New Day at Federal Hall
New Day at Federal Hall is a public-private partnership between the National Parks of New York Harbor Conservancy and the National Park Service, working together to transform the visitor experience at this seminal national memorial.
The constitutional historian Richard B. Bernstein has said:
“Although Philadelphia is where the Declaration of Independence was written and adopted and where the Constitution was framed, New York City is where the American experiment in constitutional government began, and Federal Hall is the crucible of that experiment."
Federal Hall was the First Capital of the United States, the site of George Washington’s jubilant inauguration, and where the First Congress created the framework of American government and approved what became known as the Bill of Rights. The restoration of Federal Hall includes an ambitious plan to create new interactive gallery exhibitions that make this vital American history accessible and compelling. Learn more about the history.
Our goal is to address three challenges: Education, Restoration and Financial Sustainability.
EDUCATION
The opportunity at Federal Hall is both simple and enormous : to invite the over 17 million annual passersby to step inside and discover a national treasure that’s hiding in plain sight. Virtually none of them are aware of the sacred character of this historic memorial. We seek to change this status quo by creating a premiere visitor destination with immersive installations that engage visitors with the ideas, ideals and contradictions of American governance as forged here at Federal Hall. Our cornerstone public programs in the arts and humanities will invite these visitors to have a deeper dialogue with the legacy of the site today.
RESTORATION
The 1842 Greek Revival Federal Hall building, designed by Alexander Jackson Davis and Ithiel Towne, is a rare exterior and interior landmark. Although valiantly operated by the National Park Service, Federal Hall is underfunded with an extensive maintenance backlog. Already, we have invested over $5 million in private funds to catalog the historic collections, install a fire suppression system, restore the iconic Wall Street steps and revive the statue of George Washington. Our next phase, with private and federal funds to be secured, will address critical restoration needs on the interior, including the Grand Rotunda and exhibition galleries as well essential as climate and technology systems to enable and sustain increased public visitation.
FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY
To sustain this new high impact program for visitors, we are building a strong base of revenue generating activities and philanthropy to enhance existing government funding . Our success will allow: the expansion of public access from five to six days per week; enlargement of the public exhibit footprint to over 18,000 square feet; and the tripling of the number of visitor engagement staff, which over time will double visitation from 300,000 to over 600,000 annually .