Paperback
-
PICK UP IN STORECheck Availability at Nearby Stores
Available within 2 business hours
Related collections and offers
Overview
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781940842158 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Museyon |
| Publication date: | 06/01/2017 |
| Series: | Historic Landmark Series |
| Pages: | 272 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.20(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.70(d) |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
New York Harbor and Downtown/Financial District
(1) The Statue of Liberty
(2) Ellis Island
(3) Castle Clinton
(4) Fraunces Tavern
(5) Stone Street Historic District
(6) India House
(7) 20 Exchange Place
(8) 55 Wall Street-Merchant Exchange
(9) Federal Reserve Building
(10) Federal Hall
(11) New York Stock Exchange
(12) Trinity Church
(13) St. Paul's Chapel
(14) The Woolworth Building
(15) Brooklyn Bridge
(16) New York City Hall
(17) African Burial Ground
{ The Statue of Liberty }
Make your mark in New York and you are a made man.
— Mark Twain
A symbol of America's freedom in general and New York City's opportunity in particular, The Statue of Liberty's home is actually part of New Jersey.
Lady Liberty, with her flowing gown and impenetrable gaze, was conceived and designed by Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi after being inspired by the words of French law professor and politician Édouard René de Laboulaye. At a dinner party in 1865, Laboulaye commented that any monument raised to American independence would be a joint venture of both countries. Work began on the statue in 1870; the French financed the figure and America provided the pedestal.
Bartholdi completed the head and torch-bearing arm before funding was raised for the rest of the body. The arm and torch were put on display in Madison Square Park from 1876 to 1882, while the head and crown were exhibited at the 1878 Paris World Fair. The full statue was completed and erected in 1886 and was marked by New York's first ticker-tape parade.
Closed for years post-September 11 and extensively repaired in 2011, the statue is today a magnet for millions of visitors who flock to Liberty Island to see New York City's most recognizable attraction — even if it is a New Jersey gem.
Who Discovered New York?
Although Henry Hudson is commonly known as the man who discovered New York, Giovanni da Verrazzano beat him to the punch.
The Italian navigator secured a deal with King Francis I to explore the New World on behalf of France. He began his voyage on January 17, 1524, aboard the Delfina, with a mission to expand France's empire and find passages to the Pacific Ocean and Asia. Sailing along the territory's northern coastline, he also hoped to discover waterways to North America's west coast. He reached New York Bay that April and later pushed north to Martha's Vineyard, with a final stop in Rhode Island before heading home.
Also looking for a passage to Asia, Englishman Henry Hudson made a similar journey for the Dutch in 1609. Exploring more of the area than his predecessor, and eventually reaching today's Albany, his findings led to Dutch colonization of New Amsterdam and a more memorable place in history.
As for Verrazzano, he did return to the New World twice. Unfortunately, the third time wasn't a charm. While exploring the Lesser Antilles, he was ambushed and eaten by cannibals. The VerrazzanoNarrows bridge, connecting Brooklyn to Staten Island, is named in his honor.
{ Ellis Island }
Everywhere immigrants have enriched and strengthened the fabric of American life.
— John F. Kennedy
Before 1890, individual states had to monitor foreign entry into the country. With the mass migration throughout the late 19th century, the federal government stepped in and set up a central immigration station on Ellis Island in the upper New York Bay, just off the New Jersey coast.
Irish teenager Annie Moore was the first immigrant processed at Ellis Island, the new national gateway to freedom, which opened in 1892. Over the next 62 years, more than 12 million people would follow in her footsteps. The station's main building is now a national museum, recounting its history through exhibitions and tours.
{ Castle Clinton }
Go down to the North River and the benches that run along the west side of Battery Park City. Watch the tides or the blocks of ice in winter; they have existed since the time when the island was empty of man.
— Pete Hamill
In the early 1800s, forts were built throughout New York City to protect the nation's first capital from invasion. Castle Clinton, constructed in 1808, was built on a manmade island off Manhattan's west coast. Later, the water was filled in to create an extension of the city.
Before Ellis Island was built, Castle Clinton was the Emigrant Landing Depot from 1855 to 1890. It was the New York City Aquarium from 1896 to 1941 until the attraction moved to Coney Island. Today, it's a visitor center, exhibition space and ticketing office for cruises to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
{ Fraunces Tavern }
With a heart full of love and gratitude, I now take leave of you. I most devoutly wish that your latter days may be as prosperous and happy as your former ones have been glorious and honorable.
— George Washington
The first building to sit on the corner of Pearl and Broad streets was constructed in 1671 as a home for New York Mayor Stephanus Van Cortlandt and remained in his family for several generations until tavern keeper Samuel Fraunces bought it in 1762.
During its first decade as a tavern, the popular watering hole was a hotbed for pre-American Revolutionary War activity. A secret society of patriots, known as the Sons of Liberty, powwowed there, discussing colonists' rights and condemning British rule.
Activity at the tavern didn't slow down during the war either. For example, a British ship hurled a cannonball through the roof. After the war, when New York City became the nation's first capital, the building housed several governmental offices, including the departments of Foreign Affairs, War and Finance.
Today, the museum space on the second and third floors features historic documents, American Revolution-era art and artifacts, and period rooms. Of particular interest is the Long Room, where George Washington said farewell to his officers at the end of the war.
The street-level restaurant features a menu of morsels that Washington and company might have enjoyed during their day, with ciders and whiskeys to wash down the steaks, chops and oysters.
Peter Minuit's Exchange of Manhattan, 1626
What the Dutch West India Company paid for Manhattan Island takes the term "low-balling" to a whole new level.
The trading company, formed in 1621, held a monopoly on colonization in the Americas. In 1625, it sent Peter Minuit, a former church deacon and diamond cutter, to protect its interests in the New World, establishing solid trading relationships with Indian tribes up and down the Hudson and Delaware rivers.
He returned in May the following year, this time with a promotion and a loftier goal. As New Netherland's third director, he was tasked with purchasing Manhattan from the island's natives.
Some might call Minuit a shrewd salesman, while others believe the Lenape didn't understand the concept of land ownership and thought they were simply ensuring colonists' safety. Either way, Minuit got the land for a steal, paying 60 guilders worth of beads, cloth and ornaments for ownership rights.
The deal consolidated the scattered settlements and furthered development of Fort Amsterdam on the southern tip of Manhattan. The agreement was more than likely made in that area, specifically where the Peter Minuit Plaza at the Staten Island Ferry Terminal now stands. A boulder in Inwood Hill Park at the northern tip also marks the historic event.
{ Stone Street Historic District }
I go to Paris, I go to London, I go to Rome, and I always say, 'There's no place like New York.' It's the most exciting city in the world now. That's the way it is. That's it.
— Robert De Niro
Comprised of 15 historic buildings along the winding, narrow pathways of Pearl, South William and Stone streets, as well as Hanover Square, Coenties Alley and Mill Lane, the area known as the Stone Street Historic District dates back to the 17th century. When New York was still New Amsterdam, Dutch colonists set up clusters of mercantile shops here. Although the Great Fire of 1835 razed all of the area's original structures, residents quickly rebuilt, filling the space with storefronts for merchants and importers.
The earlier businesses are long gone, but many historic structures now house restaurants and bars.
{ India House }
If London is a watercolor, New York is an oil painting.
— Peter Shaffer
Richard F. Carman built the Renaissance palazzo-style commercial building at 1 Hanover Square, known as India House, in 1851. Hanover Bank was the first owner; later, the New York Cotton Exchange (founded in 1870) occupied the space. It became a private club in 1914, a gathering spot for leaders in commerce. The building houses a collection of Chinese art objects, model ships and maritime paintings.
Captain Kidd and New York
Scotsman William Kidd was a successful privateer when he settled in New York. He lived with his socialite wife, Sarah Oort, and their two daughters at 119 Pearl Street.
He set sail in September 1696 on behalf of the Crown to rid the Eastern Seaboard of French ships and pirates. He was scheduled to return from his travels in March.
Although the journey was marred by misfortune, in February 1698, Kidd spotted the Quedagh Merchant — teeming with gold, silver, jewels, sugar, silk and guns — off the Indian coast. The Armenian merchant ship was owned by Indians, crewed by Moors, had Persian cargo and was captained by an Englishman. The ship held a French pass, so Kidd considered his conquest of it legitimate.
Kidd finally returned to New York in 1699, and was promptly arrested for piracy and murder. He left his ship in the hands of his crew but wouldn't reveal the location of his treasure. It was later learned that his crew had sold off the loot and set fire to the plundered ship. Kidd was put on trial in London and executed in 1701.
In 2007, the Quedagh Merchant's remains were discovered off the coast of Catalina Island, Dominican Republic. The treasure has yet to be unearthed.
{ 20 Exchange Place }
New York is the only real city-city.
— Truman Capote
Opened in 1931 as the Wall Street headquarters for the City Bank Farmers Trust Company — the earliest iteration of today's CitiBank — the 57-floor tower is an Art Deco classic, with a mixed-material facade of steel, stone, granite and limestone. Elaborate nickel-silver doors with carvings by British sculptor David Evans still grace the lobby, while commercial spaces above are now luxury residences.
{ 55 Wall Street — Merchant Exchange}
It is not down in any map; true places never are.
— Herman Melville
The 1841 Greek Revival building has had many occupants, including the United States Custom House, where writer Herman Melville was employed. Melville penned "Moby Dick" while working there.
The massive ground floor, remodeled in the early 20th century to resemble the Roman Pantheon, now serves as an event space for upscale restaurant chain Cipriani.
{ Federal Reserve Building }
I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing enemies.
— Thomas Jefferson
If you think the Federal Reserve building looks like an impenetrable stone fortress designed to guard the world's riches, you are correct. The blocklong Financial District building protects a sizable piggy bank. More than 6,000 tons of gold owned by foreign governments, central banks and international organizations are secured in a vault buried 80 feet below street level. Guided tours are available.
{ Federal Hall }
New York is a different country. Maybe it ought to have a separate government. Everybody thinks differently, they just don't know what the hell the rest of the United States is.
— Henry Ford
There is a common misconception surrounding the history of Federal Hall in Lower Manhattan, that it is the building in which George Washington was inaugurated as the nation's first president. While it is true that the building in which he was inaugurated once stood in the same location as the current Federal Hall, the Greek Revival-style building that now stands on Wall Street was built 139 years after the one in which Washington took his famous oath.
The original Federal Hall was built in 1703 and was used as New York's city hall. In those early years, the building held pinnacle moments in American history, such as the trial of printer John Peter Zenger, whose acquittal on the charge of libel was a precedent-setting case for freedom of the press. In 1765, the Stamp Act Congress met there to protest "taxation without representation."
In 1788, the building was renamed Federal Hall and New York became the first capital of the United States. It is here that the Bill of Rights was passed. In 1789, Federal Hall was used as the site of the swearing in of Washington.
The original building was torn down in 1812, and a temporary, small brick building was constructed to serve as the U.S. Customs House. The building we see today was built in 1842.
George Washington and New York
On August 27, 1776, General Washington's Continental Army was heavily outnumbered by General Howe's British troops, who attacked the western end of Long Island in present-day Brooklyn. On August 29, the American commander had little choice but to send his men across the East River to Manhattan Island in the middle of the night. According to witnesses, Washington was the last to make the crossing.
The Battle of Long Island was one of many defeats patriots suffered before the war was over. However, the Continental Army never gave up its stronghold in the countryside, and on November 25, 1783, British troops left Manhattan, marking the end of the Revolutionary War.
Washington returned to the city in triumph, marching from his northern headquarters at Fort Washington, across the Harlem River and down to The Battery at the foot of Broadway. A week later, he formally said farewell to his troops during a festive banquet at Fraunces Tavern.
Washington next returned to Manhattan on April 30, 1789, for his inauguration as the nation's first president. Although the original Federal Hall building no longer stands, a statue of Washington rests in front of the current Federal Hall to mark the approximate place where he was sworn in.
{ New York Stock Exchange }
Wall Street is the only place that people ride to in a Rolls-Royce to get advice from those who take the subway.
— Warren Buffett
Long associated with the financial highs and lows of the world's leading corporations, architect George B. Post's Georgian marble structure opened for business in 1903. Although tours of the interior are no longer given, visitors to Lower Manhattan can take photos of the imposing exterior. The fortresslike facade features an expansive classical portico, fluted Corinthian columns and a triangular pediment containing sculptor John Quincy Adams Ward's grouping, "Integrity Protecting the Works of Man." Also of interest is the building's Wall Street side, which still bears marks from a 1920 bombing for which the perpetrators were never caught.
{ Trinity Church }
It is my desire to receive the communion at your hands. I hope you will not conceive there is any impropriety in my request.
— Alexander Hamilton
Now dwarfed by dozens of 20th- and 21st-century skyscrapers that dot Lower Manhattan's landscape, the third and current Trinity Church was the tallest building in the nation when it was erected in 1846. City dwellers could see its towering Gothic Revival spire from afar.
Resting on the same site as its predecessors, the structure has hosted many dignitaries throughout its history, including Queen Elizabeth II, who visited in 1976. Although the church broke its ties with England and the monarch after the Revolutionary War, officials presented the church's former landlord with a special gift. As a humorous nod to the church's past, the queen was given 279 peppercorns as back rent, per King William III's original 1697 agreement requiring an annual rent payment of one peppercorn to the crown.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Historic Landmarks of Old New York"
by .
Copyright © 2017 Museyon.
Excerpted by permission of Museyon Inc..
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
New York Harbor and Downtown/Financial District,
Lower East Side, SoHo, Washington Square,
Greenwich Village/West Village,
East Village,
Union Square, Gramercy Park, Madison Square,
Chelsea, Midtown South,
Midtown,
Upper East Side,
Upper West Side,
Harlem and North,
Historic Landmarks,
Old New York Anecdotes,
Who Discovered New York?,
Peter Minuit's Exchange of Manhattan, 1626,
Captain Kidd and New York,
George Washington and New York,
The Great Negro Plot, 1741,
P.T. Barnum's Circus and Museum,
Jacob Riis, "How the Other Half Lives",
Washington Square: Hangman's Elm and Rose Butler,
Who Is Christopher of Christopher Street?,
Theodosia Burr's Ghost and One if by Land, Two if by Sea,
John Jacob Astor and His Family,
Peter Stuyvesant's Pear Tree,
Lost New York: Tin Pan Alley,
Astor 400 and Waldorf-Astoria Hotel,
Cornelius "Commodore" Vanderbilt,
New York Draft Riots, 1863,
U.N. Deal: Rockefeller and Zeckendorf at Club Monte Carlo, 1946,
Arrival of Rockefeller,
Vanderbilt Costume Ball, Monday, March 26, 1883,
The Beatles' Ed Sullivan Show Appearance,
Andrew Carnegie's Contribution to New York,
Frederick Law Olmsted and New York,
Billie Holiday's Life in New York,
Hamilton's Life in New York,
Did You Know? A secret anecdote by an expert 53, 115, 149, 197,