Federal Hall National Memorial National Park Service Administrative Records, 1790-1990
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National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Finding Aid Federal Hall National Memorial National Park Service Administrative Records, 1790-1990 Catalog Number FEHA 1925 National Park Service Manhattan Sites Federal Hall National Memorial Rachel M. Oleaga January 2013 This finding aid may be accessed electronically from the National Park Service Manhattan Historic Sites Archive http://www.mhsarchive.org Processing was funded by a generous donation from the Leon Levy Foundation to the National Parks of New York Harbor Conservancy. TABLE OF CONTENTS SUMMARY ..................................................................................................................................................... 1 COPYRIGHT AND RESTRICTIONS ................................................................................................................... 3 PROVENANCE NOTE ...................................................................................................................................... 4 HISTORICAL NOTE ......................................................................................................................................... 5 SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE ......................................................................................................................... 8 ARRANGEMENT NOTE ................................................................................................................................... 9 SERIES OUTLINE ............................................................................................................................................ 9 SERIES NOTES AND CONTENTS LIST ............................................................................................................ 10 RELATED MATERIALS NOTE......................................................................................................................... 31 SELECTIVE BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................................... 31 ADDED ENTRIES/ACCESS POINTS ................................................................................................................ 32 Finding Aid FEHA National Park Service Administrative Records – Catalog Number FEHA 1925 Page 1 SUMMARY Creator: United States. National Park Service Title: Federal Hall National Memorial National Park Service Administrative Records Dates: 1790-1990 Extent: 19 linear feet (28 document boxes, 5 microfilm boxes, 4 flat boxes, 7 map drawers) National Park Service Accession Number: FEHA-00273 National Park Service Catalog Number: FEHA 1925 Historical Statement: Federal Hall National Memorial commemorates the founding of the American Federal Government under the Constitution. The site housed the first capitol of the United States, served as a Customs House and Sub-Treasury and headquartered various governmental and civic agencies. The Department of the Interior took over jurisdiction for the site from the Department of the Treasury in 1933, and it received National Historic Site designation in 1939. Following that designation, Federal Hall was managed jointly by the Federal Hall Memorial Associates and the National Park Service until 1961, when it became solely the responsibility of the NPS. It was re-designated as a National Memorial in 1955. The site serves as museum and memorial to George Washington and the beginnings of the United States of America, and remains under the management of the National Park Service. Scope and Content Statement: This collection comprises administrative records of the National Park Service in their management of Federal Hall National Memorial, documenting the administration, protection and development of the site. The records provide insight into the National Park Service in their cooperative administration of the site with the Federal Hall Memorial Associates. Materials are primarily textual, including correspondence, memoranda, manuals, reports and supporting research, maintenance and construction records, architectural records, contracts and progress reports, and clippings. The collection also contains photographs and microfilm. Records date from 1790 to 1990, with the bulk of records created from 1960 to 1983. Processing Information: This collection was processed as part of the Manhattan Sites Archives Project in 2013 by Assistant Archivist Rachel M. Oleaga, with assistance from Project Archivist Tobi Adler, Lead Archivist Mimi Bowling and Archives Technician Danielle Apfelbaum. National Park Service: Manhattan Sites Finding Aid FEHA National Park Service Administrative Records – Catalog Number FEHA 1925 Page 2 Funding Source: Processing of this collection was made possible by a generous donation from the Leon Levy Foundation to the National Parks of New York Harbor Conservancy. Contact Information: Chief of Cultural Resources, National Park Service, Manhattan Sites Federal Hall National Memorial 26 Wall Street, New York, NY 10005 (212) 825-6883 National Park Service: Manhattan Sites Finding Aid FEHA National Park Service Administrative Records – Catalog Number FEHA 1925 Page 3 COPYRIGHT AND RESTRICTIONS The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted materials. The various state privacy acts govern the use of materials that document private individuals, groups, and corporations. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a reproduction if the document does not infringe the privacy rights of an individual, group, or corporation. These specified conditions of authorized use include: • non-commercial and non-profit study, scholarship, or research, or teaching • criticism, commentary, or news reporting • as a NPS preservation or security copy • as a research copy for deposit in another institution If a user later uses a copy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," the user may be personally liable for copyright, privacy, or publicity infringement. This institution's permission to obtain a photographic, xerographic, digital, or other copy of a document doesn't indicate permission to publish, exhibit, perform, reproduce, sell, distribute, or prepare derivative works from this document without first obtaining permission from the copyright holder and from any private individual, group, or corporation shown or otherwise recorded. Permission to publish, exhibit, perform, reproduce, prepare derivative works from, sell, or otherwise distribute the item must be obtained by the user separately in writing from the holder of the original copyright (or if the creator is dead from his/her heirs) as well as from any individual(s), groups, or corporations whose name, image, recorded words, or private information (e.g., employment information) may be reproduced in the source material. The holder of the original copyright isn't necessarily the National Park Service. The National Park Service is not legally liable for copyright, privacy, or publicity infringement when materials are wrongfully used after being provided to researchers for "fair use." This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if fulfillment of the order is judged in violation of copyright or federal or state privacy or publicity law. National Park Service: Manhattan Sites Finding Aid FEHA National Park Service Administrative Records – Catalog Number FEHA 1925 Page 4 PROVENANCE NOTE The records of the National Park Service pertaining to Federal Hall National Memorial were part of a body of records that were discovered in the curatorial office and collections storage areas at Federal Hall National Memorial in 1990 and were accessioned in 1991. The accession (FEHA--0273) was organized into three groups: National Park Service Records, Federal Hall Memorial Associates Records, and iconographic material. The collection of records represented in the National Park Service record group were contained in boxes 50, 54, 55, 56, 57, 64, 70, 71, 72, and 73, as well as in multiple oversize drawers. These records are located in the Manhattan Sites Collections housed at Fort Wadsworth, Staten Island, New York. National Park Service: Manhattan Sites Finding Aid FEHA National Park Service Administrative Records – Catalog Number FEHA 1925 Page 5 HISTORICAL NOTE The site of Federal Hall National Memorial commemorates the history and development of New York City and early America. Erected to serve as the City Hall of New York in 1699, the original Federal Hall was the seat of New York City government until 1783, during the British Colonial period. The original structure was the location of momentous events including the John Peter Zenger libel trial and the gathering of representatives of the British Colonies for the Stamp Act Congress in 1765, a catalyst of the American Revolutionary War. New York City was the seat of the national legislature and the nation’s capital from 1785 to 1790, and Federal Hall became the nation’s first capitol building. The structure was remodeled and repaired, employing a federal architectural style designed by Pierre L’Enfant. It was the first example of this style of architecture in the United States. The newly remodeled structure served as the home of the Federal Government until Washington D.C. was designated the capital of the United States in 1790. Although it was home to the Federal government for a brief period of time, the momentous events that transpired at the site are