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| I think he and I may have had the same favourite colour. |
The New York Public Library
Okay, so the main building of the New York library system is not inherently reminiscent of this era. It was built in the Edwardian era and that shows in how opulent it is. So why am I listing it? Because through 31 December they have a free exhibit called "Alexander Hamilton: Striver. Statesman. Scoundrel." featuring a whole array of Hamiltonian artefacts, including letters he wrote like this one to his wife:
The thing is? I had no idea they were holding this exhibit. I actually went to see the Rose Room, which ended up being closed that day, but I wasn't even upset when I found out that I could go and look at things that the man himself actually wrote, at penstrokes that he actually made with his actual hands. (Does that sound stalkerish? Whatever.)
The exhibit is extremely small but for anyone who is going to be in New York City before the end of 2016 who is an Alexander Hamilton fan or history buff, I do recommend it. It's really cool to get to see all this stuff in person. Sadly, none of his letters to Laurens are on display, but check out this one he wrote as a child to his absent father asking him if he is married or single:
Oh, Alexander, you delightful scamp!
Federal Hall
This one is also free! Again, this building was built later (in 1842), although it's on the same site as structures that date back to the Colonial era and it does have models inside of the earlier structures. But it is the site where George Washington was sworn in as president in the 1780s. They even have the bible he was sworn on:
Federal Hall is pretty small. I didn't take a guided tour, so it took me only like 20 minutes to wander through everything. But it is worth visiting as it is of major importance to history buffs. You see, after America won its independence, New York City was the nation's first capital, and it likely still would be if not for Thomas Jefferson. Federal Hall was the seat of its democracy. This is the building where the first government - which included men like Washington, Jefferson, and Hamilton - met for the first Federal Congress in 1789, passed the Bill of Rights, created the National Bank and the Supreme Court.
So yeah, majorly important!
There's also a big statue of Washington on the front steps where he took his presidential oath for tourists to take pictures of. He looks at the New York Stock Exchange disapprovingly every single day. I took a photo of his ass:
Trinity Church Cemetery
A very short walk from Federal Hall (you can see them from each other) is Trinity Church cemetery, best known as the burial site of Alexander Hamilton. (Hercules Mulligan is also buried here for those who care.)
I went with Sarah. We left a yellow rose (it symbolises friendship. As Sarah said, "we don't want him getting the wrong idea." Also, same colour as his house!) as well as some rocks (it's a Jewish thing because Hamilton, while not Jewish himself, went to a Jewish school as a boy and reportedly learned Hebrew) on his grave. Something entertaining - a lot of people leave coins on his grave, probably because of what a big role he played in forming the American financial system.
It's... an odd feeling to visit it. The thing is, while I am a big history fan, most of my favourite historical figures I have only met through books. The only real exception was Sarah Winchester, as I walked around in her house every day. But I have never been so close to the actual physical body of any of my favourite historical figures. As soon as I realised that Hamilton was really right there below my feet I confess I teared up and I'm sure all the tourists nearby thought I was an absolute lunatic but I couldn't help it...
What's really sad is that Alexander was likely buried here because his son Philip (who died in 1801, three years before his father) is buried here, but Philip's grave marker has been lost to time so no one is sure where the poor boy is laid to rest.
Hamilton Grange
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| This bust of Hamilton was kept in the entryway. Apparently his wife Elizabeth "Eliza" Hamilton adored this bust. |
Walking through the house that Hamilton had such a large role in designing is an experience. You can really feel his presence here, even if the tour itself is relatively small - only of the dining room, the parlour, the office, and the front entryway. The downstairs area, which was likely where the kitchen was, is now modern exhibits and a small gift shop. The upstairs where the bedrooms were is closed to the public.
But while you don't see much, what you do see is absolutely charming. It's easy to imagine the Hamiltons sitting down to dinner in their dining room with mirrors on the doors. It's easy to picture their eldest daughter Angelica Hamilton plunking away at the keys of her pianoforte:
Alexander Hamilton himself did not get a lot of time in this home, though he loved it very much, calling it his 'sweet project'. It was completed in 1802 and he died in 1804. So really, it's more Eliza's home. Still, I really feel like I know him better after seeing it. I know his tastes better. And it's clear that the tour guides - or at least the one I had - loves him as much as I do. I'm definitely going back at some point, especially since it's free.
Morris-Jumel Mansion
Oh man does this building have a colourful history. It was built to be a summer home in 1765 for the British colonel Roger Morris, the son of an architect also named Roger Morris, which makes the house have some odd architectural details (such as an octagon-shaped rear wing). He abandoned the property when the Revolution broke out, and George Washington himself took it over. Washington only ended up living there for a month, but he came back in 1790 to hold a cabinet dinner with a guest list that included Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, John Adams, and Colonel Henry Knox. (I'd like to be a fly on the wall for that dinner party.)
It was later acquired by French immigrant (and friend to Napoleon) Stephen Jumel and his wife Eliza. After Stephen's death, Eliza Jumel ended up marrying none other than Aaron Burr! That's right, I visited Aaron Burr's house! She later ended up divorcing him, in an era when divorce was practically social suicide (so being Burr's wife must have sucked particularly hard I guess) but she seems to have done alright for herself. When Eliza Jumel died, she was one of the wealthiest women in the world.
The mansion as it stands now... doesn't seem to know what it wants to be. While there are volunteers there perfectly willing to answer any historical questions, the house doesn't seem to really celebrate any of the colourful people who live there. For example, the only portrait of Morris hangs in the gift shop. There are some rooms that have been restored to their colonial state, like this charmingly rustic kitchen:
But they also host contemporary art exhibitions. Aaron Burr's bedroom was almost completely taken up by a contemporary art piece that shared space with his bed. It's almost as if they were trying to erase his presence, except that it was celebrated elsewhere such as in the parlour.
I don't know. It was an odd and slightly disorienting visit. They do have a charming herb garden out back though.
Also, have this comparison of Alexander Hamilton's writing desk at the Grange (left) and Aaron Burr's writing desk (right):
It's easy, looking at these side by side, to picture them writing letters back and forth that lead to the duel which was Hamilton's death. The weirdest thing though? Burr's desk is under a painting of himself. I don't know if that's something the museum staff did or what, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was original. Burr was a weird guy.
Fraunces Tavern Museum
Oh, you all knew this was gonna be included in this. I've dreamed of seeing this place for so long and it did not disappoint! This tavern was founded in 1762. Washington bid farewell to his officers after the Revolutionary War here in its Long Room. Alexander Hamilton definitely drank here, and in the early 1800s once had dinner here with Aaron Burr. It's thrilling to say I've eaten somewhere where men like that have eaten, even if the menu isn't historical at all.
The way that Fraunces Tavern works is that the first story is a restaurant and the second and third are a historical museum. The Long Room is preserved in all its glory but no photos are allowed in that room, though I can say that it's an absolutely charming room that deserves to be seen in person. I loved that room.
There's also an exhibit currently running about the Marquis de Lafayette, with artefacts such as letters written by him, and a sash that he once used to staunch a wound. Do you wanna see Lafayette's blood on that sash? Well, you're about to:
Also look, a lock of Washington's hair:
The museum is full of things like this (there's also a chunk of Washington's tooth, apparently the only one of his own teeth that was left in his mouth after he died, he mostly had dentures). There are artefacts relating to Nathan Hale, Benjamin Talmadge, and George Clinton. I don't know how long the Lafayette exhibit will be on display, but I encourage checking it out if you're able. The museum is also fairly cheap! With a student ID it was only $4 to get in, and well worth it! (I know I'm not a student anymore but they don't know that.)
The restaurant downstairs is far more modern. They did at least decorate it to have kind of that 'colonial tavern' feel, all done up in wood and candles with framed copies of things like the Declaration of Independence and maps of New York City in the 1770s.
The food, however, is completely contemporary. (And the prices are definitely not colonial - thirty bucks for an entree?!) I don't know if I was disappointed by this or not. On one hand, it was very good. I got a cheese board and rose-lemonade, and Sarah got beef rib ravioli in a 'Tomato creole sauce' and mango juice. We also both got complimentary brown bread with apple-cinnamon butter. It was filling and delicious. But... there's nothing, food-wise, to set it apart from other contemporary American cuisine.
If it were up to me, I would have at least a section of the menu with updated versions of colonial fare. Like a wild mushroom fricassee with a little menu blurb describing how colonists often foraged for mushrooms. Or a pork meat pie with a blub talking about how pork was common in the colonies because pigs are easier to keep than cows. Things like that. It could be really cool.
The other odd thing was the music playing in the dining room. If they wanted to play up their colonial heritage, they could play classical music from the late 1700s and early 1800s, things like Mozart and Beethoven. Or they could play folk music from that same era, like the youtube channel Jas. Townsend and Son does in many of their videos. If, however, they wanna go for a contemporary vibe, there's lots of contemporary music that literally any other restaurant in this price bracket does.
Fraunces Tavern does neither. Instead, they were playing solely jazz and mid-century music. I am a fan of that music - I recognised songs by Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday, and Duke Ellington in their playlist. But it has no place in a restaurant like this. It doesn't fit and it's jarring. It's as if they were trying to find a compromise between old and new, and in doing so pleased no one.
Other than the music, though, I did like it. I'm still glad to be able to say 'hey, I've eaten dinner in the same place as George Washington and Alexander Hamilton. What are you doing with your life?'
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Like Federal Hall and the library, this isn't so much about the newer building itself (The Met was established in 1870) but rather about what's inside. Specifically, the American Wing, which has paintings and statues and furniture and even whole rooms from this period of history. Also, I had no idea the painting "Washington Crossing the Delaware" was housed in the Met. Fun fact? That painting is way bigger than history textbooks led me to believe.
And, of course, I fangirled over art pieces made of my two main fave revolutionary New York boys:
At right: Nathan Hale, arms and ankles bound. It was made after his untimely death; there are no contemporary portraits of poor Nathan Hale.
The rooms are the best part, though. I wasn't expecting them and I was delighted to be able to walk into this charming Federalist dining room:
And from the earlier colonial days, up at the very tippy top of the museum they have this bedroom from Puritan Massachussetts:
I can't help it. I love historical rooms like that. They bring history alive for me more than paintings do. And the Met has a ton. I could have wandered its halls forever. And I kind of did, I was in there for 5 hours! Considering I only paid $1 to get in, I'd say it was totally worth it.
(Unrelated note: for Egyptian history buffs there is an entire room devoted to my main woman Pharaoh Hatshepsut. That made me happy to learn!)
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| Esther Boardman, painted by Ralph Earl. I don't know anything about her but in real life I was struck by how beautiful the painting is... |
I still have a lot of historical spots to visit in the future, but so far New York definitely isn't lacking! I'm totally enjoying it.
-Nym
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