Federal Hall National Memorial
Federal Hall National Memorial is in New York and is rightly considered the birthplace of American government.
In this magnificent building, located on Wall Street, George Washington assumed leadership of the United States, as the first president. Today the building is a museum and memorial to honour the first president of the United States.
Federal Hall was built in 1700. Then the building bore the name New York City Hall. Then it was the first Capitol building of the United States. This is where the first president was inaugurated. In 1812 the building was razed to the ground. Part of the terrace, where President George Washington held his inauguration is preserved and can be seen by visitors.
In place of the old building was built a modern building, known today as the Federal Hall National Memorial. After its construction, it served as an underground vault. The modern building, which is one of the few surviving buildings, built in classic architectural traditions, was a place where millions of dollars in gold and silver were strictly guarded. This lasted until 1920, when the Federal Reserve Bank changed the location of the underground vault.
After the American Revolution, New York City Hall served as a gathering place for the United States Congress - from 1785 to 1789. In 1788 the building was expanded and reshaped under the supervision of Pierre Charles L'Enfant. He was elected later by President George Washington to design the Capitoline town near the Potomac River.
Thus appeared the first example of Federal style architecture, in the United States. The building was renamed Federal Hall in 1789. In March 1789 the first U.S. Congress was gathered to elect a new federal government and the first thing lawmakers counted the votes by which George Washington was elected first president of the United States.
The building impresses with its majestic Doric columns that are in front. They are designed by Ithiel Town and Alexander Jackson Davis and resemble the columns of the Parthenon. They symbolize democracy inherent in Greece.
Domed ceilings were designed by John Freyzi and symbolize the economic strength of the Roman Empire. Front of the building stands a bronze statue of George Washington, the work of John Quincy Adams Ward. The statue was made in 1882 and placed where the inauguration of President George Washington was held.
In 1920 a bomb fell on Wall Street, with a result that killed thirty-eight men and four hundred others were injured. Federal Hall withstood the bomb blast. There is a famous photograph of that moment, which represents chaos and destruction on the streets, and above all this uplifting intact statue of George Washington. In 1955 the building received the status of a national memorial. The territory of the building has various interesting exhibitions, including one dedicated to freedom of speech. In the gallery that represents the inauguration of George Washington is set the Bible, over which he had sworn.
