Federal Hall National Memorial, Wall Street, New York City, New York:

The second Building to be called Federal Hall is visited by a tour group on wall street in downtown Manhattan. Federal Hall lies sandwiched between the tall skyscrapers of the financial district. This building and its predecessor have been the site of many significant historic events.

It was on here on Wall Street in New York City, New York, April 30, 1789 that George Washington took the oath of office as the first President of the United States of America. The swearing ceremony took place on the balcony of the then newly remodeled Federal Hall. Federal Hall at the time was home to the first Congress, Supreme Court, and Executive Branch offices.

Federal Hall started its life as New York City Hall. It was constructed between 1699 and 1703 and was the seat of government for the British colony of New York. As such it was the location of several significant events.
Among them was the arrest, jailing on Nov 17, 1734 and trial on Aug 16th, 1735 of German-born newspaper publisher, John Peter Zenger. This is a fascinating page in the History of New York and the United States. Zenger and a group of New York citizens did not like the decisions and heavy-handed rule of the British King's appointed Governor of New York, William Cosby. Zenger was arrested and held in the City Jail, which was in the attic of City Hall. Mr. Zenger was accused of and later acquitted of libel for exposing government corruption in his newspaper. His acquittal helped to further the cause for freedom that led to revolution, forty years later. The John Peter Zenger trial would lead the way for the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America, which reads, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." To read more about the events that led to Zenger's arrest see: www.nps.gov/feha/historyculture/the-new-york-weekly-journ...
For more information on the trial itself and Andrew Hamilton's famous quote from it see: www.nps.gov/feha/historyculture/the-trial-of-john-peter-z...

Another significant event occurred in October 1765 when City Hall hosted the Stamp Act Congress, which assembled to protest "taxation without representation."
After the American Revolution, the Continental Congress met at City Hall and, in 1787, adopted the Northwest Ordinance, establishing procedures for creating new states.

When the Constitution was ratified in 1788, New York remained the national capital. Pierre L'Enfant was commissioned to remodel the City Hall for the new federal government. The First Congress met in the remodeled City hall now called Federal Hall and wrote the Bill of Rights.
George Washington, after learning of his election by the Electoral College, made his way from Virginia to New York City. He arrived to much fanfare on Apr 23, 1789 and went to his new residence at 3 Cherry Street. On Inauguration Day, which was the 30th of the same month, a crowd of people gathered around Washington's home, and at noon they made their way to Federal Hall by way of Queen Street and Great Dock (both now Pearl Street) and Broad Street. Washington dressed in an American made dark brown suit with white silk stockings and silver shoe buckles; he also wore a steel-hilted sword.
Upon his arrival at Federal Hall, Washington was formally introduced to the House and Senate in the then Senate chamber, after which already sworn-in Vice President John Adams announced it time for the inauguration. Washington moved to the second-floor balcony where he took the presidential oath of office, administered by Chancellor of New York Robert Livingston in view of throngs of people gathered on the streets. The Bible used was randomly opened in haste to Genesis 49:13. Livingston shouted "Long live George Washington, President of the United States!" to the crowd, which was replied to with cheers and a 13 gun salute. Washington then delivered the first inaugural address in the Senate chamber. To find out more about the inaugural address and to read it, see: www.archives.gov/legislative/features/gw-inauguration/
In 1789 there were no inaugural balls for the day of the ceremony, though a week later on May 7 a ball was held in New York to honor the first president.
The first and second sessions of Congress met in the building. To find out more about the History of Congress while they met in Federal Hall see: www.nps.gov/feha/historyculture/the-congress-at-federal-h...

When the capital moved to Philadelphia in 1790, the building again housed city government until 1812, when Federal Hall was demolished. The current structure was built as a Custom's house and opened its door in 1842. The classic building has a unique combination of architectural styles. The Doric columns of the facade, designed by Ithiel Town and Alexander Jackson Davis, resemble those of the Parthenon and serve as a tribute to Greek democracy; the domed ceiling inside, designed by John Frazee, echoes the Pantheon and the economic might of the Romans.

In 1862 the Customs house was moved down the street and the building became the US Sub-Treasury. Millions of dollars of gold and silver were kept in the basement vaults, until the Federal Reserve Bank replaced the Sub-Treasury system in 1920.
On September 16, 1920 at 12:01pm, an explosion ripped through the street in the front of the JP Morgan Bank Building across the street from Federal Hall and the Washington Statue. The buildings in the area including the New York Stock exchange suffered only surficial damaged in what became know as the Wall Street Bombing. The people in the street at lunchtime were not so fortunate. Shrapnel ripped through the crowd. The carnage resulted in 38 dead and 143 seriously injured. Most of the causalities were young people working at financial institutions, stenographers, clerks, brokers, and messengers. The act was quickly identified as terrorism though no one was arrested for the crime. Who was responsible is also unclear but many historians and investigators think it the work of Galleanists (Italian Anarchists) who held the American financial system in contempt. The attack led to enhanced security and vigilance. Funny after all these years nothing much has changed. Despite the destruction, photos from the time show the George Washington statue standing over the chaotic scene, undamaged, an a beacon of hope. A patriotic rally was held the next day in the shadow of the statue. For more on the Wall Street bombing see: terrorism.about.com/od/originshistory/p/WallStreetBomb.htm
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall_Street_bombing

Now, the building with its statue serves as a museum and memorial to our first President and the beginnings of the United States of America.

On September 6, 2002, approximately 300 members of the United States Congress traveled from Washington, D.C. to New York to convene in Federal Hall as a symbolic show of support for the City, still recovering from the September 11, 2001 attacks. Just four blocks from Ground Zero, the meeting was the first by Congress in New York since 1790.
In 2006, Federal Hall National Memorial reopened after a brief closure and a $16 million renovation, mostly to its foundation, after cracks threatening the structure were greatly aggravated by the collapse of the World Trade Center Twin Towers.

One of the fascinating items on permanent exhibit at Federal Hall is The Bible George Washington used during his inauguration. The Bible was loaned to him by a local Masonic Lodge, St. John's Lodge No. 1, Ancient York Masons.
Printed in London in 1765, it is now known as the George Washington Inaugural Bible. Members of the St. John's Lodge allow it to be displayed in a special case in the Inaugural Gallery on the first floor of Federal Hall National Memorial when it is not in use by the Lodge or on tour.
The Bible itself has been witness to many historic Presidential inaugurations. It was used in the inaugurations of Presidents Warren G. Harding, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Jimmy Carter, and George H.W. Bush (whose 1989 inauguration was in the bicentennial year of George Washington's). During the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th president on January 20, 2009, members of the St. John's Lodge and the Washington Bible took part in a special ceremony in front of the statue of George Washington on the steps of Federal Hall to honor the momentous occasion.

The famous bronze Statue of George Washington shown in this photograph stands on the steps of Federal Hall. Sculpted by John Quincy Adams Ward in 1882 it stands at the approximate site where Washington was inaugurated as President on the balcony of the former structure. For more on John Quincy Adams Ward and his work see:
www.answers.com/topic/ward-john-quincy-adams