Hamilton Day

Like many people, I am obsessed with the Broadway show, "Hamilton."  I was fortunate enough to see it last summer and even more fortunate to be seeing it again in August.

Back in December, my brother and I decided to head into NYC and visit some locations that have a Hamilton connection.

Our first stop was Trinity Church Wall Street to visit the church yard.  In the church yard, you can find the grave site of Alexander Hamilton, Eliza Hamilton and Hercules Mulligan.  There is a marker stating that Phillip Hamilton is know to be buried in that graveyard as well but the exact location is not known.  We also knew that Angelica was buried there but we were unable to find her grave.  (We did some further research later on and found information that she is in another section.)

Our next stop was Federal Hall.  Federal Hall was the site of the inauguration of George Washington.  The original building was built in 1700 and was also the site of the first Congress.  The building was demolished in 1812 but then rebuilt in 1842 as the US Custom House and part of the treasury.  It is now part of the National Park Service.  

There are several exhibits inside, including a slab of concrete that is thought to be where George Washington stood at his inauguration.  If you visit, be sure to go downstairs to where the restrooms are located.  There are vaults there from when it was the treasury building..  

Our third stop was to the Museum of American Finance to see a special exhibit about Alexander Hamilton.  The exhibit was small but did include some original writings and had a replica of the dueling pistols used by Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr.

Our last stop was Fraunces Tavern.  The tavern was built in 1719 and was frequently visited by Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr and George Washington.  Currently, the downstairs is still an operating tavern / restaurant.  In fact, we had lunch there.  Upstairs is a small museum with the highlight being the long room where George Washington gave his farewell address to his troops in 1783.

It was a fun day to plan and enjoy.  We already have our sites set on new locations to visit this spring.

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