[1] Originally a one-story building in 1675, it was rebuilt with a meeting hall on the upper story in 1752, typical of the type of market halls found in England and Europe at the time.

The Chamber of Commerce in the City of New York (Chamber of Commerce of the State of New York after 1784) met in the building's second-floor meeting area from 1770 until the Revolutionary War.

In 1785, when New York City became the nation's capital, the New York State Legislature began meeting in the building; the Congress of the Confederation had started meeting in the legislature's previous location – which became known as Federal Hall.

[3] The U.S. Supreme Court held its inaugural session in the building February 2–10, 1790.

[2] The court met in New York for a total of twelve days[1] before it moved to Philadelphia with the rest of the federal government in 1791.