Hall of Fame for Great Americans, ca. 1914

The Hall of Fame for Great Americans was the United States’ first hall of fame. It has space for 102 statues, and currently holds 98. The hall was built on a hill that was previously occupied by the British, and triumphantly won back by American soldiers in 1776. The hall itself opened in 1891, as a part of New York University’s Bronx campus, and later became part of Bronx Community College in 1973.

A person being commemorated by the Hall of Fame would be one who contributed something significant to American society, in politics, art, science, or technology. In order to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, they were required to be an American citizen, and to have been deceased for at least 25 years. They were then voted in by a committee, and a bronze statue would be commissioned from a sculptor.