Lower Manhattan History Walk: Where New York Began

The bottom tip of Manhattan is where the Dutch started New Amsterdam in 1624. There are more layers of history per square block here than anywhere in America. Here's how to peel them back.

**9:30 AM — Bowling Green & Fearless Girl.** Start at the south end of Broadway. Bowling Green is Manhattan's first public park (1733). The Charging Bull and Fearless Girl statues are here. Walk north on Broadway.

**10:00 AM — Trinity Church.** Built in 1846, graveyard dating to the 1600s. Alexander Hamilton is buried here — his grave is visible from the street. The church's steeple was the tallest structure in New York for decades.

**10:30 AM — Federal Hall.** Washington was inaugurated as the first President here in 1789. The Greek revival building that replaced it is now a small free museum. Watch for the statue of Washington on the steps — it marks the exact spot of his oath.

**11:00 AM — The Canyon of Heroes.** Broadway between Bowling Green and City Hall is lined with plaques in the sidewalk for every historic ticker-tape parade since 1886. Lindbergh, the moon landing astronauts, Nelson Mandela. Walk slowly and read them.

**11:45 AM — 9/11 Memorial & Museum.** The reflecting pools built in the footprints of the Twin Towers. The adjacent museum is harrowing and exceptional. Free to visit the outdoor memorial; the museum is $28 (worth it).

**1:00 PM — Lunch.** Quick and reverent. There are good options at Brookfield Place across the street, or walk to Stone Street (the oldest paved street in Manhattan, 1646) for outdoor tables and old-school bars.

**2:00 PM — The Oculus & WTC Transportation Hub.** Santiago Calatrava's bone-white transportation center. Walk into it for the cathedral-like main hall.

**2:30 PM — Fraunces Tavern.** At Broad & Pearl Streets. Washington gave his farewell speech to his officers here in 1783. Still operating as a restaurant and small museum upstairs. Small admission fee for the museum.

**3:30 PM — Castle Clinton at The Battery.** The 1811 fort that processed 8 million immigrants before Ellis Island. Free to enter. Great views of the harbor.

**4:00 PM — Staten Island Ferry.** Free! Every 30 minutes from Whitehall Terminal. 25-minute ride past the Statue of Liberty to Staten Island; 25 minutes back. Drink a beer on the ferry. It's the best free activity in New York.

**6:00 PM — Dinner at Frances Tavern or Delmonico's.** Delmonico's opened in 1837 — America's first fine-dining restaurant. The room has been serving since before the Civil War. Pricey; book ahead.

**You've walked through 400 years of American history in one day.**