Federal Hall, Inauguration of General Washington, the First President of the United States, on the 30th of April 1789. H.R. Robinson for D.T. Valentine’s Manual, 1849. NYC Municipal Library.
New York City government offices, including the Municipal Archives, close on the third Monday in February for Presidents Day. Banks, schools, the United States Post Office, and the New York Stock Exchange also observe the holiday.
Archives collections document some presidential moments in the City’s history, highlighted in For the Record articles.
In 2024, For the Record traced the residences of President George Washington in George Washington in New York: The First Presidential Mansion.
In 1968, President Lyndon Baines Johnson signed the Uniform Holiday Bill that set specific Mondays to celebrate Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day as well as establishing Columbus Day as a Federal Holiday, effective in 1971. The goal was to establish a minimum of five three-day weekends for federal workers. As Johnson stated in his approval message, “The bill that we sign today will help Americans to enjoy more fully the country that is their magnificent heritage. It will also aid the work of Government and bring new efficiency to our economy.”
President Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, February 12, was never a national holiday but was a State holiday in many places, including New York. In 2018, the For the Record article Bodies in Transit displayed an entry about the assassinated President Lincoln as an example.
Presidents Day officially celebrates Washington’s birth, which was made a federal holiday in 1885, and is still named Washington’s birthday for federal workers. As noted above, some states and municipalities mark both births, closing government offices on Lincoln’s Birthday, February 12, and Presidents Day on the third Monday. Conversely, it is business-as-usual in ten states that do not mark Presidents Day as a holiday. Clever marketers coined the term Presidents Day in the 1980s to combine the commemorations.
Another recent blog described President Jimmy Carter’s history with the City: New York and President Jimmy Carter.
Mayor Edward Koch, President Jimmy Carter, New York Governor Hugh Carey, on the steps of City Hall following approval of Federal loan guarantees for New York City, August 8, 1978. Mayor Edward Koch Photograph Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.
The Presidents featured in these For the Record posts made significant contributions to the nation. Let us honor their work during this holiday weekend.