Dining in the Financial District quick links: Heartland Brewery.
Shopping in the Financial District quick links: Century 21 Department Store; J&R Music and Computer World.
Cultural Arts in the Financial District quick links: Bodies...The Exhibition; Ellis Island Immigration Museum; Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust; New York City Police Museum; Skyscraper Museum; South Street Seaport Museum; National Museum of the American Indian.
Sightseeing in the Financial District quick links: Statue of Liberty; Helicopter Flight Services; Liberty Helicopter Tours.
Downtown New York is one of the most historic and intriguing neighborhoods in the United States. It has long been the heart of the financial industry and home to Wall Street; in recent years, Downtown has also emerged as an around-the-clock community for working, living, and entertaining, an elegant residential neighborhood, a home to world-class cultural institutions, and a center for music, dance, and visual arts events.
This area is home to the New York Stock Exchange. Some other things to do: Visit Stone Street (the first paved street of Manhattan), sit in Hanover Square (a triangular public park that was once home to the New York Cotton Exchange and the New York Cocoa Exchange), or explore the architecture.
Trinity Church is Manhattan's oldest parish, first established in 1697. Tours of the church take place 7 days a week at 2pm. There is an additional tour 
following the 11:15 Holy Eucharist every Sunday. Admission is free.
The viewing platforms at the World Trade Center Site, located on Church St. between Vesey & Liberty Streets, have been removed, allowing visitors to visit the site without tickets. The cornerstone was laid for the new 1,776-foot Freedom Tower on the Fourth of July, 2004. To get to the World Trade Center Viewing Site, take the A train to Church St., or 2, 3 to Chambers St.
Located directly across from the World Trade Center site, St. Paul's Chapel, an Episcopal church and Manhattan's oldest public building in continuous use (1766), was home to an extraordinary eight-month volunteer relief effort after the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001. Unwavering Spirit, an interactive exhibit, honors that ministry and its legacy of love and compassion.
Take a ride on the Staten Island Ferry or head over to the Statue of Liberty. Dedicated in 1886, the Statue of Liberty remains one of the most universal symbols of political freedom and democracy. The Ellis Island Immigration Museum, including its thousands of square feet of exhibition space, movie theaters, book shop and restaurant. The American Family Immigration History Center, operated by the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, is also located there.
Battery Park is so named because it was the site of harbor defense artillery once stationed there by the Dutch, and later the British. The Batteryâ??s strategic importance is evidenced by historic Castle Clinton National Monument, once a defensive structure built prior to the War of 1812. Sold to the city by the U.S. Army in 1821, the fort became known as Castle Garden, and saw use as a restaurant, opera house, and theater. From 1855 to 1890, the castle was known as the Emigrant Landing Depot, the predecessor to Ellis Island as the gateway for immigrants arriving in the States. From 1890 to 1957, it was the original home of the New York Aquarium, now long-relocated to Coney Island. Today, Castle Clinton offers tours operated by the National Park Service rangers (212-344-7220), and hosts a free concert series during summer months (call 212-344-7220 for information).
Of course, Battery Park, with its immigrant-related history, is the point of departure for ferries to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. Both national monuments have free admission, but the Statue Cruises require a fee.
Battery Park contains a number of monuments honoring explorers, soldiers, inventors, and immigrants. The most well known is the steel and bronze sculpture, The Sphere, by Fritz Koenig. This 45,000-pound piece was situated in the fountain at the World Trade Centerâ??s Tobin Plaza from 1971 to September 11th, 2001. Dedicated as an interim memorial to the lives lost in the 1993 and 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, the bent, damaged sculpture stands next to an eternal flame.
Also notable is the New York Korean War Veterans Memorial, honoring military personnel who served in the Korean Conflict (1950-53). Designed by Welsh-born artist Mac Adams (b. 1943), this memorial features a 15-foot-high black granite stele with the shape of a Korean War soldier cut out of the center. Every July 27th at 10 a.m. -- the anniversary of the exact moment in New York when hostilities ceased in Korea -- the sun shines directly through the soldierâ??s head to illuminate a commemorative plaque.
Among the other monuments and memorials at the Battery are a statue of Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano; the Netherlands Monument (commemorating the Dutch establishment of New Amsterdam); the Norwegian Veterans Monument (WWII); The Immigrants by sculptor Luis Sanguino (b. 1934); the Walloon Settlers Monument (designed by architect Henry Bacon to commemorate 32 Belgian Huguenot families who colonized New Amsterdam alongside the Dutch in 1624); a statue of inventor John Ericsson, who created the ironclad warship, the Monitor; and the East Coast Memorial (WWII).
Federal Hall National Memorial is a beautiful home to a number of artifacts from our nation's history, with the Bible used during George Washington's Presidential inauguration, and the statue of Washington out front. Built in 1719, Fraunces Tavern Museum consists of a colonial-style restaurant on the first floor and an upstairs museum that exhibits Revolutionary Era armaments, flags, and other art and objects. The Museum of Jewish Heritage depicts Jewish culture in the early 1900s and leads into the story of the Holocaust, telling it from the perspective of those who experienced it. The National Museum of the American Indian is home to the largest, most extensive collection of Native arts and artifacts in the world. The NYC Police Museum chronicles the history of NY law enforcement from the formation of the NYPD in 1845 to the present. Celebrating our rich architectural history, the Skyscraper Museum explores skyscrapers as objects of design and products of technology.
The South Street Seaport district dates back to the 1600s and has grown into one of the city's most vital commercial centers, serving as the international gateway to New York. In the 1960s, the streets that run through the heart of it were closed and repaved with cobblestones, making it a unique place in Manhattan for people to get away from the frenetic pace of the city to eat, shop, stroll, and view riverfront activities. Today, shops and restaurants that fill the historic buildings include Ann Taylor, Brookstone, EB Games, Guess?, NY Yankees Clubhouse Shop, a TKTS booth, Heartland Brewery, Seaport Cafe, Wine and Chill, and many others. At the South Street Seaport Museum, one can explore the decks and cabins of six historic ships and visit exhibitions of nautical art and artifacts. There are also a variety of children's activities.
Contributors: Alan Binenstock, Colin Carlson, Irene Ross
|
FEATURED LISTINGS
Apollo Theater·
Enjoy backstage tours and Amateur Night at Harlem's Legendar...
|
|
Archives:
