Visitor Center Exhibit Audio Description

 

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Welcome to the Hamilton Grange visitor Center. This page provides an audio described guide of the visitor center and exhibits.

The Hamilton Grange as it stands today in St. Nicholas Park, surrounded by trees, looks much as it did when Alexander Hamilton and his family lived in the home.

Hamilton commissioned architect John McComb, Jr. to design a Federal style country home on his 32-acre estate in upper Manhattan. This house was completed in 1802 and named “The Grange” after the Hamilton family’s ancestral home in Scotland.

The ground floor, mostly unseen from the front of the house, has walls of sandstone blocks. The first and second floors have pale, golden-yellow wooden exterior walls, punctuated by tall 12-pane windows with white shutters. The front-wall siding is attached as flat boards, while the back and sidewalls are attached as lapped clapboard.

Wide wooden steps lead to the columned front porch and main entrance on the first floor. There are also a first-floor back porch and piazzas or porches on either side of the first and second floors. From the front, the roof appears flat, bordered by white wooden balustrades or decorative railings and featuring a chimney near each of the 4 corners.

 

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Hamilton Grange Visitors' Experience

On the ground floor, you may visit this lobby with an information desk and sales area, an exhibit gallery, and a theater, which shows the 15-minute video, “Alexander Hamilton: American Visionary," and an 8-minute long video, called "Moving the Grange". Restrooms and water fountains are located at the back of the building on this floor.

Guided tours of the historic first floor—the floor above this—are also provided throughout the day. You may ask the Ranger at the front desk for today’s tour schedule. On the guided tour, which begins in the first floor entry hall, you will visit the study, parlor, and dining room, furnished as they might have been when the Hamiltons lived at the Grange. You may also visit 2 additional exhibit galleries on the first floor.

The display panels throughout the Grange range from 1 ½ feet to 3 ½ feet wide by 6 ½ feet tall. Most have backgrounds of brown, olive green, or reddish-brown. Reproductions of engravings, paintings, documents and photographs appear throughout the exhibits. Most windows in exhibit spaces are covered with translucent fabric shades printed with images and text. In front of most display panels and windows, there are slanted reddish-brown display surfaces with their front edges 2 ½ feet above the floor, ranging from 2 ½ to 5 ½ feet wide, each 1-foot-deep. The text on the displays is printed in white.

Most images are black and white engravings or photographs, although there are several color drawings, painting and photographs. The images range in size from 6 inches wide by 7 inches tall to 7 ½ feet wide and 6 ½ feet tall.

In this lobby, with your back to the visitor center entrance, to the left of the information desk, there’s a large mural of the Grange.

Or to the left of the mural, you may go through the entryway to the theater and exhibit gallery. To the left is the exhibit gallery, which tells the story of Alexander Hamilton’s life from 1755 to 1804. As you enter the gallery, the first chronological exhibit panel will be to your left.

 

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Hamilton Grange Mural

On the gold-colored wall behind the information desk, a quotation from Alexander Hamilton in 1794:

“If it were to be asked, What is the most sacred duty and the greatest source of security in a Republic?, the answer would be, An inviolable respect for the Constitution and Laws.”

On the gold-colored wall, between the information desk and the entrance to the exhibit gallery, a mural, 10 feet wide and 6 feet tall, shows, at the left, dense green trees and at the right, the pale yellow, white-trimmed, 2 story, Federal style country home, Hamilton Grange. Steps lead to the covered entryway, and at the right side, there is a covered porch. Two red chimneys rise from the roof. At the left, over the green trees, this text appears in white letters:

The Grange is believed to be the only home Alexander Hamilton ever owned. Over the years, it has also been an investment for a real estate speculator, a foreclosed property, a chapel, and a National Memorial.

Below the text, a slanted display holds a 20-inch-wide by 14-inch-tall off-white touchable map showing the location of the Grange on its current site. Black raised lines divide the area around the Grange into city blocks. Reddish-brown house-shaped replicas of the Grange, ¾ of an inch by ½ inch, show the 3 places where the Grange has been located in the area between Convent Avenue and West 141st and 143rd Streets.

From 1802 to 1889, the Grange stood near the top left center, near the corner of Convent Avenue and West 143rd Street. To locate this position, find the Braille-labeled Amsterdam Avenue left of center and follow it upward to West 143rd Street near the top. Move to the right to the next vertical street, which is Convent Avenue. The Grange was built at this site.

Next, from 1889 to 2008, the Grange was located at the center of the map, near the intersection of Convent Avenue and West 141st Street. From this center position, its current site, from 2008 to the present, is 3 inches below and 3 inches to the right, in St. Nicholas Park on West 141st Street.

From here, you may go through the entryway to the exhibit gallery and theater. To the left, as you enter the gallery, the first chronological exhibit panel is to your left.

 

Who was Alexander Hamilton?

As you enter the exhibit gallery, you face a free-standing exhibit panel, 8 feet wide by 6 ½ feet tall. At the far right, an almost full-length portrait of Alexander Hamilton. Wiry grayish-brown hair to mid-ear frames his ruddy-complexioned face. He wears a golden tan, knee-length, 3-piece suit, with a white lace jabot, like as ascot, at his neck and lace cuffs. The jacket has a stand-up collar and is fastened with 2 buttons just above mid-chest.

To the left, on an exhibit panel, this text:

Who was Alexander Hamilton? Immigrant, patriot, and self-made man, Alexander Hamilton was both successful and controversial.

Alexander Hamilton was born on the Caribbean island of Nevis [NEE vis] in 1755 and orphaned at age 13. He emigrated to North America in 1772. At about age 19, his life began a dizzying ascent—from college student to artillery captain to the favorite aide of General George Washington.

By 29, Hamilton had worked as a lawyer and legislator and co-founded a bank. By 34, he had helped draft the Constitution and risen to become Secretary of the Treasury. For the next 6 years he helped to build our new national government. And at age 49 he was mortally wounded in a duel.

The left two-thirds of the 8-foot-wide panel begins at the far left with a vertical stripe of reddish-brown printed with “1755-1773—The Outsider” in white letters.

To the right, a color mural of a Caribbean oceanfront in the mid-1700s, 4 ½ feet wide by 6 ½ feet tall, starts at the top with steep, wooded hills. A small village is nestled at the foot of the hills before the land gives way to rippling blue-green water with 3 large sailing ships and a number of smaller ships.

Behind you, against the wall, the 3-section display, “1773 to 1789—To a New World,” begins at the left, just inside the door from the lobby into the exhibit gallery.

 

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1773 - 1789, To a New World

This exhibit is immediately to the right of the doorway from the lobby into the exhibit gallery. To the right of a separate, narrow title panel, this exhibit has 3 sections—3 side-by-side wall panels, each 3 ½ feet square. These panels are mounted on the light gray-blue walls with the top of the panel 6 feet above the floor. In front of each panel, a slanted display.

To hear about the left section, “New York City,” Hamilton’s early life in New York, go to 205. To hear about the center section, “Colonel Hamilton,” his Revolutionary War military career, go to 206. Or, for the right section, “Present at the Creation, Hamilton’s role in the Continental Congress” go to 207.

 

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New York City

“I am always more or less alarmed at every thing which is done of mere will and pleasure, without any proper authority.” —Alexander Hamilton, letter to John Jay, November 26, 1775.

At the top of the left panel, an engraving of the New York City harbor. In the foreground, a few low buildings and in the background, several sailing ships on the water.

When Alexander Hamilton reached New York City, it was a bustling, booming town alive with political fervor. At age 19, he wrote 2 political pamphlets that marked him as a rising star of the revolutionary cause.

On the slanted display below, 3 sets of images and text. At the left, a painting of a large 3-story building, capped with a cupola.

Hamilton officially entered King’s College, now Columbia University, in 1774. But he never completed his course of studies and left school to fight in the American Revolution.

In the center, an engraving shows the exterior of a building, where, in front of a large door, 2 men in tricorne hats, tailcoats and knee britches, stand with their arms flung wide.

On May 10, 1775, Hamilton stood in a doorway at King’s College to give its president time to escape from a mob of angry patriots.

To the right, a close-up of an engraved portrait of a young Hamilton in military uniform. His hair is close-cropped and his nose rather pointed.

This is the earliest known portrait of Alexander Hamilton. He was an engaging, charismatic fellow. He was also serious, ambitious, and sometimes arrogant, but often playful. His friendships, wrote a friend, were “entire and lasted through his life.” Hamilton’s boldness and impulsiveness enabled him to achieve great things but also attracted controversy and critics.

To hear about the next section to the right, the center panel, “Colonel Hamilton,” his Revolutionary War military career, go to 206. Or to hear about the section just beyond that, “Present at the Creation,” Hamilton’s role in the Continental Congress, go to 207.

To go the next 3-part exhibit, “1789 to 1800—American Founder,” move to the right until you reach the wall at the end of the exhibit gallery.

 

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Colonel Hamilton

“There is a certain enthusiasm in liberty, that makes human nature rise above itself, in acts of bravery and heroism.” —Alexander Hamilton, The Farmer Refuted, February 23, 1775.

At the top of the panel, the painting shows 8 soldiers at a battle site, a cannon near the center. At center, George Washington extends his hand to a saluting Alexander Hamilton. The officers wear black tricorne hats with the brims turned up on 3 sides, dark blue knee-length tailcoats, off-white knee britches, and black knee-high boots.

When the Revolutionary War began, Hamilton’s military talents—joined with his writing skills—attracted attention, and he joined the staff of General George Washington as an aide-de-camp.

On the slanted display below, 3 sets of images and text. At left, a painting shows Hamilton as an officer at the Siege of Yorktown.

At the right end, an engraving of troops standing in the snow at Valley Forge.

Shortages of clothing, shoes, horses, meat, flour, and gunpowder plagued the Continental army. The 13 delegations to the Continental Congress bickered among themselves, and their incompetence and pettiness in supplying the army infuriated Hamilton. By war’s end, he believed the country needed a central government with power over the states, a strong executive, and a national army.

To hear about the next section to the right, the right panel, “Present at the Creation,” Hamilton’s role in the Continental Congress, go to 207.

If you would like to go the next 3-part exhibit, “1789 to 1800—American Founder,” move to the right until you reach the wall at the end of the exhibit gallery.

 

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Present at the Creation

“Good constitutions are formed upon a comparison of the liberty of the individual with the strength of government.” —Alexander Hamilton, New York Ratifying Convention, June 25, 1788.

The image at the top of the panel is a section of a painting of the signing of the Constitution. At the front of the room on a raised platform sits George Washington, in a powdered white wig and black coat. Thirty white men sit or stand, in long coats and matching knee britches in colors from blacks and browns to pale greens and golds, white stockings and black shoes. Half wear white powdered wigs.

On the slanted display below, there are 3 sections of images and text. At the left, an engraving of the large 2-story Bank of New York.

As the war ended, Hamilton returned to his law practice in New York City. Defending a British Loyalist in 1784, he helped establish the principle that courts had the right and responsibility to interpret law. He also helped found the Bank of New York to reenergize the war-torn economy.

To the right, an engraving of a young woman with light, curly hair seated in an upholstered armchair, a folded fan in her right hand. She wears a long-sleeved dress with a fitted bodice and full skirt, a fichu or sheer bib-like collar covering her neckline, and a thin dark ribbon tied around her neck.

Below the portrait:

Alexander Hamilton married Elizabeth Schuyler [SKY ler] in December 1780. She came from a wealthy, powerful New York family. Strong, charitable, and forgiving, Elizabeth was a steadying influence on her volatile husband. He called her Eliza or Betsey and was devoted to her and their 8 children.

To the right, a 15 inches wide by 10 inches high board with 3 white and gold-colored panels, 1 above the other, labeled with black letters: The President, War and Peace, and Good Government. Sliding the panels from left to right by their large white ceramic knobs reveals a few of Hamilton’s ideas on these topics.

Alexander Hamilton wrote 51 of the 85 Federalist essays. To encourage the people of New York State to ratify the new Constitution, he wrote about a remarkable range of issues—taxes, civil war, a strong national executive, and many others.

Three samples from the sliding panels:

The President: “A feeble executive implies a feeble execution of the government.”

War and Peace: “The fiery and destructive passions of war reign in the human breast with much more powerful sway than the mild and beneficent sentiments of peace.”

Good Government: “The fabric of American empire ought to rest on the solid basis of THE CONSENT OF THE PEOPLE. The streams of national power ought to flow from that pure, original fountain of all legitimate authority.”

To go the next 3-part exhibit, “1789 to 1800—American Founder,” move to the right to the wall at the end of the exhibit gallery.

 

1789 to 1800 - Founding Father

This 3-part exhibit is located at the end of the exhibit gallery that juts towards the outdoors, its 2 sidewalls at 45 degree angles to the end wall. At the left of this exhibit, a tall, narrow panel introduces the subject: “1789 to 1800—American Founder.” The exhibit consists of 3 sections—3 side-by-side windows covered with printed shades, and, in front of each window, a slanted display.

To hear about the left section, Secretary Hamilton’s work as the first Secretary of the Treasury, go to 208. The center section, “Creating a Government,” his role in creating a national government, go to 209. Or the right section, “Visions of America,” concerning the desired characteristics of a new national government, go to 210.

 

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Secretary Hamilton

The shade covering this window is printed with an engraving of a group of 4 seated men, Washington and his Cabinet, by Currier and Ives. This quotation is printed over the image:

“The debt of the United States … was the price of liberty. The faith of America has been repeatedly pledged for it, and with solemnities, that give peculiar force to the obligation.” —Alexander Hamilton, Report on Public Credit, 1790.

Below, on the slanted display, this text:

In 1789, newly elected President George Washington appointed Alexander Hamilton as Secretary of the Treasury. Hamilton took over a nation mired in debt, established a modern financial system, restored the nation’s credit, promoted a mixed economy of manufacturing and farming, and helped bind the states together into a single nation.

Below, from left to right, there are 3 images with text. At the left, an engraving of a large, formal building, the First Bank of the United States in Philadelphia.

Alexander Hamilton … envisioned a new financial system and economy for the nation, and he explained his views in his Reports to Congress on public credit, manufacturing, and a national bank. Together, they were nothing less than an outline for a modern capitalist economy.

In 1790, in his Report on Public Credit, Alexander Hamilton urged that the federal government assume the Revolutionary War debts of the 13 states. When Congress agreed, thousands of investors suddenly had a powerful interest in supporting a national government that would pay them back.

To the far right, a sepia-tone engraving of Federal Hall in New York City.

The nation’s first capital was New York City, and Congress met in Federal Hall. Hamilton needed support for his economic plan in Congress. Thomas Jefferson and others wanted the national capital farther south. They struck a deal: Hamilton’s economic plan passed, and Washington, D.C. ultimately became the permanent capital.

To hear about the next section to the right, about Hamilton’s role in creating a national government, go to 209. Or to hear about the final section of this 3-part exhibit, “Visions of America,” regarding the desired characteristics of a new national government, go to 210.

If you would like to go the next 3-part exhibit, “1800 to Today—Final Years and Legacy,” move to the right and turn to face the next wall.

 

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Creating a Government

The shade covering this window is printed with an engraving of Federal Hall in New York City when it was the U.S. Capitol. This quotation is printed over the image:

“A NATION without a NATIONAL GOVERNMENT is, in my view, an awful spectacle.” —Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 85, May 28, 1788.

Below the window, on the slanted display, this text:

The federal government was brand new when Alexander Hamilton took office. He almost single-handedly planned and established the new Treasury Department. When his financial system went into operation, the new nation enjoyed an enormous economic boom.

Below, from left to right, there are 3 images and text, and at the far right, a simple interactive display about Federalist Institutions. At the left, an engraving of Hamilton seated at a desk.

“Real firmness is good for everything. Strut is good for nothing.” —Alexander Hamilton, letter to Oliver Wolcott, June 6, 1797.

Under the heading “A Model Executive:”

No task was too large or small for Alexander Hamilton. He pored over reports from employees around the country. He created the First Bank of the United States, a standard currency based on the dollar, and a bookkeeping system for his staff. He was the most influential cabinet secretary in the nation’s history.

To the right, a chart lists the differences between when Hamilton became Secretary of the Treasury in 1789 and when he resigned as Secretary in 1795.

In 1795:

• The federal government was collecting taxes and paying interest on the national debt.

• The U.S. dollar was the national currency.

• There was a central U.S. bank and 20 chartered state banks.

• There were many corporations.

To the right, a sepia-tone 1793 cartoon titled “A Peep into the Anti-federal Club,” which shows Thomas Jefferson standing on a table orating.

As Hamilton worked to create a new government, he struggled for power with Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson. Both men were brilliant thinkers and influential leaders. Their political differences and mutual dislike helped shape the political life of the nation.

At the right, an interactive display showing that Alexander Hamilton played a crucial role in building the U.S. government. Inside a flat ivory-colored, wooden, box-like frame shaped like the outline of a classical building with a peaked roof, 2 feet wide by 1 foot tall, there are 5 columns, each printed with the name of an agency Hamilton started or supported: the Treasury Department, the National Bank, the Coast Guard, the Customs Service, and the Armed Forces. Below each of the columns, extending from the base of the box, a silver-colored handle turns the column to reveal more information on the backside of the column.

To hear about the next section to the right, “Visions of America,” regarding the desired characteristics of a new national government, go to 210.

If you would like to go the next 3-part exhibit, “1800 to Today—Final Years and Legacy,” move to the right until you reach the sidewall of the exhibit gallery.

 

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Visions of America

The shade covering this window is printed with a painting of Treasury Secretary Hamilton, President Washington, and Secretary of State Jefferson. This quotation is printed over the image:

“Mr. Madison, cooperating with Mr. Jefferson, is at the head of a faction decidedly hostile to me and my administration.” —Alexander Hamilton, letter to Edward Carrington, May 1792.

Below the window, on the slanted display, this text:

Thomas Jefferson and others envisioned a nation of independent farmers, strong states, and a weak central government. Hamiltonians saw an economic powerhouse of agriculture, manufacturing, and trade, protected by a powerful national government.

Below, from left to right, there are 3 images and text. At the left, the front page of the New York Evening Post.

In 1801 Alexander Hamilton founded this newspaper, in part to support the Federalist Party. Political parties emerged in the 1790s partly because of Hamilton’s controversial programs. Leaders who sided with Hamilton in favor of a strong executive branch gradually coalesced into the Federalist Party; opponents were eventually known as Republicans.

Hamilton resigned from the cabinet in 1795. Three years later, war with France loomed. George Washington was called back into service and insisted on Hamilton as his second-in-command. Hamilton began building an army, and his plans for training officers ultimately evolved into the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

To the far right, the cover of Hamilton’s pamphlet on “the public conduct and character of John Adams, Esquire, President of the United States.”

In 1800 John Adams hoped for a second term as President. Hamilton wrote, “There are great and intrinsic defects in his character, that unfit him for the office.” Their feuding helped to destroy the Federalist Party and deliver the Presidency to Thomas Jefferson.

To go the next 3-part exhibit, “1800 to Today—Final Years and Legacy,” move to the right to the sidewall of the exhibit gallery.

 

1800 to Today - Final Years and Legacy

At the left of this 3-part exhibit, a tall, narrow panel introduces the subject: 1800 to Today—Final Years & Legacy.” This exhibit consists of 3 sections—3 side-by-side wall panels mounted against the light gray-blue walls, and, in front of the first 2 panels, a slanted display. At the right end, the third display is set back to allow for a large Plexiglas case, whose front edge aligns with the front edge of the slanted displays.

To hear about the left section, “Bittersweet Years,” concerning Hamilton’s personal life, go to 211. The center section, “The Duel,” about Hamilton’s fateful duel with Aaron Burr, go to 212. Or the right section, “Hamilton’s Legacies,” his shaping of American government and finance, go to 213.

 

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Bittersweet Years

“A garden, you know, is a very usual refuge of a disappointed politician.” —Alexander Hamilton, letter to Charles C. Pinckney, 1802.

At the top of the left panel, a color engraving of Harlem, a landscape of scattered buildings and a patchwork of farmlands. Below, this text:

In the early 1800s, Alexander Hamilton was torn. Politics still drew him, but with Jefferson and the Republicans in power, he felt his monumental labors were unappreciated.

On the slanted display below, there are 3 sections of images and text. At the left, under the heading, “Back to the Law,” an engraving of Hamilton in a courtroom in 1804, addressing judges on behalf of newspaper editor Harry Croswell [CROSS well], accused of libeling Thomas Jefferson.

Hamilton’s stirring arguments … helped establish principles of libel law and freedom of the press that shape American laws even today. A free press, Hamilton declared, protects us all from “encroachments of power.”

At the center, an engraving of a young man with dark wavy hair; dark eyes; broad face; high cheekbones; long, thin nose; full lips and strong chin. His shirt’s turned-up white collar reaches his chin line and his medium-colored jacket has a wide, dark collar and lapel.

Philip Hamilton, 1782-1801. Hamilton’s eldest son Philip died in a duel defending his father’s honor. After Philip’s death, his sister Angelica suffered a mental breakdown. “Never did I see a man,” wrote 1 friend, “so completely overwhelmed with grief as Hamilton.”

To the right, an engraving of the Grange surrounded by huge trees. Two cows stand at the lower right edge.

In November 1798, Alexander Hamilton wrote to Elizabeth that he had in mind “a sweet project”—a country home for his family. Four years later, the Grange was complete.

To hear about the next section to the right, “The Duel,” Hamilton’s fateful duel with Aaron Burr, go to 212. Or to hear about the section just beyond that, “Hamilton’s Legacies,” his shaping of American government and finance, go to 213.

 

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The Duel

“[Burr] is for or against nothing but as it suits his interest or ambition … and I feel it a religious duty to oppose his career.” —Alexander Hamilton, letter, September 21, 1792

At the top of the panel, an engraving of the Burr and Hamilton duel at Weehawken, New Jersey. At left, Hamilton leans backwards as his pistol fires into the air. At right, Burr fires his pistol directly at Hamilton.

Vice President Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton met on July 11, 1804, a little after 7 a.m. Standing 10 paces apart, both men fired, and Hamilton fell to the ground.

On the slanted display below, there are 3 sections of images and text. At the left, a painting of Aaron Burr and the handwritten arrangements for the duel. Burr is middle-aged with a ruddy complexion and a receding hairline.

In 1804, Hamilton infuriated Burr by undermining his run for governor of New York. Burr accused Hamilton of a vague but “despicable” insult.

In the center, a color photograph shows the 2 pistols used in the duel. The pistols have wooden stocks and small, curved wooden handles and long, slender metal barrels. The upper pistol has a flintlock mechanism, while the lower pistol, modified after the duel, has a percussion ignition system.

Dueling was illegal in much of the nation, but men like Burr and Hamilton sometimes felt they had no other choice. There were some insults that a gentleman could not let pass. They required an apology or a duel.

To the right, a color portrait of Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton as a middle-aged woman wearing a white lace cap that covers all but the bangs of her gray hair and a white kerchief filling the low neckline of her black bodice. To her right, Hamilton’s handwritten draft of his farewell letter to his wife.

Elizabeth Hamilton lived for 50 years after his death. The wife of an orphan, she co-founded the New York Orphan Asylum Society in 1806. Her son John Church Hamilton completed another cherished project 7 years after her death—a biography of Alexander Hamilton.

To hear about the next section to the right, “Hamilton’s Legacies,” his role in shaping American government and finance, go to 213.

 

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Hamilton's Legacies

At this location, in the position occupied by the slanted displays of the other exhibits, sits a square-edged Plexiglas case, 45 inches wide, 9 inches high, and 32 inches deep. A button at the front center of the case allows visitors to illuminate its contents—a flat 20 by 22 inch gold-colored cotton mourning scarf printed with text and images. The scarf is covered with diagonal lines of stitches, about ¾ inch apart, giving the scarf a quilted appearance.

In Alexander Hamilton’s time, people sometimes wore scarves to mourn the deaths of political leaders and other well-known figures. This scarf, made in 1804, honored Alexander Hamilton.

At the center of the scarf, mourners surround a bust of Hamilton. To the left, a hut with palm trees represents Hamilton’s birth on the Caribbean island of Nevis. To the right, a tree trunk with a missing branch symbolizes Hamilton’s premature death. Below, an African American mourning at a tomb represents Hamilton’s work to end slavery. A scroll on the right recommends “health and honor” to any senator who can find a way to end dueling in the United States.

On the wall above the exhibit’s back panel:

“There is something noble and magnificent in the perspective of a great Federal Republic … prosperous at home, respectable abroad.” —Alexander Hamilton, 1784.

At the top of the panel, a color photo of the United States Treasury Building, a multi-story, off-white granite structure with columns. On the plaza in front, a granite pedestal bears a full-length bronze statue of Alexander Hamilton.

Hamilton’s view of the Constitution was 1 of his most important legacies. To carry out its constitutional responsibilities, he believed, a government must sometimes take actions not specifically mentioned in the Constitution. To Hamilton, these implied powers in the Constitution authorized the national government to act in ways unimagined by the Founders, as long as it acted towards constitutional ends.

Behind you, in the middle of the room, to the left is a touch screen interactive program featuring a computer-generated digital avatar of Alexander Hamilton, who will answer questions. To the right, on a free-standing exhibit panel is an almost life-sized photo of a bronze statue of Alexander Hamilton.

 

Welcome to the Theater

As you enter the theater, on the right wall is a large, flat screen monitor which shows the 15-minute video, “Alexander Hamilton: American Visionary.”

To the left as you enter, on the back wall of theater, a timeline graphic provides a synopsis of the major events in the life of Alexander Hamilton from his birth in 1755 to his death in 1804. On the far wall opposite the entrance to the theater, in front of the left and right windows there are slanted displays. These exhibits describe family life at the Grange and its function as a rural retreat for the Hamilton family. About the room, there are touchable reproductions of household objects and furnishings similar to those of the time the Hamiltons lived at the Grange.

To hear a description of the timeline’s text and images, go to 216. To hear about the “family life at the Grange” exhibits, including the touchable objects, go to 217.

 

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Timeline

This timeline graphic, 7 feet wide by 2 feet tall, provides a synopsis of 16 major events in the life of Alexander Hamilton from his birth in 1755 to his death in 1804. Here are 10 highlights: At the left, under a map of a Caribbean:

1755 – Born on the Caribbean island of Nevis on January 11

To the right, under an engraving of a formal, 3-story building:

1773 to 74 – Arrives in New York City and enters King’s College, now Columbia University

Farther to the right,

1777 – Joins George Washington’s staff as aide-de-camp

Above, and to the right, an engraved portrait of a young woman whose thin face is framed with full, light-colored hair. Her curled hair is gathered at the back of her neck and hangs over her right shoulder. She has dark eyebrows, dark eyes, a slender nose, and full lips. She wears a fichu or sheer bib-like collar covering her neckline and a narrow ribbon tied loosely around her neck.

1780 – Marries Elizabeth Schuyler

To the right, a color painting of Hamilton seated at a table, surrounded by 7 men.

1787 – Attends the Constitutional Convention

Next, the title pages of the Federalist essays.

1787 to 88 – Writes the Federalist essays with James Madison and John Jay

At the right, an engraving of the seated Washington and Henry Knox with Hamilton standing to the right of Knox.

1789 – Appointed first Secretary of the Treasury by President George Washington

To the right, an engraving of a young man with dark wavy hair; dark eyes; broad face; high cheekbones; long, thin nose; full lips and strong chin. His shirt’s turned-up white collar reaches his chin line and his medium-colored jacket has a wide, dark collar and lapel.

1801 – Hamilton’s son Philip is killed in a duel

Next, a close-up engraving of the left-front of the Grange.

1802 – Completes the construction of the family home, the Grange, named after his father’s boyhood home in Scotland

At the right end of the timeline, an engraving of Hamilton firing a pistol into the air, a light puff of smoke above his head.

1804 – Mortally wounded in a duel with Aaron Burr on July 11 and dies the next day

To the right of the timeline, on this same light gray-blue wall, is a dark gray, stenciled outline drawing of a kitchen fireplace, 5 ½ feet wide and 5 feet high—pots, kettles, and long-handled tools and utensils hanging from hooks in the fireplace and to its sides.

This area was likely the kitchen of the Grange, where servants cooked the family’s meals. Servants, and sometimes the Hamiltons’ children, might have eaten in this room, too.

On the far wall opposite the entrance to the theater, in front of the left and right windows there are exhibits about family life at the Grange. For these descriptions, go to 216.

 

216

Family Life at The Grange

On the far wall opposite the entrance to the theater, in front of the left and right windows there are slanted displays. About the room, there are touchable reproductions of household objects and furnishings similar to those of the time the Hamiltons lived at the Grange.

In front of the left window, on the slanted display:

Alexander Hamilton bought 32 acres in Harlem in 1800. By 1802, he had this house constructed for his family. He and Elizabeth entertained elegantly, sang around the piano, and even took in the orphaned child of a Revolutionary War comrade. The family had only 2 years here before Hamilton’s death in a duel.

To the right, a drawing of a parlor with a large fireplace topped with an ornate mirror flanked by candles. A large eagle figure with a wide wingspan sits above the mirror. The furnishings include a desk, 6 chairs, a divan, 3 small tables, hanging portraits, a candle chandelier, and 3 patterned carpets.

To the right, under the right window, on the slanted display:

In Alexander Hamilton’s time, Harlem was an escape from the city.

To the right, a black and white photo shows the Grange with first- and second-story porches on the front and right side of the house. The landscape includes shrubs, trees, and a low hedge leading to the home’s entrance.

On the wall to the right, a label invites visitors to look up where the original ceiling structure of the Grange is exposed.

A gap in the plaster overhead has exposed the wood framing above the ceiling. By examining the framing, preservationists can learn details about how the Grange was built.

To the left as you entered, the back wall of theater, a timeline graphic, provides a synopsis of the major events in the life of Alexander Hamilton from his birth in 1755 to his death in 1804. To hear a description of the timeline’s text and images, go to 215.

 

220

Touchable Model of The Grange

You may turn the 20 inch by 24 inch touchable scale model of the Grange on its revolving base to explore the basic symmetry of the Grange and many architectural details. The model is 1/30th the size of the Grange. The front side of the building features steps leading to the front porch and main entrance to the first floor. The roof of the small first floor porch forms the floor of a small porch on the second floor.

Today, we entered the building through the visitor center on the ground floor. If you reach to the front wall of the building at either side of the foot of the front stairs, you will find the pinkish-red sandstone block walls of the lower level.

The first and second floors of the Grange are pale, golden-yellow clapboard. Although the model’s detail does not show this, the actual front-wall siding is attached as flat boards, while the back and sidewalls are attached as lapped clapboard.

The tall 12-pane windows have white shutters. The Mansard roof has a 45 degree slope on all 4 sides, from the top of the 2nd floor to a flat section at the center, 9 inches from the front to the back of the house and 5 ½ inches from side to side.

Bordering the lower edge of the roof are white wooden balustrades or decorative railings. The ivory-colored roof has a dark red chimney near each corner.

If you turn the model to either side of the Grange, you’ll find the side porches or piazzas, which are identical on both sides and on both the first and second floors. The 1st floor porch has 6 white columns and a simple waist-high railing. On the 2nd floor porch, there are no columns, and its shorter railing matches the balustrade around the roof.

On the first floor, bay windows at either side project outward from the main walls, forming angled bays inside the rooms and extending onto the porch, to create a narrow walking space at the widest point of the building. On the second floor, no doors open onto the porch, but there are four 12-pane windows with shutters on either side of the building.