American Presidents in New York

It Happened Here: American Presidents in New York

Every American President passed through New York City. Some were born here such as Theodore Roosevelt. Some lived here including Herbert Hoover who spent his post Presidential years residing in the Presidential Suite at the Waldorf Astoria. Some were married here. In 1844, for instance, John Tyler wed Julia Gardiner at the Church of the Ascension on 5th Avenue & 10th Street. Some worked here. Chester Arthur practiced law in New York first before he was appointed the Collector of the Port of New York, a position which actually paid more than the presidency. Some received medical care here. Grover Cleveland was operated on for cancer of the jaw on a yacht off of Pier A. Some like Ulysses S Grant went bankrupt here. Some launched their candidacy here. Abraham Lincoln gave the famous speech at Cooper Union that launched his candidacy and sadly returned a few years later in a casket to City Hall to terminate it. The appropriate place to celebrate President’s Day is, of course, Federal Hall, our first capital whose balcony was the site of Washington’s inauguration.

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Image - George Washington’s oath of office as the first president of the United States © Currier & Ives, Museum of the City of New York

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