Lower Manhattan

Lower Manhattan, also called Downtown Manhattan, is the southernmost part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It was the historical birthplace of New York City and made up the whole city in the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, it serves as the seat of government for both Manhattan and all of New York City.

Because there are no official borders for the area, we don’t know its exact population. But many believe it grew very fast between 2010 and 2020, with many young people moving in and lots of new homes being built.

Most people agree that Lower Manhattan includes all of Manhattan Island south of 14th Street, ending near Bowling Green and the Battery. It is a major center for finance and technology, home to the New York Stock Exchange, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and other important money-related businesses.

The area is also full of culture and tourist spots, including famous buildings like New York City Hall, the Woolworth Building, the Stonewall Inn, the Bull of Wall Street, and One World Trade Center, which is the tallest skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere.

Geography and neighborhoods

Lower Manhattan is the southern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is bordered on the north by 14th Street, on the west by the Hudson River, on the east by the East River, and on the south by New York Harbor. The main business area is below Chambers Street and includes the Financial District, famous for Wall Street. Battery Park is at the very southern tip near Bowling Green, and City Hall is close by.

Other neighborhoods include Battery Park City, South Street Seaport, TriBeCa, Chinatown, SoHo, Little Italy, and many more. These areas are home to many people and important buildings, including court buildings and government offices.

History

See also: History of New York City and History of Manhattan

The area that is now New York City was first home to the Lenape people. They were Native Americans who spoke an Algonquian language called Unami.

European settlers arrived when the Dutch established a fur trading post called New Amsterdam in Lower Manhattan in 1626. They built a fort at The Battery to protect New Netherland.

In 1664, the English took control and renamed the place “New York” after the Duke of York. Over time, New York grew into an important city. It became the first capital of the United States in 1789.

New York expanded greatly in the 1800s, becoming a major economic center. Important developments included the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825 and the creation of a new street grid.

In the 1900s, Lower Manhattan saw many new buildings and bridges, such as the Williamsburg Bridge and the Manhattan Bridge. However, the center of business shifted northward to Midtown.

In 2001, tragedy struck when attacks caused great loss of life and damage to the World Trade Center. The area has since rebuilt and grown again, with new homes, businesses, and places to visit.

Lower Manhattan is rich with history, featuring sites like Castle Clinton, Federal Hall National Memorial where George Washington was inaugurated, and the Brooklyn Bridge.

Culture

Further information: Chinese people in Lower Manhattan, LGBTQ culture of Lower Manhattan, Transgender culture of Lower Manhattan, and Greenwich Village Halloween Parade

Since the early 1900s, Lower Manhattan has been a special place for art and fun activities. The area called Greenwich Village was known for its creative and free-spirited culture from the beginning of the 1900s until the 1980s. Many famous jazz clubs are still there, and it was also an important place for American folk music in the 1960s. Today, many art galleries can be found in a neighborhood called Chelsea.

Starting in the 1960s, Lower Manhattan became home to many different kinds of theater groups. It was also where punk rock music began in the mid-1970s at places like CBGB on Bowery and Max's Kansas City on Park Avenue South. The many old buildings in the area helped create new kinds of music like free jazz, disco, and electronic dance music. Even today, the nightclubs and bars in Lower Manhattan attract people from all over the city and nearby areas.

Denotation of Downtown

See also: Downtown

In Manhattan and New York City, the word "Downtown" means different things to different people, depending on where they live. For people living on the island or in The Bronx, "going downtown" usually means traveling south in Manhattan. Some people think "downtown" starts south of 14th Street, while others think it starts south of 23rd Street. When people talk about "Downtown Manhattan," they might mean the area south of Canal Street. In business, "Downtown Manhattan" often refers only to the Financial District and the big offices nearby. The term "Lower Manhattan" can mean any of these areas, depending on whether someone is talking about the whole city or just business and history.

Economy

Lower Manhattan is a very important business area in the United States, coming after Midtown Manhattan and the Chicago Loop. It is home to Wall Street, which helps make New York City a major center for money and technology around the world. Important places there include the New York Stock Exchange at 11 Wall Street and NASDAQ at 165 Broadway. These are the biggest places for buying and selling parts of companies.

Many big companies have offices in Lower Manhattan, such as AIG, AOL, Condé Nast, Goldman Sachs, Hudson's Bay Company, IBT Media, Nielsen Company, PR Newswire, Spotify, and Verizon Communications. Before some difficult events, other companies like Cantor Fitzgerald and US Helicopter also had their main offices there.

Government and infrastructure

The headquarters of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is located in 4 World Trade Center of the World Trade Center complex.

The city hall and related government buildings of the City of New York are in Lower Manhattan, next to City Hall Park. The Jacob K. Javits Federal Building is in Civic Center and includes the Federal Bureau of Investigation New York field office.

Many New York City Subway routes meet downtown. The largest stop, Fulton Center, finished in 2014 after a big project to rebuild after the events of September 11, 2001. It was meant to help 300,000 people each day. The World Trade Center Transportation Hub and PATH station opened in 2016. Ferry services are also in the area, including the Staten Island Ferry at the Whitehall Terminal, NYC Ferry at Pier 11/Wall Street, and service to Governors Island.

Lower Manhattan can be reached by car using big roads. From New Jersey, you can use the Holland Tunnel from Interstate 78. From Queens, Long Island, and places east, the Queens–Midtown Tunnel from the Long Island Expressway is used. From Midtown and Upper Manhattan, the West Side Highway leads there.

Many MTA express buses stop in lower Manhattan, connecting to many places.