A trip to NYC would not have been complete without seeing Wall Street. I am afterall a postgraduate business student so I got on the subway and headed downtown. Wall Street runs east from Broadway and continues downhill to the East River. The photo below shows the sign post which stands on Broadway near the Trinity Church (often seen in movies such as Die Hard III and National Treasure). It was a lovely day but the height of the surrounding buildings meant that the sidewalk was in shade. Still I felt I had to include this pic as apparently this signpost is one of the most photographed in the world!
Here comes the history bit - The name 'Wall Street' derives from the fact that during the 17th Century, it formed the northern boundary of the New Amsterdam settlement. The stockade was built on behalf of the West India Company by Peter Stuyvesant. This was further strengthened by the time war had developed with the English to a 12 foot wall of timber and earth fortified by palisades. The wall was created, and strengthened over time, as a defense against attack from various Indian tribes, New England colonists and the British. In 1685 surveyors laid out Wall Street along the lines of the original stockade and the wall was dismantled by the British in 1699 leaving the street running along the course it does today.
Wall Street is of course famous for being the heart of the Financial District and the photo above is of the New York Stock Exchange. In the late 18th century, there was a tree at the foot of Wall Street under which traders and speculators would gather to trade informally. In 1792, the traders formalised their association with the Buttonwood Agreement which was named after the type of tree they met under. The photo above was taken looking across from Federal Hall and in the foreground you can see the steam rising through one of the covers in the road - a common sight in NYC! Below is a close up of the wonderful carvings that are above the columns of the Stock Exchange.
Federal Hall is also sited on Wall Street and below is the statue of George Washington that stands outside it. Of course, Federal Hall is the site where George Washinton took his oath as the first President of America in 1789.
Of course I couldn't do a post about Wall Street without showing you a photo of the Bull. This isn't actually on Wall Street but stands on Broadway just a little way from Wall Street, towards Bowling Green. The is also a very nice little diner nearby where I had a great lunch. As I ventured further down Broadway towards Bowling Green the wide opened up, allowing the sun to reach the sidewalk and defrosting my fingers as I can't take photos with gloves on - how I suffer for my art! :-)
This last photo (below) is of Bowling Green looking back up Broadway. Bowling Green is the oldest park in NYC and was made by the British who played bowls there (hence the name). After this I continued my explorations and headed towards Battery Park but that is another tale...
Here comes the history bit - The name 'Wall Street' derives from the fact that during the 17th Century, it formed the northern boundary of the New Amsterdam settlement. The stockade was built on behalf of the West India Company by Peter Stuyvesant. This was further strengthened by the time war had developed with the English to a 12 foot wall of timber and earth fortified by palisades. The wall was created, and strengthened over time, as a defense against attack from various Indian tribes, New England colonists and the British. In 1685 surveyors laid out Wall Street along the lines of the original stockade and the wall was dismantled by the British in 1699 leaving the street running along the course it does today.
Wall Street is of course famous for being the heart of the Financial District and the photo above is of the New York Stock Exchange. In the late 18th century, there was a tree at the foot of Wall Street under which traders and speculators would gather to trade informally. In 1792, the traders formalised their association with the Buttonwood Agreement which was named after the type of tree they met under. The photo above was taken looking across from Federal Hall and in the foreground you can see the steam rising through one of the covers in the road - a common sight in NYC! Below is a close up of the wonderful carvings that are above the columns of the Stock Exchange.
Federal Hall is also sited on Wall Street and below is the statue of George Washington that stands outside it. Of course, Federal Hall is the site where George Washinton took his oath as the first President of America in 1789.
Of course I couldn't do a post about Wall Street without showing you a photo of the Bull. This isn't actually on Wall Street but stands on Broadway just a little way from Wall Street, towards Bowling Green. The is also a very nice little diner nearby where I had a great lunch. As I ventured further down Broadway towards Bowling Green the wide opened up, allowing the sun to reach the sidewalk and defrosting my fingers as I can't take photos with gloves on - how I suffer for my art! :-)
This last photo (below) is of Bowling Green looking back up Broadway. Bowling Green is the oldest park in NYC and was made by the British who played bowls there (hence the name). After this I continued my explorations and headed towards Battery Park but that is another tale...
14 comments:
I love the images looks like you had a wondeful time and saw some gresat site BTW thanks for the comments ;)
Bob-kat, my daughter lived in the building in the top photo until last August. Her apt. looked down on the roof of Trinity Church. I am enjoying your travelogue!
Wonderful photos. YOu have a good eye for photography...
I am learning a lot from reading your blog....keep up the good work and keep those photos coming!
very interesting stuff - thanks for sharing!
Loved the composition in the last picture.Was so surprised to see the rising steam and discover it is common in NYC!Interesting to read up the bits of history too.
I think had I stepped onto Wall Street, I would have immediately felt very poor. ;)
Perhaps they should try to move that bull just a tad bit closer to the Financial District. :)
Interesting! I did not know all that about Wall Street. Thanks!
Ahhhh yes....A lot of my childhood was spent on WAll Street and the surroundung streets, especially on Saturdays, because my father had an office there and we would spend the morning as he worked..(The Market was open on Saturday mornings in those days...!
I spent so much time in the city because it was so close, B-K...only 17 miles on the LIRR, and it's where all Theatre was, and Comcerts, Museums, etc...Later I spent every Saturday morning taking Fiolin lessons up on 111th Street near Broadway...then, when I decided to go to Drama Schoool, ot was right in the heart of Manhatten...in The International Building of Rockerfeller Center....that was one of the happiest times of my life, and so very exciting, too! So New York is "home" and though I could never live there again, it holds many many happy memories....later, playing Broadway....Talk about exciting! So I look forward to all your pictures of your trip, my dear...And your pictures are WONDERFUL!
While NYC does have many impressive sights to see, B-K, I'd like to see a few pictures of the UK near where you live with your wonderful new camera. Is your section of the country very photogenic?
I was really impressed with Wall Street aswell. One of those places you have to see!!
bob,
i have interests in history.. n ur posts r really informative. thaks a lot for sharinbg. keep up the gud work..
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No one else can capture the essence of a place as well as you can.
I wasn't able to make it to Wall Street the last time I was in NYC, but you can bet it's at the top of my list for my next trip, thanks to you.
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