The Hamilton Fish House, also known as the Stuyvesant Fish House and Nicholas and Elizabeth Stuyvesant Fish House, is where

Hamilton Fish Hamilton Fish (August 3, 1808September 7, 1893) was an American statesman who served as the sixteenth governor of New York from 1849 to 1850, a United States senator from New York from 1851 to 1857, and the 26th U.S. secretary of state from ...

(1808–93), later Governor and Senator of New York, was born and resided from 1808 to 1838. It is at 21

Stuyvesant Street Stuyvesant Street is one of the oldest streets in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It runs diagonally from 9th Street at Third Avenue to 10th Street near Second Avenue, all within the East Village, Manhattan, neighborhood. The majo ...

, a diagonal street within the

Manhattan street grid The Commissioners' Plan of 1811 was the original design for the streets of Manhattan above Houston Street and below 155th Street, which put in place the rectangular grid plan of streets and lots that has defined Manhattan on its march uptown ...

, between 9th and 10th Streets in the East Village neighborhood of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. It is owned by

Cooper Union The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, commonly known as Cooper Union, is a private college on Cooper Square in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-s ...

and used as a residence for the college's president.

History

The brick

Federal style Federal-style architecture is the name for the classical architecture built in the United States following the American Revolution between 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815, which was influenced heavily by the works of And ...

house, which was unusually wide for its time, p.173 was built by Peter Stuyvesant, the great-grandson of

Petrus Stuyvesant Peter Stuyvesant ( – August 1672)Mooney, James E. "Stuyvesant, Peter" in p.1256 was a Dutch colonial administrator who served as the director-general of New Netherland from 1647 to 1664, when the colony was provisionally ceded to the King ...

, around 1804 as a wedding present to his daughter, Elizabeth, and his son-in-law,

Nicholas Fish Nicholas Fish (August 28, 1758 – June 20, 1833) was an American Revolutionary War soldier. He was the first Adjutant General of New York. Early life Fish was born on August 28, 1758, into a wealthy New York City family. He was the son of Jo ...

, parents of Hamilton., p.67 It was one of five houses owned by the family on their private lane. The land had been the property of the family since the 17th century. The house remained in the hands of

Fish family The Fish family is a prominent American family, members of which became influential in politics, diplomacy, and business. The family is of English origin and is descended from Jonathan Fish (1615–1663), who was born in East Farndon, Northamptons ...

descendants until roughly the turn of the 20th century. It served for a time as a rooming house thereafter before undergoing restoration in the 1960s. The house was designated a

New York City landmark The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and c ...

in 1965, and was declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

in 1975. It also lies within the

New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the Government of New York City, New York City agency charged with administering the city's Historic preservation, Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting Ne ...

St. Mark's Historic District St. Mark's Historic District is a historic district located in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. The district was designated a city landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1969, and it was ex ...

which surrounds the nearby

St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery is a parish of the Episcopal Church at 131 East 10th Street (near Stuyvesant Street and Second Avenue) in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. The property has been the site of continuo ...

. The house is of national significance as the only surviving home of Fish, who served as Secretary of State during the administration of President

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...

. Fish successfully negotiated the 1871 Treaty of Washington with

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

, ushering in a period of peace and cooperation between the two countries.

References

Notes

External links

*
American Memory from the Library of Congress

National Register of Historical Places Application

Landmarks Preservation Commission Notes from 1965
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fish, Hamilton, House 1804 establishments in New York (state) Cooper Union East Village, Manhattan Federal architecture in New York City Houses completed in 1804 Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan National Historic Landmarks in Manhattan New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan 1800s architecture in the United States

History

See also

References

External links