New York City - Trinity Church

Lower Manhattan has so much history, dating back to the 1600s when the Dutch established a fort in what is now Battery Park. It is a fascinating area to walk around, with old historic buildings sitting right next to imposing modern glass skyscrapers.



After we got off the ferry from Ellis Island, we walked over to Fraunces Tavern for lunch and some drinks.



The tavern is in a building that was constructed as a house in 1719. The house would later be turned into a tavern in 1762, and it would become an important landmark during the Revolutionary years. George Washington used it as his headquarters. British officers were overheard toasting to Benedict Arnold here, which lead to the discovery that he was a traitor. And then after the war, when New York served as the US capitol, the tavern housed the offices of finance, war and foreign affairs. The building was almost torn down in 1900 and replaced with a parking lot, but luckily it was preserved and is still open for food and drinks. 



From there we walked down Wall Street, with its mix of tourists and fancy business people.



And then we walked over to Trinity Church. The first Trinity Church was built here in 1698, but it was destroyed during a massive fire that swept through the city in 1776. The church was rebuilt in 1790, but it was damaged during storms in 1838. Construction on the current Trinity Church was completed in 1846, and it held the title of being the country's tallest building until 1869.



The church is surrounded by a small cemetery, which has the graves of many prominent early New Yorkers. The cemetery has probably also gotten a lot of visitors in the last ten years because it's also the final resting place of many of the people featured in the play Hamilton, including Alexander Hamilton, Eliza Hamilton, Phillip Hamilton, Angelica Schuyler Church, and Hercules Mulligan.



Next to Eliza Hamilton's grave was a handwritten letter from a bunch of school kids. They left several remarks for Eliza, including ones that said: "May you always be satisfied." And there was also "Dear Eliza, contradulations on opening the first private children's orphanage in New York City! you're awesome !! :)" Then there was "Dear Eliza, He didn't deserve you, diva :)" But there was one that read: "Dearest Eliza, Sucks you died. Quite the bummer." Which does seem like an odd thing to leave at someone's grave, but then again you have no control of who lives, who dies, and who tells your story.



The cemetery ground were a peaceful place to explore, a quiet refuge within the busy city that surrounds it.









And then a quick view of the interior, which is absolutely beautiful:



And finally, for a fun little comparison, we walked by Trinity in 2006 when we visited during a massive blizzard. Here's the view of it way back then: