Tag Archives: Sculpture

John Quincy Adams Ward, 1882, Federal Hall, Manhattan, New York City

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The location of Federal Hall has a long and storied past. The original structure was built in 1700, and it was here that a famous case of libel involving John Peter Zenger was tried, creating the concept of freedom of the press. This was especially pertinent, as less than a century later, the structure became the first capital of the then young United States, and it was here that the Bill of Rights was passed. It was also here, on the steps that George Washington was sworn in as our first president. Then in true New York fashion, the building was pulled down in 1812 and sold for scrap, and layg empty for nearly thirty years till the structure you see today was built.

Federal Hall today is a solid pile, based on the Parthenon and other Greek temples, and stands at 26 Wall street. Wall street was the original location of the city walls of the old Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam. Hard to believe that outside the wall, most of Manhattan was either farmland or wilderness.