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The long anticipated opening of Hamilton Grange National Memorial is upon
us. This Saturday, September 17 at noon, which is Constitution Day, the
National Park Service will open the Grange to the public. With you we will
celebrate the opening of Hamilton’s ‘sweet project’ this weekend with
music, living history demonstrations, rangers talks and lectures. You can
find the full schedule of events on the attached flyer.
We look forward to welcoming you to the ‘new’ Grange! Below is the schedule for this weekend. Come out and celebrate this historic event!
Saturday, September 16th
Main Stage
12:00 PM: Caribbean Music
1:00 PM: The 1st Rhode Island
2:00 PM: Music of the American Colonies
3:00 PM: Alexander Hamilton
4:00 PM: Rose and Ceser: The African-American experience
Throughout the Day
Hamilton Garden at Convent Ave. Living History
1st Rhode Island Cooper
5th Field Artillery Regiment
Chocolate Maker
Colonial Music
Rose and Ceser: The African-American experience
Weaver
Blacksmith
Colonial Games and Military “Sounds Along The Manor” is an interactive sound installation by art-ist Abigail Simon. Experience sounds from the past with “QR” codes posted at five different locations on the Grange grounds and at the former site on Convent Ave.
• • • • • • • •
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From Darren Boch from National Park Service
The beauty of Alexander Hamilton’s “sweet project,” the Grange, is now
clearly apparent. The balustrades on the roof and porch roofs are finished
and in place. The chimneys have all been restored and the functional
shutters have been hung. The special plaster finish on the ground level is
done and the house has a fresh coat of paint in preparation for its grand
re-opening on Sept. 17, 2011. On that day, tours inside the home will be
open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis around 12:00 noon.
(Full opening weekend program announcement to follow in the next update.)
Inside, the mirrored doors in the dining room have been re-installed
following restoration work that replaced the missing glass. Much of the
interior painting is finished and replicas of historic furnishings will
soon be placed in the appropriate rooms. The restored historic staircase
has been fully installed and stained.
Additionally, the installation of the exhibits is nearly complete. The
exhibits follow Alexander Hamilton’s life from his boyhood in the
Caribbean, through his move to New York and subsequent enlistment in the
Continental Army during the American Revolution, to his meteoric rise to
national prominence and his untimely death in the duel with Aaron Burr. The
work in the visitor welcome station is also nearly finished and will boast
an electronic information display as well as a small bookstore.
The theater, which will show a film about Hamilton’s life, is nearing
completion. Sliding doors separate the theater from the main exhibition
space. The theater doubles as an interpretive space, illustrating how the
original ground floor (lost during the first move in 1889) was used as
domestic space, and housed the Grange’s kitchen. The sketch on the back
wall of the theater shows the outline of the type of kitchen fireplace that
would have been used for cooking most of the meals served at the Grange
during the Hamilton family’s time there.
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Below is an update of the Hamilton Grange by Darren Boch from the National Park Service.
The fine work of restoring the Grange to its former glory continues apace,
and we’re well on our way to a grand opening on September 17. See the
pictures below for some of the recent work and meet just a few of the
people who are lovingly and painstakingly working to ensure that the Grange
meets the high standards of its original owner, Alexander Hamilton.
The first level of shutters can be seen on the eastern piazza (side porch)
of the Grange. The rest of the functional shutters are scheduled to be
installed in the coming weeks.
The historic front door of the Grange, complete with transom and sidelights
was lovingly restored by the National Park Service’s Northeast Regional
Architectural Preservation Engineering and Maintenance office and has been
re-installed at the Grange.
Sean O’Keefe, preservation craftsman with the National Park Service, scores
a fresh layer of stucco on the ground floor of the Grange to create the
illusion of stone blocks. This is the same technique that was used when the
Grange was first constructed.
Greg Law, senior preservation specialist with the National Park Service,
works on the re-constructed banister of the staircase at the Grange. While
much of the staircase is original to the house, the stairs were
reconfigured to a new shape following the Grange’s first move in 1889 and
pieces of it were altered to accommodate the new configuration and other
pieces were lost. In restoring the staircase to its original shape, the
restoration team was able to incorporate some of the original, but altered
pieces back into the finished stairs. Two of those pieces are the
balustrades marked by blue painter’s tape.
A member of the team from the National Park Service’s Northeast Regional
Architectural Preservation Engineering and Maintenance office applies steam
to a piece of trim destined for a curving portion the Grange’s main
staircase. Steaming the piece in combination with other techniques allows
it to bend to fit the place where it will go but still maintain its
structure and strength.
After getting itself “ironed out,” a piece of trim (top) is test fitted
into the well of the staircase at the Grange.
Naomi Kroll Hassebroek, architectural conservator with the National Park
Service, gently sprays primer onto the cornice in the dining room of the
Grange. Kroll Hassebroek’s work began with her and a team of interns
removing 200 years worth of paint from the cornices using modern stripping
agents, steam and dental tools to reveal the intricate details of the
plaster moldings. Once the final coat of paint goes on, the white cornice
moldings will stand out against the dining room’s yellow walls as they did
when Alexander Hamilton lived at the Grange.The fine work of restoring the Grange to its former glory continues apace, and we’re well on our way to a grand opening on September 17. See the
pictures above for some of the recent work and meet just a few of the
people who are lovingly and painstakingly working to ensure that the Grange
meets the high standards of its original owner, Alexander Hamilton.
Posted in community, Hamilton Grange | 1 Comment »
“Friends of St. Nicholas Park” along with “Shades of Gold” Presents Sisters United in the Park! A day of unity through fitness activities, Bonding exercises, motivational/educational speakers, networking and much MORE!!!
Additional Details coming soon!
We are looking for Talented/Creative artists who are interested in vending for this event.
If you would like to sponsor and or volunteer for this event please contact: info@stnicholaspark.org
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Input is sought on the former Grange site on Convent Avenue
The National Park Service recently published an Amendment to the Hamilton Grange National Memorial General Management Plan. The Amendment focuses on alternatives for development that will guide long-term management of the NPS property at 287 Convent Avenue, former site of Hamilton Grange. The Amendment is available for review at local libraries and at
http://parkplanning.nps.gov/HamiltonGrangeGMPA-EA. Public comment on the Amendment will be accepted until June 20, 2011. Comments may be submitted in writing to the Superintendent, Hamilton Grange NM, 26 Wall Street, New York, NY 10005, or via online at the planning site referenced above. Additionally, the NPS is hosting a public meeting on the Amendment where the public will have the opportunity to ask questions and make comments on the alternatives presented in the plan. The meeting will be held on June 1, 2011 from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM at The Harlem School of the Arts, 645 St. Nicholas Avenue, New York, NY 10030.
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This is an update from Darren Boch of the National Parks Service:
The National Park Service (NPS) is planning to reopen Hamilton Grange National Memorial to the public beginning this September 17. The
Grange has been closed to the public for nearly five years, going through a
move and an “extreme makeover” designed to make Alexander Hamilton’s ‘Sweet Project’ look and feel as welcoming to us as it did to Hamilton and his family when they moved in in 1802. As we get closer to the opening date, details for the opening celebration will be released.
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