A few weeks ago I scheduled a walking tour titled "Alexander Hamilton’s Wall Street" with http://www.unclesamsnewyork.com/ . This would be my third but not last tour with them. But as luck would have it, the Yankees won the world series, the parade down “The Canyon of Heroes”/Wall Street was scheduled for 10:00, my tour at 1:00. It was to be a fun, unique day.
Getting to my subway stop was a true adventure. People had been lining up for the parade since 2:00 AM. The streets were over flowing, as were the subways with Yankee fans. Police every where. I had to take the 5 line to Bowling Green Station/Battery Park. Well, I boarded at Union Square and soon learned the next 3 stops were closed due to volume on the Street. Bowling Green was stop 4.
What did I find above ground at Bowling Green Station and Battery Park where my tour was to begin.....
More Yankee fans.......
Closed streets............
Lots of people.....
Lots of "ticker tape".....
More closed streets...........
2 hours later...... all gone
And a beatful park...........Named for a series of Dutch gun batteries
I recommend clicking on the link. In many ways this is where American’s financial institutions were born. Battery Park was created with a series of land fills--Fort George (as Fort Amsterdam was then known) was completely razed in 1788, and its remnants were used to fill in the shore and expand the Battery. Between 1808 and 1811, a new circular fort known as the West Battery was erected 200 feet offshore. It was renamed Castle Clinton (for Governor De Witt Clinton) in 1815 and ceded to the City in 1823. Around this time, the park was extended further by landfills to an area of about ten acres. Another massive landfill project got underway in 1853 and was completed in 1872.
With interesting architecture…..
Battery Park contains many monuments honoring soldiers, explorers, inventors, and immigrants. Above is The Sphere........which stood in the fountain of the World Trade Center plaza. The Sphere had been stored by the Port Authority in a hangar at Kennedy Airport since the piece was pulled from underneath the collapsed towers. It was one of two public artworks found in the debris. The memorial was inaugurated at a ceremony marking six months since the attack. Created in 1971 by artist Fritz Koenig, The Sphere was described as "a monument fostering world peace." The 45,000-pound sculpture is 15 feet in diameter and is made of steel and bronze. It sustained a gash through its center, but remains structurally intact.
Liberty mimes......In front of Castle Clinton.......
Our tour began at the Sphere with a history of Battery Park, the next stop was at the intersection of State and Whitehall Streets,The Customs House. In front is Manhattan's Bowling Green, the oldest green park in the city. The area began as a cattle market and a place for parades. In 1733 it was converted into a bowling green, hence today's name. Until 1776 there was a statue of George III surrounded by an iron fence. After the American declaration of independence had been published, New Yorkers pulled it down and used the lead for ammunition. The Bowling Green eventually suffered the same fate as the statue. It 1914 it had to yield to a subway station and the playing greens were transferred to Central Park. Today it is still an open space with a regular greenmarket.
The U.S. Customs Service was established by the Fifth Act of the First Congress on July 31, 1789. The Founding Fathers and Members of Congress understood the urgent need for money to support the new federal government, which imposed tariffs/taxes on imports and the tonnage of ships, and created a well-regulated Customs Service to ensure due collection. With the creation of the Department of the Treasury on September 11, 1789, the Customs Service was placed under the direct supervision of President Washington’s brilliant appointee as the first Treasury Secretary, Alexander Hamilton.
A few stops later we reached......
Fraunces Tavern Museum is a survivor of the early days of New York City. It was built in 1719 as an elegant residence for the merchant Stephan Delancey and his family. In 1762, the home was purchased by tavern-keeper Samuel Fraunces, who turned it into one of the most popular taverns of the day. Though it is best known as the site where Washington gave his farewell address to the officers of the Continental Army, in 1783, the tavern also played a significant role in pre-Revolutionary activities. After the war, when New York was the nation’s first capital, the tavern was rented to the new government to house the offices of the Departments of War, Treasury and Foreign Affairs.
A few steps away is Stone Street,believed to be the oldest paved street in Manhattan.
It is a narrow, cobblestone alley first developed by Dutch colonists in the 1600s and is located among the concrete canyons of skyscrapers and multi-tier parking garages of the Financial District. With its two neat rows of picturesque, mostly low-rise brick buildings, dotted by zigzagging fire escapes and old-fashioned black lighting fixtures, the centuries-old pathway recalls the magic and ambience of nineteenth century New York. And that day was over flowing with Yankee fans.
We passed Delmonico’s,possibly Americas best know restaurant. Opened in 1837 it was America’s first fine dining restaurant. Location at 56 Beaver Street, in the heart of Manhattan’s financial district surrounded by skyscrapers. It was the birthplace of the Delmonico Steak, Delmonico Potatoes, Eggs Benedict, Lobster Newburg, and Baked Alaska. The original offered unheard of luxury – the availability of private dining rooms, an extensive wine cellar and innovative cuisine. Frequent guests were Mark Twain and Diamond Jim Brady.
After a stop at Hanover Square and India house we walk up to Hanover and Wall Streets to continue our tour. First stop 40 Wall St., a 70-story skyscraper which was for a few months in 1930 the world's tallest building. Today the name Trump is “proudly” displayed. After the Depression, it was home to the Chase Manhattan Bank, a descent of a company founded by Aaron Burr, who killed his sworn enemy Alexander Hamilton in a duel. Chase is now across the street with a great sculpture in the court yard.
We pass the Federal Reserve, and stopped at Broad and Wall Streets in front of The New York Stock Exchange and Federal Hall. Federal Hall is the building where George Washington was inaugurated on April 30, 1789, and where the Bill of Rights was passed.
The New York Stock Exchange
From the stock exchange we walked over to Trinity Church. Visit the link for its prerevolution history.On September 11, 2001, as the 1st Tower collapsed people took refuge from the massive debris cloud inside the church. Debris from the tower collapsing knocked over a giant sycamore tree that had stood for nearly a century in the near by churchyard of St. Paul's Chapel. Sculptor Steve Tobin used its roots as the base for a memorial bronze sculpture that stands next to the Trinity Church.
View from Wall Street
Our last stop, Alexander Hamilton’s grave at Trinity Church. I do recommend this tour. http://www.unclesamsnewyork.com/
Next, our guide directed us to St. Paul's Chapel and groung zero.
Unclesam's also runs a "Heroes of Ground Zero" tour
St. Paul's Chapel, the little church that stood. Located directly across from the World Trade Center site, was home to an extraordinary eight-month volunteer relief effort after the terrorist attacks. The church was not damaged by the attacks.St. Paul's Chapel is Manhattan's oldest public building in continuous use.
Ground Zero.......
Next stop.......
and Chinatown Brasserie for dinner with a friend.
Interesting facade......
My last stop.....for a Classic Film and Classic Cocktail workshop.....
Astor Center is located at 399 Lafayette St. (at East 4th St.) in East Greenwich Village. They are not only a wine and spirit shop but a cooking class, banquet facility and wine tasting center.
We watched film clips......
Drank classic cocktails......
The tasting Studio......
Made cocktails.......
Film and Cocktail List
The Thin Man-Martini
All About Eve-Gibson
Sabrina-ManhattanLive & Let Die-Sazerac
The Nutty Professor-Alaskan Polar Bear Heater
The Nutty Professor-Alaskan Polar Bear Heater
Dead Reconing-Ramos Gin Fizz
The Big Sleep-Brandy
Big Lebowski-White Russian
It was a full day............
