Alexander Hamilton commissioned this house to be built in 1800 and it was finished by 1802. At the time, the house was in an open area of Manhattan, New York City, with no houses around it. The house had a beautiful view of the Hudson river. Although this was Hamilton's house for only 2 years (he was shot in a duel with Aaron Burr), his family lived here for several decades after he passed away. As a Federalist Style home, it stood out as one of the biggest mansions in the area. Alexander called the making of this house his "sweet project" and was very involved in the planning and designing of it. This house has an interesting and very unique history though. In 1889, the Greenwich Village parish of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church bought the land that The Grange was on and wanted to move the house. Yes, they moved the entire house! Well everything except the barn and the old kitchen, those things got left behind. In 2008, the National Park Service decided that the house should be put back into an area that is more like the original context. I think it is so interesting that they moved the entire house! And now they have moved it to a park where it's in an open space. A lot of effort is being put into restoring the house. I think it will be wonderful to look at this house how it might have looked for the two short years while Hamilton lived in it.
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