Here we go! First up ...
The Peripatetic Adventures of Hamilton Grange
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| Photo by Jim Henderson downloaded from wikipedia.com under Creative Commons CCO1.0 |
The following information is based on Myron Magnet's book, The Founders at Home: The Building of America, 1735-1817. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2014.
When
Alexander Hamilton built his handsome country house, the Grange, he
likely did not envision that the city of New York would grow up around -- and eventually engulf -- it. Herewith, how the Federal government freed
it and redeemed the legacy of one of our greatest men.
By 1889, the handsome views and genteel placement of Hamilton Grange were already obscured. That year, a developer bought part of the thirty-five acre property to build row houses. Hamilton Grange was in the way. The developer offered the house, free of charge, to anyone who would move it. The original location, 143rd Street and Convent Avenue, was two blocks from a local Episcopal Church. They moved it to 141st Street to serve as the rectory.
By 1889, the handsome views and genteel placement of Hamilton Grange were already obscured. That year, a developer bought part of the thirty-five acre property to build row houses. Hamilton Grange was in the way. The developer offered the house, free of charge, to anyone who would move it. The original location, 143rd Street and Convent Avenue, was two blocks from a local Episcopal Church. They moved it to 141st Street to serve as the rectory.
To
fit the site, the house had to be turned sideways. The verandas were
removed, and the front door was moved to the side. The results were
pitiful. The building grew more and more rundown. Pictures on the
National Park Service website tell the tale.
In
2008, however, the National Park Service (NPS) found the funds and the energy to make good on
its fifty-year-old ambition to restore Hamilton Grange to its’ proper
place and beauty. The church, alas, was partially blocking the building,
and refused to let the Park Service take down the apse (and later
rebuild it) to get the house out.
Instead,
the NPS had to jack up the house ten feet, which took several days, and
slide it across a temporary steel bridge onto Convent Avenue. Then they
jacked it most of the way down and put it on rollers, slowly moving the
house around the corner. This took another two days.
The
new site is on land that is part of the original Hamilton property and
The Grange now looks out over a wooded hillside, as it did originally.
The porticos and veranda are back, the front door is once again in the
right place, and brilliant, sensitive restoration has given the American
people a house to treasure, one that Hamilton would recognize.
The
Hamilton Grange National Memorial is open Wednesday to Sunday year
round, except Thanksgiving and Christmas. Admission to Hamilton Grange
is free, but space is limited. (Only 15 people are allowed in the
historic rooms at any given time.) It is handicapped accessible. No
parking is permitted on West 141st Street in front of the house; but there is ample public transportation in the area. Check the website for details: http://www.nps.gov/hagr/
More great slogans for those late summer T-shirts:
“…the opinions of men are not the object of civil government, nor under its jurisdiction.” Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826). A Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom. Written in 1777, proposed to the Virginia Legislature in 1779.“If you are afraid, you have the liberty to step back” George Washington (1732-99), in response to an aide who was worried about the exposed position in which the general stood to watch the siege of Yorktown, October 14, 1781.)
Stay tuned:
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| Alonzo Chappel, 1858; courtesy wikipedia.com |
New feature coming: 15 Objects of the American Revolution.
Next week, this blog will feature unusual objects that tell the story of the American Revolution. Visit us again next Friday, August 8.
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