Hamilton's House: Hamilton Grange National Memorial
The Hamilton Grange Memorial in Manhattan served as Alexander Hamilton's home estate for the last few years of his life. The estate now serves as a memorial in tribute to Hamilton.
When Alexander Hamilton lived in Harlem, it was a "quiet, rural neighborhood", as is depicted in the song "Quiet Uptown". However as more and more people continued to immigrate to New York the roads were expanded uptown. "In 1889, a real estate developer saved The Grange from being destroyed to make way for 143rd Street. The building was donated to St. Luke's Episcopal Church and was moved a block away to Convent Avenue at 142nd Street". In 1962 the National Park Service acquired The Grange which was now tightly stuffed between two buildings. "The Park Service agreed to take ownership of The Grange, with the stipulation that it be allowed to move the building to a place where it could be properly restored. In 2008, the building was moved to its current location on 141st Street, a project which involved lifting it 30 feet into the air over a portion of the church".
Now, the memorial serves as a place for the community to connect and celebrate the life of alexander Hamilton. As a part of the National Park Service, the Hamilton Grange Memorial offers oppurtunities for the community to get involved with the taking care of the memorial. For example, children are able to volunteer at the memorial as "Junior Rangers". This program allows children to learn about the importance of protecting memorials like the Hamilton Grange Memorial.
At the memorial, vistitors are able to experience a "permanent exhibit gallery covering some of the major events in Alexander Hamilton's life" as well as watch "A brief film highlighting Alexander Hamilton's life in our 25-seat theater". The memorial aims to educate visitors on Hamilton's daily life by maintaining the look and feel of the orginal home, including the house's gardens, while also providing visitors with direct historical information. The memorial also hosts informative tours that are often taken by school groups and other visitors. According to the website, the memorial is experiencing higher traffic than usual and therefore asks that visitors only arrive thrity minutes before the start of their tour. We can assume that this increase in foot traffic is because of the muscial, which caused a surge of interest in Hamilton in 2015. Prior to the musical, for instnace in 2008 when the house was moved and restored to its' current location, it can be assumed that the memorial was not as common an attraction. Now, however it is extremely popular.