New York City is famous for many things, including its monuments and memorials. It's rich history as a port for immigration, revolutionary battles and the birthplace of presidents shaped the entire country, and there any many memorials and sites dedicated to these.
Possibly the most famous American monument, the Statue of Liberty was actually made in France. France built the statue as a gift to America and shipped it in 1885. It was dedicated in New York in October of 1886. The idea for the statue was Edouard de Laboulaye's, who was impressed by America's practice of democracy and its recent abolition of slavery. The full name of the statue is "Statue of Liberty: Liberty Enlightening the World," a reflection of de Laboulaye's wish for French democracy.
This church was used as a hospital during the Revolutionary War, and has a cemetery which has headstones dating back to the early 1700s. The church building was constructed in 1763, upgrading what had been a smaller wooden building. The building was not complete until after America had gained its independence, and did not get the name of St. Paul's until 1795.
Before New York had its name, the settlement was named New Amsterdam. In the current area of Lower Manhattan, which was just outside New Amsterdam, the Africans who had been brought to America would bury their dead. This burial ground was only discovered thanks to modern office construction. Anthropologists were able to identify the remains as African due to details such as filed teeth and jewellery. There is now a memorial dedicated to the 15,000 Africans buried on the grounds. This was designated a national monument in 2006.
Hamilton Grange is named after founding father Alexander Hamilton, and was the only house he ever owned after moving to New York from the West Indies. As of January 2011, The Grange is being moved to Saint Nicholas Park in New York, and will fully reopen sometime in 2011. The Grange was finished in 1802, only two years before Hamilton was killed. The home was designed by John McComb Jr. in upper Manhattan, intended to be a "Federal style country home."
