Hamilton Grange on the Street

South side of Hamilton Grange, unseen since 1889
  North Side of Hamilton Grange, unseen since 1911

New home

There's been a lot of progress in getting Hamilton Grange, Alexander Hamilton's last residence, ready to move to its new home since my March visit.  The house is currently sitting in the middle of Convent Ave. awaiting the move to St. Nicholas Park this coming Saturday.  To get into the street the house had to be lifted 35 feet to get over the porch of the church next door.  The house was being lowered to near street level when I visited on Thursday.  I was part of an exclusive tour, complete with an ultra-secret password!

The house will be placed on nine dollies and rolled down Convent Ave, make the turn onto 141st St. before being wheeled into St. Nicholas Park.  Hamilton Terrace, the hill the house now sits on is rather steep, so the move could be exciting!  The fun begins at 7 a.m. on Saturday.  Too bad I'll be out of town.

Comments

[Melissa]

This whole picking up and moving a house thing is so strange to me. Not so much if someone is still living in it, but for historical preservation it's a bit odd to me. I'd think part of the history is where it *really* started, not just the structure itself.

Hope the move goes well.

[Marie C.]

I was worried about how they would get it past that porch. Now I'm worried about how they're going to get it past all those obstacles onto the new foundation.

[cheryl]

If the south side was last painted in the 1880's, the paint held well. And I can't believe they built the brick building SO CLOSE to that house! Kind of wrecked their view.

[Joe]

This isn't the original location of the house. It was originally located a block or two away, nobody is really sure. The house was given to St. Luke's and moved to the Convent Ave location in the 1880s. St. Luke's then built the church right next door. The house served various church purposes until it was sold to a historical society in the 1920s (30s?), so nobody has lived in it for more than a century. The lack of a view and the missing porches were a couple of prime reasons for the new move.