Office of the Secretary

For Immediate Release: October 12, 2001

Contact: Edie Shean-Hammond
215-597-7989 (NPS)
or John Wright 202-208-6416 (DOI)

Wall Street's Federal Hall Will Reopen to the Public

(WASHINGTON) - Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton today announced that Federal Hall National Memorial on Wall Street will reopen to the public on Monday, Oct. 15.

Just three blocks from the site of the World Trade Center, the doors of 26 Wall St. will reopen at 9 a.m. for the first time since the Sept. 11 terrorist attack. A refuge for those fleeing the attack on that day, the Federal Hall National Memorial preserves the place where our nation's founders implemented our Constitution, where the U.S. Congress first met, and where George Washington took the first presidential oath of office.

"I'm happy to report that through the pain and the rubble, America's Federal Hall has survived and is ready for business," Secretary Norton said. "Federal Hall continues to be a beacon for people around the world to witness the strength of democracy and America."

The National Park Service, an agency of the Interior Department, manages the national memorial. On Sept. 11, the place where Washington once walked sheltered more than 200 people from falling debris and choking dust. National Park Service employees dispensed bottled water, and rolls of tissue became bandages for the injured.

The seismic force of the World Trade Center's fall caused a tiny, hairline crack in Federal Hall's foundation to swell to more than a half and inch. During the past month, the NPS has cleaned the debris from the Hall and improved security.

The Hall will be open daily from 9 to 5, Monday through Friday, free of charge. Visitors

can enjoy a film and other educational programming.

-DOI-