Tragic losses for American cultural heritage right here. Most people know the tragic story of Penn Station of how the most beautiful train station on the planet was destroyed and replaced with one of the most hated train stations in the world. (Though it has improved in recent years). The story of Federal Hall is a similar story. The building was the first home of the U.S. Federal government under the Constitution and hosted the inauguration of George Washington and the first U.S. Congress. The Bill of Rights was introduced and voted on by Congress there along with many other key laws of the early republic. The original building was tragically and shortsightedly demolished in 1812 and replaced with a small brick customs house. The current Federal Hall was built in 1842 and it is a beautiful and historic building in its own right that now houses a National Park Service run museum. Still it’s tragic that the original Federal Hall was not preserved to the present. If it had been preserved it would probably loom a lot larger in the American imagination like Independence Hall down in Philadelphia. On the other hand the fact that the current building is still beautiful and historical probably keeps the story from looming as large as a historical preservation failure as Penn Station. Did you know about these historic buildings?