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| Federal Hall |
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The long history of Federal Hall is getting another layer, as the 1842 Greek Revival-style building undergoes an $11.3 million structural rehabilitation. The National Park Service (NPS) began restoration work on the national memorial in March 2005, including repairing its cracked marble-and-granite façade and interior walls, replacing its heating and cooling system, and installing sub-basement supports down to bedrock.
It is scheduled to reopen for Columbus Day weekend 2006, October 6, 7, and 8.
Click here to learn more about this project in depth.
Locate this project on the Interactive Streetwork Map.
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Daily Activities
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- Finishing work on the building interior continues
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Contact Info
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For more information about the Federal Hall National Memorial rehabilitation, please visit the National Parks Service website. For further details, you can also contact the building’s superintendent by phone at (212) 825-6990.
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Frequently Asked Questions
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When will Federal Hall reopen?
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Federal Hall National Memorial has been closed to the public since the rehabilitation began on March 23, 2005. The NPS plans to complete the project by October 6th, 2006, at which point the building will reopen with new historical exhibits, including the bible used in Washington’s inauguration and the slab of granite he stood on to take his oath.
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Why did it take so long to make repairs after 9/11?
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The landmark building, located on Wall Street across from the New York Stock Exchange, has withstood the tremors of neighborhood skyscrapers rising on all sides and the rumblings of the J/M/Z subway lines under Nassau Street for decades, thanks to sub-grade supports added in the mid-20th century to keep its foundation steady. However, natural deterioration and settlement brought on shifting and cracking that the NPS had plans to repair in 2001. But the collapse of the World Trade Center towers on September 11 pre-empted the restoration, and the earthquake-like shockwaves that rocked Lower Manhattan that day doubled the existing damage. The debris cloud that followed the collapse also damaged the building’s heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system. In the years since 9/11, NPS engineers and consultants have thoroughly surveyed all of the building and coordinated the building’s extensive and expeditious rehabilitation.
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How will NPS crews prevent further shifting in the foundation?
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To restore Federal Hall’s foundation, NPS engineers, working with earthquake experts, created a plan to drill new piles under the building to balance existing ones, stabilizing the foundation on all sides and under its two-story, domed interior rotunda. But the building’s short, cramped basement and sub-basement made performing structural repairs a complicated process. So rather than starting at the lowest level inside the building, NPS contractors Humphreys and Harding will drill six-foot lengths of steel piles (also called “caissons”) through the upper and then sub-basements’ floors, welding each new length to the last piece as they are submerged toward bedrock.
Aboveground, exterior crews are cleaning and repairing exterior masonry, reattaching loose stone, and tightening loose joints. Inside the building, meanwhile, virtually every detail will be cleaned, repaired, or replaced -- from the marble walls, columns, and floors to the ceiling, carpet, and paint finishes
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Click here for answers to commonly asked construction questions. |
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