Two years ago today, I was in the room where it happens! I was lucky enough to see the original Broadway cast of Hamilton: An American Musical on January 6, 2016 at the Richard Rodgers Theater in New York City. After having listened to the cast recording non-stop since September 2015, it was exhilarating to finally see the talented cast perform in person. It’s definitely an experience I will never forget! I had a front-barricade spot for that evening’s Ham4Ham show, as well as staking out a prime location at the Stage Door for star sightings and autographs.
With my #Hamilversary on my mind today, it also had me reminiscing about this past summer when I traveled to NYC with Townie #2 (older daughter) for a self-styled “Hamilton History Tour” and surprised her with tickets to see the show!
I was able to do much of the planning for our trip with the following guide: Where Was The Room Where It Happened: The Unofficial Hamilton: An American Musical Location Guide, by B.L. Barreras. (Available from Amazon: http://bit.ly/wherewastheroom)
This compact little guide book was chock-full of insights and helpful tidbits about all things Hamilton related in the New York City area. I highly recommend ordering a copy if you’re thinking of creating your own Hamilton History Tour.
Our tour started with macarons. Yes, macarons! After getting settled in our amazing room at The Library Hotel (299 Madison Avenue, www.libraryhotel.com) we grabbed an Uber down to NoHo for the best macarons ever from Lafayette Cafe and Bakery at 380 Lafayette Street (http://lafayetteny.com/). (Come on, admit it…every time you read the name Lafayette, you are saying it in your head just like in “Guns and Ships” from the musical…LAFAYETTE!) I discovered the Lafayette Cafe in 2016 when Mr. On the Town and I were in the city for an off-broadway show, and we had a lovely lunch there. I admit the connection of macarons to a Hamilton history tour is nil, but they are delicious, and the name connotation was enough for me. (The Lafayette and Birthday Cake macarons are the best ones!)
The location of the Lafayette Cafe and Bakery is also notable due to its proximity to The Public Theater (425 Lafayette Street, https://www.publictheater.org/ ). The Public Theater is where Hamilton: An American Musical first premiered off-broadway, so we paused there for a quick photo-op. (And mused with envy at all the people who were lucky enough to see it in that intimate theater setting!)
Next on our tour was a stop at Trinity Church (75 Broadway, https://www.trinitywallstreet.org/). We admired the beautiful architecture of this 300 + year old church and talked with the friendly person at the information desk inside. He gave us a helpful map which showed the locations of Alexander Hamilton’s resting place (pictured above), as well as Eliza’s, Angelica’s (I hate to break it to you, but she’s *not* literally buried near him like Eliza sings in “Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story”), and other notable Hamilton related historical figures.
After a ramble down Broadway with a quick stop at the Fearless Girl statue for another photo-op, we made our way to The Fraunces Tavern (54 Pearl Street, http://www.frauncestavernmuseum.org/). The Fraunces Tavern is the likely true-life location for the scene depicted in “Aaron Burr, Sir” (I’m John Laurens in the place to be…) Historically speaking, the tavern served as a headquarters for George Washington and is known as the location where Washington bid farewell to his troops (think “One LastTime”…the speech he dictated to Hamilton in that song was given at the Fraunces Tavern).
The Fraunces Tavern is both restaurant and museum. The first floor is an authentic colonial tavern that’s been in operation since 1762, and the upstairs and building next door house a vibrant museum filled with Revolutionary War and George Washington memorabilia. We toured the museum first and then enjoyed a delicious dinner.
After dinner we continued our stroll through the Financial District, with a stop at Federal Hall National Memorial, as well as a visit to 57 Maiden Lane, the former location of Thomas Jefferson’s NYC home (the meeting Burr sings about in “The Room Where it Happens” was located here). Unfortunately, Jefferson’s house is long gone, replaced by an ubiquitous NYC skyscraper, but there is a plaque to commemorate the location.
Day two started early with another Uber ride, this time north to Hamilton Grange, Alexander Hamilton’s New York home (409 W. 141st Street, https://www.nps.gov/hagr/index.htm). This historic home is owned and managed by the National Park service. Admission to the site is free. The most important thing to know about Hamilton Grange is that tours are available on a first come first served basis only. Ranger-led tours happen at 10am, 11am, 2pm, and 4pm on Wednesdays through Sundays. I definitely recommend arriving *at least* 30 minutes prior to whatever tour time you are interested in. We visited the Grange first thing on Wednesday morning. While waiting for our tour, I sprung the surprise of our afternoon tickets to the musical to Townie #2. You can see below the moment of surprise, followed by the excitement and delight!
After a quick lunch and time to refresh back at the Library Hotel, we made our way to the Richard Rodgers Theater for the show! Seeing Hamilton after being immersed in the history of the show for two days gave us a greater appreciation of the scenes and the characters.
The Ham4Ham shows had since gone digital, so we didn’t have that experience, but we did walk by the stage door just in time for me to snap a photo of James Monroe Iglehart, our Lafayette/Jefferson. Theater-loving Townie #2 is looking forward to future trips to New York City for more shows and more fun!
