Old and New in the NYC Financial District

New York City is not an old city. Certainly not by European standards. But even by American standards, New York has always been a place where it was deemed okay to tear down the old and replace it with something new. So it is true that we just don’t have that many buildings that date back before 1900.

However one place where we do have some older buildings is at the southern tip of Manhattan in the financial district. This is also an area that has been built and rebuilt over and over again. As a result you get some striking views of old and new buildings, Here are some of my favorites.

S. William Street

At the center of the view above are the buildings 13-23 S. William Street. S. William Street itself is one of the oldest streets in NYC, showing up on maps from the late 1600’s. These old buildings were actually rebuilt in the early 1900’s in the old Dutch style. Today they all house restaurants. Behind them is an office building a 43 S. William Street.

Coenties Alley

 Coenties Alley stretches from S.William Street to Pearl Street. New York’s first City Hall was at the corner of Coenties Alley and Pearl Street, just to the right of this picture (now the back of the office building above). These old buildings now house take-out restaurants. The modern office building at 55 Water Street looms in the background.

Looking west from Old Slip

On the right is corner of the original 1st Precinct, now the NYC Police Museum. The building with yellow highlights is 15 William Street. and the building in front is 3 Hanover Square, which was originally the NY Cotton Exchange. Today it is a residential building. Hanover Square dates back to 1730 and was home to the Cotton Exchange and the Cocoa Exchange. The street I was standing on is called Old Slip. Many streets in this area are named after the boat docks that they used to be before they were filled in during the 1950’s.

Looking south along Water Street

The 5 story building at 90 Water street was built in 1920. Today it is completely dwarfed by its neighbor at 110 Pearl Street.

Looking at 48 Water Street

The modern 7 Hanover Square is wedged in between 48 and 52 Water Street. They used all of the available space to shoehorn it in.

Looking south from the corner of Fulton and Front Street

1 World Trade Center

I am ending with with a look at the Financial Districts Most iconic and one of its newest towers – 1 World Trade Center. This look is down the length of Fulton Street from William Street. I think that this picture gives a nice mix of the old and new that you see throughout the financial district.  So choose a nice day, and come downtown and walk around. There is a lot to see.

Getting There: Most of the subways in NYC go through the financial district, but the stops that are closest to these stops are: Fulton St. (2,3,4,5,A,C,J,M); Wall Street (2,3)