Walk 2: Water Street, Hanover Square, South Street Seaport


The free-flowing waters of the port of New York were the engine to spark the creation of the modern city. Commerce grew rapidly making New York the premier port of the United States. This walk traces the waterfront and its commercial buildings or counting houses. Issues of landfill are also discussed. As larger-scaled businesses outgrew the old counting houses, and tall buildings emerged in their place, the Zoning Resolution of 1916 was passed to regulate new construction. We finish with a discussion of South Street Seaport and its usefulness in our day.


Watson House, 7 State Street, John McComb Jr. [1793-1806]
Shrine of Mother Seton, 7 State Street, Shanley & Sturges [1965]
Fraunces Tavern, 54 Pearl Street, William Mersereau [1907]
Counting Houses, 34-38 Water Street [1810-1840s]
55 Water Street, Emery Roth and Sons [1972]
Jeanette Park,William Britt Fellows & Peter Wormser [1985]
Terrace at 55 Water Street, Paul Friedberg and Associates [1972]
India House, 1 Hanover Square, Richard Carman [1851-54]
First Police Precinct, 100 Old Slip, Joseph and Richard Hunt [1911]
Baltimore Copper Paint Company, 167-171 John Street [1850, restored 1983]
Tobacco Warehouse, 84-85 South Street, G. Curtis Gillespie [1902]
South Street Seaport, Benjamin Thompson (architect), Rouse & Company (developer) [1980s]
Schermerhorn Row (1811-1812 and 1850), 2-18 Fulton Street [2-12: 1811, 14-18: 1812], 189-195 Front Street [1812], 159-171 John Steet, 91-2 South Street
Con Ed Electical Substation, Peck Slip, Edward Larabee Barnes [1975]

Related links:
-Stadt Huys site
-Stadt Huys excavation
-Lovelace Tavern walls at Stadt Huys Block site
-18th century well at Stadt Huys Block site

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