(Revised September 2015) Below is the dining room of the only real house Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804) ever knew , a place he called The Grange, built in the bucolic countryside of Harlem Heights north of what was then New York City. Hamilton Grange, operated by the National Park Service, commemorates the life of this influential Founding Father. The Federal Style house is located just off W. 141st Street between St. Nicholas Avenue and Convent Avenue. In spite of the fake grapes and fake roses, it was here in this room that Hamilton started to come to life for me. He was an ambitious, stubborn and argumentative man, with a cold command of policy. But rather not so great in politics. I imagined him sitting at the head of this table, bantering with his children, arguing about the nation's finances with guests, or telling stories about George Washington. As I learned in the ranger-guided tour of the house on Sunday, he had to watch his own finances. He cut
A strolling guide to New York City by Teri Tynes