Historical New York, downtown

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

NoGoodNamesLeft’s thread about things to do in NYC got me thinking a bit.

I’ve always been impressed with old things. I love the feeling of history. I know that downtown Manhattan has a treasure trove of history to it.

I work in downtown and have been here nearly every day for almost 11 years. Yet, there is very little that I have seen of this history.

So, if I wanted to explore the historical side of New York City, where should I go? I’d like to keep it to places that I can see on my lunch hour, so nothing north of Canal Street.

I’ll start off with the things that I already know about:

[ul]
[li]The “timeline” circle in City Hall Park[/li][li]Castle Clinton[/li][li]Trinity and St. Paul’s churches[/li][li]The “abandoned” subway station under City Hall[/li][/ul]

So, what else is there for me to check out here regarding the history of New York City?

Zev Steinhardt

2

I’d look here:

http://www.lileks.com/NYC/index.html

3

Hey Zev, how about Fraunce’s Tavern (Retauraunt and small Museum) and NYC Police Museum.

4

There’s a guidebook, City Secrets, New York, a collection of recommendations from people who supposedly know the city well, that describes less-known things to see in New York. It might have some original suggestions for you.

5

http://www.nycsubway.org/faq/abandsta.html
http://www.forgotten-ny.com/STREET%20SCENES/STREET%20SCENES%20HOME%20PAGE/strthome.html

6

You could check out the Museum of Financial History on Broadway. They’ve got a lot of pretty cash registers, old money and securities, etc. It’s not too big either, you could walk through in 20 minutes: http://www.financialhistory.org (costs $2)

I’m in the same area and was wondering what/where Castle Clinton was (yeah, I know it’s probably a castle) the site for it has more Manhattan historic site links: http://www.nps.gov/cacl/

I know it’s north of Canal a few blocks, but over by the Houston stop on the 1/9, I just walk around during lunch sometimes and admire the buildings. Some streets look like they’d be exactly the same as they were 100-200 years ago. I love the old doors and fixtures and sometimes even gargoyles! There’s also cute shops and stuff to browse in. It’s very “neighborhoody”, and you can forget that you’re in Manhattan.

7

Pick yourself up a copy of the American Institute of Architects Guide to New York City, and stuff it in your shoulder bag every time you visit a neighborhood you haven’t been in before. It gives wonderful history as well as pointing out neato architectural stuff.

Look up YOUR house first!

8

South Street Seaport. Visit all the ships and the galleries and largely ignore the mall-like shops.

The Seaman’s Institute, Water Street, and the streets surrounding it.

The streets between the Brooklyn Bridge and north to Foley Square, roughly the location of the notorious Five Points.

The Wireless Operator’s Memorial in Battery Park, with the name of Jack Phillips of TITANIC fame inscribed.

The Federal Reserve Bank building. But in the post-9/11 world, don’t stare at it for too long :wink:

9

They got the Bronx in there?! Kewl!

I can imagine the entry for my building: “1959, red brick six-story angled building, undistinguished, built by non-union labor, has no precise right angles as generations of tenant painters and rug-layers have learned, prone to leaks and mysterious radiator noises, looms over single family house neighborhood, nice views of Van Cortlandt Park. Several bathrooms and kitchens untouched time capsules of Eisenhower-era tackiness”.

OK, but it all works. I wuv my Space-Age stove, even if it looks like a tiny finny Cadillac.

To add to my previous, serious entry: Find this Best Western and check out the neighborhood around it for a good slice of turn of last century NY.

Upper Tribeca, right below the Holland Tunnel entrance on the western edge, is also pretty pristine. Lots of lofts but still have the Belgian block streets, etc.

Forgotten-ny.com is an excellent source, and also highly addictive.

The lovely, re-opened subway stations at the end of 1/9 train line are worth riding through.

Federal Hall National Historic Site, of course. NY actually was the legal Capitol of the country for a little while.

Sometimes if you’re nice to the motorman, they’ll let you ride through the unused-by-passengers but not abandoned original 1904 City Hall stop on the 6 train.

There’ve been a lot of fires (aside from the most recent and deadly one) in that area, and also in NY it’s let’s knock it down and start again all the time, so there’s not many actual really old buildings left. But there’s still some old stuff around.

Finally, yes, go to Ground Zero. Good views from the Winter Garden, which has been newly restored, and plans for the future within the Garden itself.

10

Let me second Alto’s suggestion about the book “City Secrets: NYC.” Be sure to check out the entries from the guy who wrote about the Old Stone House and the Andrew Green Bench and Gem Spa egg creams and all those other cool New Yorky sites. Let me tell you THAT guy really knows his stuff. I mean, he should get a Pulitzer Prize or something.

11

Just in case you don’t want to get “City Secrets” (…boy that would be a mistake – that Old Stone House guy really can write…) I would suggest you pick up a copy of the “Blue Guide: NYC.” It’s the best guidebook to NYC on the market. (Yes Uke, better than the AIA Guide, IMO.)