Hi friends, welcome back! Jon and I have been living in the Financial District for four and a half years, but we haven’t truly explored the historical sights we walk by almost every day. Before Times Square, Fifth Avenue, and Central Park, Lower Manhattan was where all the action happened and the north of City Hall was primarily undeveloped land. Originally I planned to visit Federal Hall and do a post on that, but I found a George Washington’s America walking tour online and realized this should be a multi-part series. Hope you enjoy this virtual tour of my neighborhood and the interesting historical tidbits I learned.
The first stop is Castle Clinton and Battery Park. This area used to be the harbor until the land was extended multiple times in the 19th century by landfill. Castle Clinton was built 200 feet offshore in 1811 to keep the harbor safe during the War of 1812. They never had to fire a canon here, but they were ready with 37 canons that could shoot up to 1.5 miles. At the time it was on an island connected by a long bridge. In 1823 the fort was given to NYC and the land was extended about ten acres further by landfill. The fort served a few different purposes first becoming a restaurant and opera house. If you’ve seen The Greatest Showman the opera singer Jenny Lind made her American Debut at Castle Clinton.
From 1855-1890 it served as the official immigration processing center of America, and over 8 million immigrants passed through here. During this time another landfill project was completed. In 1896 it opened as an aquarium complete with a Beluga whale before the aquarium moved to Coney Island. In 1946 NPS took over and restored the castle back to its original use and opened it to the public as Castle Clinton National Monument in 1975. It is currently the ticket office for the Statue of Liberty and an estimated three million people visit a year. The Castle is open from 8am – 5pm daily except for Thanksgiving and Christmas Day and free to visit. As you can see, there’s not much to see inside Castle Clinton, but the surrounding Battery Park is definitely worth a visit, especially in the spring.
Moving north, Bowling Green is NYC’s oldest park and is thought to be where the Native American tribes allegedly sold Manhattan to dutchman Peter Minuit in 1626 (per the dutch). This park was originally the water’s edge before Battery Park was filled in. It got its name because people used to bowl here, very original I know. The streets were lined with wealthy homes, but a fire went up Broadway in 1776 and demolished 10-25% of NYC. There was a statue of King George III here, but after the Declaration of Independence was read a mob tore down the statue and it was melted down to make musket balls for the army. The fence is the original and guarded by the Charging Bull. It is usually swarmed with people, but I captured the pic in April 2020.
President George Washington resided at the Macomb Mansion, the second Presidential Mansion on the north end of the park at 39-41 Broadway which is now home to my dentist. His original mansion was on Cherry Street, now Pearl and Dover in the Seaport, but it was also demolished. There is a small plaque there under the Brooklyn Bridge, but I couldn’t find it due to construction.
The Alexander Hamilton U.S. Customs House was built in 1907 and now houses The American Indian Museum, US Bankruptcy Court, and offices for the National Archives. This is a new spot relative to the others on the tour, but I thought it should be included because it’s beautiful and worth taking a look inside if you have time. The museum is run by the Smithsonian so it’s free to visit and you can see everything in about an hour. I enjoyed learning the history of New York from the American Indian perspective and seeing what Manhattan looked like before it became a concrete jungle.
Wall Street got its name for the wall on the right side of the picture guarding New Amsterdam from the North.
Stone Street is one of the city’s oldest streets and the first paved street in New Amsterdam (the Dutch settlement of NYC). The street was paved in 1658 and is now a go-to spot for great dining and nightlife. Our favorite place is Adrienne’s Pizza Bar, but we haven’t checked out many of the spots.
Faunces Tavern was a popular spot for both British forces and the Sons of Liberty (Alexander Hamilton’s squad). The owner, Samuel Fraunces, would eavesdrop on the British officers and relay their plans to George Washington. The tavern has been restored and is still a restaurant with a museum upstairs. Fraunces Tavern prides itself on being the oldest and most historic bar and restaurant in New York.
The museum is open Wednesday through Sunday 12-5pm and tickets are $7 for adults, free if you have a NYPL library card. Jon and I went on a Sunday afternoon and it was very empty. We started in the Long Room, the room famous for being where George Washington gave his farewell speech to his officers after the Revolutionary War in 1783.
While City Hall was being remodeled a few blocks away, the offices of the Department of Foreign Affairs, War, and the Treasury were in Fraunces Tavern. This room is a re-creation of what that looked like.
This building was set for demolition in 1900, but luckily The Sons of the Revolution bought the building to preserve it and convert it into a museum. The museum is pretty small and takes about 30-45 minutes to view. I wouldn’t say this is a top thing to do in NYC, but Jon and I had an enjoyable afternoon touring the Fraunces Tavern Museum.
Stay tuned for more of this Lower Manhattan neighborhood tour 🙂
