Broad Street, Looking toward Wall Street (1936). What would become the heart of the Financial District, Broad Street started as a small inlet that Dutch settlers enlarged into a canal running from the East River to the wall that formed the northern boundary of New Amsterdam. It was the original landing for the first ferry between Manhattan and Brooklyn, allowing for goods to be brought into the center of the village. After the British took over New Amsterdam it turned into an open sewer, and was filled in 1676. Having started life as a canal, the street is wider than the norm for the area, hence its name. From Abbott’s original vantage point, Broad Street has not changed very much.
On closer inspection, however, we see the changes brought about by the passage of time—starting with the security concerns that are a part of life in this century. (On the positive side, these measures afford us an unobstructed view of Trinity Church from the corner of Broad and Wall).
Then there is Fearless Girl, a bronze sculpture by Kristen Visbal that appeared in front of Charging Bull on 7 March 2017. It was commissioned by State Street Global Advisors (later State Street Investment Management) as part of an ad campaign to promote an index fund that focused on gender-diverse companies, with the installation timed to coincide with International Women’s Day (8 March). Not everyone was enthusiastic about the statue or its placement. Among them Arturo DiModica, the creator of Charging Bull, who felt it was an insult to his work
After one year on Bowling Green, Fearless Girl was moved to its current location in front of the New York Stock Exchange, where she is an obligatory stop on Manhattan’s statuary circuit. The company that commissioned the statue quietly dropped its gender diversity targets in 2025
With Fearless Girl, the ritual consists of having your photograph taken while striking her defiant (empowered?) pose. Kids look cool doing it. Adults, not so much. And guys, please don’t give in to the temptation.
85 Broad Street
Archeological excavations in 1980, during construction of what would be the new headquarters of Goldman Sachs, revealed the foundations of Lovelace Tavern (aka King’s House). Built in 1670, and destroyed in a fire in 1706, it was located next to the Stadt Huys (City Hall), functioning in some ways as an annex, where city business was conducted after hours. These are among the oldest building remains found in Manhattan.
Fraunces Tavern
Originally built in 1719 as a residential townhouse, it has played a significant role in the country’s history—from a meeting place for the Sons of Liberty, and a hub of espionage during the revolutionary war, to the place where George Washington bade farewell to his officers at the end of the war, and the location of some of the first federal offices.
While it is considered to be the oldest surviving structure in Manhattan, this is not without disagreement. There were a number of fires—followed by reconstructions—during the 19th century that changed the structure of the building, and what we see today if the result of a controversial 1907 restoration that aimed at returning the building to its original form. As there were no blueprints available, the architect had to make a number of educated guesses along the way.