Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
How Long to Spend There
A straight walk can be done in an hour. To get your fill of museums add 2 more hours, and a round-trip on the ferry
clocks in at another hour.
Best Times to Go
The ferry's views of downtown and the Statue of Liberty are great at night, and incomparable at dusk. On the week-
ends Lower Manhattan feels deserted, with tourists the only signs of life. Quiet streets in New York are a great lux-
ury, but many of the museums and almost all of the stores and restaurants are closed. To really get a feel for the
area, hit it on a weekday.
Advance Planning
The Federal Reserve Bank, the gallery of the American Numismatic Society, City Hall, Tweed Courthouse, and the
9/11 Memorial can all be visited for free, but advance reservations are required.
New York City's post-Native American life began on Manhattan's southern tip. The oddly shaped streets here attest to organic urban
planning, with the names reflecting ancient exports (Beaver St.), resources (Pearl St.), and fortifications (Wall St.). New York is notorious
for paving over its own history, but the Financial District is home to some unlikely survivors. The layers of history here tell the story of New
York, and with it the story of the United States. From Dutch colony to national capital to financial leviathan to 9/11, the heritage is densely
clustered, and easily reached by a short walk down Broadway. Much of it is approachable, too. George Washington's pew, desk, and
inauguration Bible can all be found here for free. Look past the $153 billion that changes hands daily at the New York Stock Exchange,
and check out these historic giveaways.
1
African Burial Ground National Monument
Construction of the Federal Office Building at 290 Broadway (at Duane St.) revealed a hidden and mostly
forgotten layer of New York City history. The
African Burial Ground National Monument
(
212/637-2019;
www.nps.gov/afbg
)
memorializes the 62⁄3-acre cemetery that stretches beneath the city's municipal center. Start-
ing in the 1690s, some 15,000 Africans were laid to rest here. Undulating mounds and a granite memorial make
somber markers for the 419 bodies reinterred here. There's a small interactive visitor center, where you can find
out more about the monument. To your left on Chambers Street you'll see Tweed Courthouse, and behind it City
Hall, which keeps George Washington's desk in its Governor's Room. At select times you can get free tours of
these buildings; see p. 128 and 126.
2
St. Paul's Chapel
On the far side of City Hall Park, at Vesey Street, you'll find this satellite chapel (
212/233-4164;
www.saintpaulschapel.org
)
of Trinity Church. Completed in 1766, this is the oldest continuously used public
building in the city. The interior is surprisingly cheerful and colorful. Even the 9/11 exhibits have an upbeat and
healing tone, although a self-congratulatory note does seep in. On the north side of the chapel you can see the
pew used by George Washington when New York was the official seat of the U.S. government. Over the pew is
a 1795 painting of the Great Seal, in one of its earliest renditions. Out back is a little country graveyard, which
miraculously survived the rain of debris on 9/11. Standing amid the ancient tombstones and looking up at the
rising 1 World Trade Center will give you a sense of the neighborhood's long historical scope.
