Federal Hall on foot as one stop on a longer route through the area. The app tells you about each place as you arrive and sets a puzzle in what is in front of you. Hamilton's own trial work links him to this building. One ticket covers the whole group.

The Ghost of Wall Street, Historic Downtown New York takes in Federal Hall along with the streets around it. You walk at your own pace, hear the story of each place when you reach it and solve a puzzle on the spot, so the history comes alive without a guide or a fixed start time. One ticket covers the whole group.