Wall St, Financial District

Wall Street is one of the oldest streets in New York. And, it actually used to be a wall. The wall was built for protection and was dismantled at the end of the 17th century. It has almost always been a street with heavy financial transactions (this is the street where slaves were sold in the 1700's); and, as we all know, it is one of the most famous money streets in the world today. Being that it's one of the oldest streets in the city, it has some of the oldest buildings on the street.
The street starts off with one of my favorite old buildings in the city: Trinity Church. Trinity has been at this site since 1697 though the building has been replaced a few times due to collapse and fires. The current church is nothing short of spectacular. It's a gorgeous Gothic church.
The next block houses the oldest bank in New York, The Bank of New York, which was started by Alexander Hamilton in the 18th century. And, the next block down houses the New York Stock Exchange which made Wall Street famous. The stock exchange actually started on Wall Street under a tree in 1792 and didn't fully move indoors until 1836. It has been in this building since 1903 and the structure of the building is really beautiful. It's weird to think that so much shady activity is conducted in such an open building -- though, I guess, it did start under a tree so shady is really the only to go. Badum bum. The building next door to the stock exchange is where the Dow Jones company started in the 19th century. . . which makes sense.
The corner of Wall and Broad is where the worst fire in New York City started in the early 19th century which makes the buildings that have survived down here so much more special. One such building is Federal Hall directly across the street. It was built in 1703 and it's where the Bill of Rights was formed and George Washington was sworn in. There are a lot of bank buildings on this block, as is to be expected, but the most notable one is at 40 Wall Street. It has a sort of turquoise top and you cant miss it. It was built in the 18th century and was meant to be the tallest building in the world (until the Chrysler building came along). It housed a bank started by Aaron Burr to combat Hamilton's Bank of New York. It's now a Chase bank.
This block has also housed some famous money thieves in history. Alexander Hamilton lived at 58 and the pirate Captain Kidd lived at 56. The rest of the block is all bank buildings and a couple of really cool Greek revival buildings.
95 Wall street was the site of Merchant's Coffee House where Paul Revere dropped a message from Boston about the closing of the harbor and the Bank of New York had its first meeting. Apparently, coffee shops have always been the stomping grounds of startup endeavors in this country. Now, I don't feel so bad when I go to them to work. But, I still give evil eye to people in my favorite seat checking their facebook.
Wall Street is basically filled with bankers, traders, and other monied employees and businesses. But, it's a gorgeous street that has a lot of life during the day. It's really dead at night and I wouldn't want to live here because of the crowds and social boredom factor. But, I highly recommend that everyone see it. The buildings alone are worth the walk.

Even if you're not a New Yorker, you're probably intimately familiar with the connotations of Wall Street. A place where bankers and traders meet to put their nose to the grindstone, move around other people's money, and morph into the "fat cats" that "real America" is so fond of mocking. But while would-be residents may want to look into a more livable area, tourists and workers alike should certainly give this historic street a go. Named for the old city boundaries of New Amsterdam, Wall Street is filled with stunning examples of Gilded Age architecture, and is one of the rare sections of New York City that has maintained its pre-20th century character. That, along with the New York Stock Exchange, render Wall Street a must-visit location for tourists. New Yorkers may want to take a gander and hit the (4,5,2,3, J, or Z - there's a lot of lines) subway: Wall Street has a booming shopping and restaurant culture. While most of these places are aimed at businessmen looking for working lunches, try neighborhood favorite Delmonico's or upscale chain Cipriani for an enjoyable night out. Wall Street is also home to some great high-end shopping, including Tiffany's & Co, Tumi, and Thomas Pink.

Wall St itself is a very busy area. But the heart of the place is The New York Stock Exchange. This is otherwise known as the capital or heart of the financial district. If you walk a couple of blocks past Broad St, you end up at the Stock Exchange. If you go down in the other direction, you can take turn onto Water St and head right for the former location of the WTC site.

Wall St does have a number of shops and department stores, along with places you can go to eat, but the primary things you will see when going there are commercial buildings where the elite are seen coming out of on a regular basis.

If you like making money and hanging out with the big shots, you might just like being at the New St part of Wall St.

Ever wonder who those people are you see on cnn ringing the bell for the stockmarket? Well if you get to Wall st you yourself can see that. Financial offices line the street along with statues from a variety of artists. When I was a kid i saw the thinker on wall street. Food choice on wall st however at the time was limited to the hot dog vendor. Which is okay if you are in a hurry like many of those employed on Wall st. Its a great way to catch up on our countries economy.