Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
adult/child $12/free, 4-8pm Wed free;
10am-5:45pm Sun-Tue & Thu, to 8pm Wed, to 5pm Fri Apr-Sep, to 3pm Fri
Oct-Mar;
4/5 to Bowling Green)
5
Federal Hall
MUSEUM
A Greek Revival masterpiece, Federal Hall houses a museum dedicated to postcolonial
New York. Exhibition themes include George Washington's inauguration, Alexander
Hamilton's relationship with the city and the struggles of John Peter Zenger, who was
jailed, tried and acquitted of libel here for exposing government corruption in his newspa-
per. There's also a visitor information hall which covers downtown cultural happenings.
(
www.nps.gov/feha
; 26 Wall St, entrance on Pine St; admission free;
9am-5pm Mon-Fri;
J/Z to Broad St, 2/3,
4/5 to Wall St)
Understand
Building Lady Liberty
One of America's most powerful symbols of kinship and freedom, 'Liberty Enlightening the World' was a joint
effort between America and France to commemorate the centennial of the Declaration of Independence. It was
created by commissioned sculptor Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi. The artist spent most of 20 years turning his
dream - to create the hollow monument and mount it in the New York Harbor - into reality. Bartholdi's work on
the statue was delayed by structural challenges - a problem resolved by the metal framework mastery of railway
engineer Gustave Eiffel (of, yes, the famous tower). The work of art was finally completed in France in 1884. It
was shipped to NYC as 350 pieces packed into 214 crates, reassembled over a span of four months and placed
on a US-made granite pedestal. Its spectacular October 1886 dedication included New York's first ticker-tape
parade and a flotilla of almost 300 vessels. The monument made it onto the UN's list of World Heritage Sites in
1984.
6
New York Stock Exchange
NOTABLE BUILDING
GOOGLE MAP
Home to the world's best-known stock exchange (the NYSE), 11 Wall St is an iconic sym-
bol of US capitalism. About one billion shares change hands daily behind the portentous
Romanesque facade, a sight no longer accessible to the public due to security concerns.
