New York Guide
The Financial District
With its incredible assemblage of skyscrapers, the Financial District in Lower Manhattan has long been synonymous with the New York of popular imagination. What the celebrated skyline doesn't show, though, is the area's layers of dense development – from the prime vantage point of the Brooklyn waterfront or a harbor ferry you would never know that buildings of all vintages, styles, and sizes are packed in along narrow, canyon-like streets. This is where New York began in the 1620s, and today the heart of the world's financial markets is still home to some of the city's most historic streets and sights, as well as some of its most modern corporate headquarters.
Over time, the area has seen more than its fair share of destruction and renewal. Many of the early colonial buildings that once lined these blocks burned down in either the Revolutionary War or the Great Fire of 1835. In September 2001, the character of the Financial District was altered radically once again when the attacks on the World Trade Center destroyed the Twin Towers and killed thousands. Yet the regeneration of lower Manhattan is startling: work has begun not just on the new World Trade Center, but on a spate of ambitious projects from parks and office towers to transportation hubs and new hotels, and at times it can seem half of the district is smothered in scaffolding. Though numerous banks and businesses still maintain corporate headquarters here, the most dramatic change is in the increase of residential development, as new condos and luxury conversions (many from former bank buildings) prove that the Financial District is once again in the process of integrating its present and future into its past.
The heart of the area is Wall Street, accessible by the #2, #3, #4, and #5 trains. If you don't care for crowds and want to stroll here in relative peace, head to the narrow streets on the weekend, when the whole district is eerily vacant. The illuminating Wall Street Walking Tour (Thurs & Sat noon; free; 212/606-4064) begins on the steps of the National Museum of the American Indian and takes around 90min, running year-round, rain or shine, apart from major public holidays.