City Hall Park is a public park located in the Civic Center district of Manhattan, New York City. It was one home to the Soldiers' Barracks during the colonial era, and, in 1766, the first "Liberty Pole" was erected at the park before being chopped down by British Army soldiers. On 9 July 1776, Patriots gathered in the commons to hear George Washington read the US Declaration of Independence, and, on 9 November 1783, after the end of the American Revolutionary War and the British evacuation of New York City, Washington raised the American flag in the park. In 1812, City Hall was built, and, on 4 July 1827, people flocked to the park to celebrate the abolition of slavery in New York state.