8. U.S. Sub-Treasury (now Federal Hall)

Douglas Fairbanks, 1918 Liberty Loan Drive. Image via: U.S. Library of Congress

The promise of seeing Charlie Chaplin and America’s most beloved screen couple, Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford, drew tens of thousands to the steps of this landmark building in April 1918. As the Liberty Loan drive began, National Guard units from across the city marched through their neighborhoods to sell bonds. On April 8, a replica of the Liberty Bell in City Hall was rung ten times between noon and 2 p.m.—one ring for each thousand dollars raised in bond sales.

When the silent movie stars arrived on Wall Street, the crowd went crazy with delight. The crowd stretched from Trinity Church to William Street. The 1842 Sub-Treasury, today called Federal Hall National Memorial, occupies the site of where George Washington took the oath of office as the nation’s first president. It is at the juncture of Wall, Broad, and Nassau streets.

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