An archival image of Hamilton Height's prime historic Convent Avenue block of townhouses from circa 1891 shows the gated 13 Trees plot of Alexander Hamilton. The photo from the New York Public Library was a gift from Randall Comfort, reveals that the trees symbolized the original 13 states and that they were on the south west corner of 143rd Street. These beloved trees that grew in front of the original location of the Hamilton Grange do not have much else written about them except for the fact that they were chopped down sometimes in 1908. A prewar apartment building stands on the corner today and the row of townhouse seen in the photo are one of the most notable ones in all of Harlem.
Photo courtesy NYPL
Absolutely amazing that you should have found this. I heard that the Hamilton Grange will open on Sept. 17th.
ReplyDeleteTHEY WERE 13 SWEET GUM TREES, BROUGHT AS SAPLINGS FROM MOUNT VERNON BY HAMILTON. WITH STAR-SHAPED LEAVES, THEY WERE MEANT TO BE EMBLEMATIC OF OUR NEW NATION GROWING, FLOURISHING, TOGETHER. EVEN AS EARLY AS 1889, WHEN THE GRANGE WAS MOVED, SEVERAL HAD ALREADY DIED...
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