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New York Federal Procession, July 23, 1788
New York Historical Society Museum (1903.2) In July, 1788, Federalists in New York City anxiously awaited news from the constitutional convention that the new Constitution had been ratified. After...
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First Property Tax Rolls in New York City
On July 24, 1677, the City of New York published the first roll of property taxes levied on its citizens “for the defraying and discharging the city debts and expenses…” The list gives the names and...
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Hague Street
On a freezing February morning in 1850, the island of Manhattan was rocked by an explosion that could be heard for miles. A 200 horse-power boiler located at the A.B. Taylor company, a printing press...
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Jacob Street
Jacob Street was a narrow, one-block street that connected Ferry and Frankfort Streets about two blocks north of the present Pearl Street. The street stood at the center of the city’s early tanning...
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Getting to the Bottom of the Collect Pond
The Collect Pond was a spring-fed pond that stood near the present Collect Pond Park on Leonard Street. The pond was drained in 1805 (by the canal that became Canal Street, to the north) and filled by...
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Fly Market Hucksters
The lower part of what is now Maiden Lane is located through what was once a marshy meadow called “Smee’s Vly,” vly being a Dutch word meaning “meadow.” The name was anglicized to “Smith’s Fly.” A...
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Lumber Street
John Miller’s 1695 map shows Lumber Street outside the city wall. Lumber Street was one of the first streets laid out beyond the city wall. It corresponds to the present Trinity Place between Exchange...
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Manhattan Evacuation Plan Reveals Island’s Old Contours
As Hurricane Sandy bears down on the Atlantic Coast in October, 2012, many residents are becoming familiar with the emergency evacuation map, a part of which is shown above (taken from Google and the...
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Shoemakers Land
James Evetts’ 1696 chart of the Shoemakers Land In 1675 four New Yorkers purchased a tract of land outside the city wall that had earlier been part of the farm of Cornelis van Tienhoven, the Dutch...
View ArticleNew York: Stockade City
Part of the reconstruction of the World Trade Center area in lower Manhattan includes reopening several of the streets that were closed for the initial construction. On the map, these reopenings appear...
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