Editing Federal Hall (section)

==== Design and construction ====
The Congress of the Confederation still needed a permanent structure, and the New York City Council and mayor [[James Duane]] wished for the city to be the United States capital. Private citizens and the government of New York City contributed $65,000 toward the renovation of the old City Hall.<ref name="History in the House 1985 p. 19">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EI9NAQAAMAAJ&pg=PP19 |title=History in the House |publisher=Office for the Bicentennial |year=1985 |pages=19–20 |issue=v. 1 |access-date=May 3, 2022 |archive-date=May 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220503191244/https://books.google.com/books?id=EI9NAQAAMAAJ&pg=PP19 |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Patriot (American Revolution)|Patriots]] felt that the building should be remodeled in a distinctively American architectural style while also preserving the pre-colonial structure.<ref name="Reynolds p. 48" /> [[Pierre Charles L'Enfant]], a French architect who had helped the Americans during the Revolutionary War, was selected to remodel the structure.<ref name="Reynolds p. 48" /><ref name="History in the House 1985 p. 19" />

L'Enfant's expansion was characteristic of [[Georgian architecture|Georgian]]-style designs, although he used larger proportions, and added American motifs.<ref name="Reynolds p. 51">{{harvnb|Reynolds|1994|ps=.|p=51}}</ref> An arched promenade was built through the street-level basement, with four heavy Tuscan columns supporting a balcony. On balcony level, four high Doric columns were installed, supporting a pediment that depicted an American eagle with thirteen arrows (one for each of the original [[Thirteen Colonies]]).<ref name="History in the House 1985 p. 19" /><ref name="Reynolds p. 51" /><ref name="Kobbe p. 101">{{harvnb|Kobbe|1891|ps=.|p=101}}</ref> L'Enfant also created a recessed [[Long gallery|gallery]] behind the columns, and he placed decorative [[Festoon|swags]] above the second-story windows.<ref name="Reynolds p. 51" /> The ground-story room for the [[United States House of Representatives]] measured {{convert|60|by|60|ft}} across and about two stories high. A smaller room for the [[United States Senate]] was on the second floor.<ref name="History in the House 1985 p. 19" /> L'Enfant's design influenced the development of what later became the [[Federal architecture|Federal style]].<ref name="Reynolds p. 52">{{harvnb|Reynolds|1994|ps=.|p=52}}</ref>