{"id":59420,"date":"2018-02-04T13:12:46","date_gmt":"2018-02-04T17:12:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/?p=59420"},"modified":"2025-09-02T00:23:44","modified_gmt":"2025-09-02T04:23:44","slug":"presidents-day-in-new-york-city-a-tour-de-presidents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/59420\/presidents-day-in-new-york-city-a-tour-de-presidents\/","title":{"rendered":"President’s Day in New York City: A Tour de Presidents"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many U.S. Presidents continue to leave their mark on the Big Apple in one way or another. On this President\u2019s Day, follow in their footsteps by visiting still standing buildings and visual reminders commemorating their historic links.\u00a0 You can even don your period attire and head to Washington’s Birthday Ball. Walk your normal commuter route with new eyes, learning which locations are connected to U.S. presidents and what backstories they have to teach.<\/p>\n

George Washington<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"Morris-Jumel

Though Washington\u2019s Continental Army was not successful in battles within New York City \u2013 British forces maintained control until the war was over \u2013 you can still see where Washington made some major decisions. Start in Washington Heights at the Morris-Jumel Mansion<\/a>, which was used by Washington and his officers as a headquarters during the autumn of 1776.<\/p>\n

Head downtown to learn more about his post-war life. In what\u2019s now the Financial District, Washington said goodbye to his officers inside Fraunces Tavern<\/a> on December 4, 1783.<\/p>\n

Moving toward Wall Street, Washington would take the oath of office on the second-floor balcony of National Federal Hal<\/a>l on his Inauguration Day on April 30, 1789. The original Federal Hall was torn down in 1812, after the government moved to Washington, D.C., and what\u2019s there nowadays is a Greek revival style building that was finished three decades later.<\/p>\n

After his inauguration, Washington went to church services at St. Paul\u2019s Chapel, a chapel of the parish of Trinity Church. Additionally, it’s the site of one of the earliest paintings of the Great Seal of the United States.<\/p>\n

Abraham Lincoln<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"abraham

While Lincoln got his start in New York City, his end also marked New York City’s streets. Following his assassination, Lincoln\u2019s body was brought on a funeral procession in New York City and laid in state at City Hall in April 24, 1865. Tours of City Hall are offered on weekdays.<\/p>\n

Among the crowds of people watching the funeral procession that day is said to be a 6-year-old Teddy Roosevelt, looking on from his grandparents’ home near Union Square.\u00a0In Union Square Park, find a status of Lincoln near the park\u2019s north end. Other ways to see Lincoln include statues Grand Army Plaza and Prospect Plaza, both in Brooklyn.<\/p>\n

Ulysses S. Grant<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"general

Teddy Roosevelt<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"teddy

Another location connected to Teddy’s youth is in the Bronx. Wave Hill<\/a>, now a public garden and cultural center, was where Teddy and his family rented this once country property during the summers of 1870 and 1871. Apparently, this place helped to install within a pre-teen Teddy his love for nature and the outdoors.<\/p>\n

Franklin Delano Roosevelt<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"FDR

A fifth cousin once removed to Teddy, Franklin Delano Roosevelt also has his place within New York City. On the Upper East Side, the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College<\/a> is a double townhouse that was given to FDR and Eleanor by Franklin\u2019s mother, Sara Delano Roosevelt. Franklin and Eleanor and their two young children, Anna and James, lived the brownstone No. 49, while Sara settled into the No. 47 residence. This co-living space would be where FDR began his political career (his resume also lists New York State Senator and later Governor of New York before becoming president) and got back on track after losing his ability to walk due to polio in 1921.<\/p>\n

The Roosevelts were very sociable with their neighbor, Hunter College. When the double home was put up for sale in 1941, a nonprofit consortium connected to the college agreed to buy it; Eleanor attended its re-opening as a Hunter building in November 1943. Today, the public can see the Roosevelts\u2019 former home via guided tours; advance reservations recommended.<\/p>\n

On Roosevelt Island, the Franklin D.\u00a0Roosevelt\u00a0Four Freedoms Park<\/a> was built as a memorial based on late president\u2019s January 6, 1941 \u201cState of the Union\u201d address that\u2019s also known as his \u201cFour Freedoms\u201d speech. The park contains a granite fixture chiseled with these noted quotes. It also includes a signature-sized bust of FDR and overall carries a naval theme that is connected to FDR\u2019s love for the sea (he was also once assistant secretary of the navy). The park has seating areas and great waterside views.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>John F. Kennedy<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"carlyle

Photo Credits: Wally Gobetz<\/a>, NPS, Michele Herrmann and The Carlyle, A Rosewood Hotel<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many U.S. Presidents continue to leave their mark on the Big Apple in one way or another. On this President\u2019s Day, follow in their footsteps by visiting still standing buildings and visual reminders commemorating their historic links.\u00a0 You can even don your period attire and head to Washington’s Birthday Ball. Walk your normal commuter route […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":59428,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[325,831,224,327,320,829,315,834,769,841,754,1057,847,1],"tags":[40,293,483,48,110,175,473],"class_list":{"0":"post-59420","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"category-architecture-culture-2","9":"category-arts","10":"category-bronx-outer-boroughs-destination","11":"category-brooklyn-outer-boroughs-destination","12":"category-culture-2","13":"category-day-trips","14":"category-gardens-culture-2","15":"category-historic-sites-culture","16":"category-holidays-culture-2","17":"category-manhattan-2","18":"category-museums-culture-2","19":"category-tours-culture-2","20":"category-uncategorized","21":"tag-art","22":"tag-budget-friendly","23":"tag-family-friendly","24":"tag-historical-site","25":"tag-historical-sites","26":"tag-subway","27":"tag-views"},"acf":[],"mv":{"thumbnail_id":59428,"thumbnail_uri":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Four-Freedoms-LIK-2543-350x197.jpg"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59420","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59420"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59420\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59428"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}