December 08, 2004

Federal Hall closed for a year of rehabilitation

Federal Hall will be closed for 12 to 14 months while it undergoes restoration, Downtown Express reports. The Wall Street landmark closed to the public Dec. 2. The site was the location of New York’s City Hall in the early 18th century, it hosted President Washington's inauguration, and in 1789 became the nation's first Capitol. The building was demolished in the 19th century and replaced by the current structure, which was the first U.S. Customs House in 1842. Downtown Express has details on the rehab project:

"The problem started with the construction of buildings all around Federal Hall in the 19th century," said Steve Laise, chief of interpretation for the Park Service. "The building was on a shallow foundation and silty soil. The larger buildings all around were digging deeper for their foundations, so the soil moved and water table dropped. It wasn’t stable anymore.

"When the World Trade towers collapsed, it sent a seismic shock, which created more cracks than we had before. There was also a series of water main and steam line breaks and constant vibration from the subway running under Nassau St. So, it was a combination of different things," he said.

December 8, 2004 10:11 PM in Downtown, History, Sightsology

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