During the weekend of June 7th, the National Park Service literally moved the home of Alexander Hamilton, known as the Hamilton Grange National Memorial, two blocks over to the hillside corner of St. Nicholas Park. 

The federal style country home built by the architect, John McComb Jr., was completed in 1802 and named "The Grange" after the Hamilton family's ancestral home in Scotland. Though this is not the first time that the Hamilton Grange has moved…in 1889 it was moved from its original location in upper Manhattan to Convent Avenue. The decision to relocate the home once again stemmed from the neighboring buildings that sandwiched the Grange and towered above it. Alexander Hamilton's "Country Home" on the Move in New York City

The missing original entranceway, the front and back porches and other architectural features are to be restored when the house reopens in the fall. Although there is some controversy over the move (Moving the Grange, and Twisting It Around, Too) it will finally be visible from all four sides for the first time in 119 years, as well as the grounds of St. Nicholas Park were once part of Hamilton’s estate, meaning that there is a 200-year-old connection between the building and its new setting.

Alexander Hamilton was a Founding Father, served in the Revolutionary War, the first Secretary of the Treasury, founded the Bank of New York and The New York Post, as well as his face graces the U.S. $10 dollar bill. He was shot and killed in a duel with Aaron Burr in 1804 (reminds me of that Got Milk? commercial).

To see a video of the move of the Hamilton Grange go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scWWFnO0VkY For additional reading: The designation report for the Hamilton Grange by the Landmarks Preservation Commission: http://www.neighborhoodpreservationcenter.org/db/bb_files/HAMILTON-GRANGE.pdf ‘Hamilton Grange’. By Raymond H. Torrey. In: “Scenic & Historic America”. April 1934, vol. 3, pg. 3-28. For books about the Hamilton-Burr duel go to the Library's online catalog.