“LITTLE SYRIA” - NYC's Forgotten Neighborhood

Friday, May 3, 2013 - Monday, May 27, 2013
3LD Art & Technology Center
80 Greenwich Street, New York, NY 10006

“LITTLE SYRIA" NEW YORK CITY

by Wall Street Walks Tour Guide Marie Beirne

In the 1980’s, when I worked at NASDAQ on the 98^th Floor of Two World Trade Center, every evening I waited for the x90 express bus to Yorkville, in front of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church which once stood across Liberty Street from the South Tower.

I have very fond memories of that divine and beloved little church, surrounded on three sides by the parking lot…looking a little lonely and frail, all by itself, especially at nightfall.

Tonight, at a lecture,  I found out that after 9/11, when workers got to the foundation of the destroyed St. Nicholas’,  buried in the rubble, they found artifacts of an old church, the cornerstone of St. Joseph's from “Little Syria”, New York City. The cornerstone now resides in Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Cathedral in Brooklyn Heights.

It is rare for New Yorkers to be surprised with news of an old neighborhood you never heard of before…what a delight the discovery of “Little Syria” was for the audience.

On April 30 at the 9/11 Tribute Center, Linda Jacobs, author, archaeologist, and an expert on the Syrian immigrant community in New York City, and Todd Fine, co-founder of the “Save Washington Street,” preservation campaign presented “Little Syria’: Lower Manhattan Before the World Trade Center,” a discussion on the history of the neighborhood in the southwestern corner of Lower Manhattan.

Beginning in the late 1800’s, the neighborhood developed a flavor of the Arab world from which many of the immigrants originated.  Their entrepreneurial spirit transformed the neighborhood, which came to be known as “Little Syria”, into a thriving community lined with shops and coffeehouses. Many of these immigrants owned small restaurants and grocery stores and had easy access to the docks where produce was brought in on boats from New Jersey.  Each furnished with signs written in their native Arabic.  Here bilingual Arab-Americans raised their families, educated their children, formed religious and community organizations and gradually became part of the life of the city of New York.

Eventually the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel and the World Trade Center displaced the folks in this neighborhood who moved to Atlantic Avenue and other neighborhoods of Brooklyn. 

Most New Yorkers, and even many Lebanese-Americans and Arab-Americans, are unaware that Lower Manhattan — along Washington Street from Battery Park through the 9/11 Memorial to Chambers Street — was once the center of Arab-American life in the United States, from the 1870s to the 1940s called “Little Syria” or the “Mother Colony.”

Today, only three buildings from that era remain and are physically connected: 103 Washington Street, an Arab church that served as a Irish bar for many years.   The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the building a New York City landmark on July 14, 2009. 

Two other remaining buildings: 105-107 Washington Street, a community house inaugurated by the governor of New York Al Smith to serve the “Little Syria” neighborhood; and 109 Washington Street, a tenement building still containing apartments are now part of an active campaign by Save Washington Street [http://savewashingtonstreet.org/history/] a national coalition of organizations and individuals advocating for the preservation of the last two sites.

While the coalition’s first objective is to achieve the landmark designation of the community center at 105-107 Washington Street, already advocated by Community Board 1 of New York City, the long-term goal of the coalition is to improve education about this diverse neighborhood, and about Arab-American history .

Be sure to discover “Little Syria” for yourself, starting on May 3, and continuing through May 27, the Arab American National Museum (based in Dearborn, Michigan) will present at the 3LD Art & Technology Center (80 Greenwich Street) an exhibition documenting the neighborhood's history.

Join Wall Street Walks on one of our guided walking tours to uncover more of the many, many secrets of NYC. We offer an exciting peek at the New York no one else knows! 

NYC Decks Out in Its Trashiest Haute Couture for the 2013 Met Gala

Every heavily kohl-lined eye in the world will be turned to NYC tonight as fashion’s best and brightest don their haute couture shredded leather for this year’s Met Gala. This year’s theme “Punk: Chaos to Couture” is sure to channel the raucous, devil-may-care heyday of the likes of the New York Dolls, Suicide, The Ramones, Blondie, Patti Smith, Sex Pistols, and Talking Heads. The Costume Institute Gala (commonly referred to as the “Met Ball” by all those in the know) is a celebration of the annual opening of the Metropolitan Museum's fashion exhibit at the Costume Institute. The preceding red carpet is THE place to see celebrities dressed to the nines in the year’s edgiest avant garde looks. In Gala’s past, photos from the event were posted online, but this unprecedented carpet will feature a live streaming feed, beginning at 7 p.m. EST via the fashion site www.modaoperandi.com in coordination with Conde Nast, Samsung, and Vogue magazine. Though the Met Museum may be a far cry from the seedy interior of CBGB, this year’s gala promises to capture the spirit of the trends of yesteryear – be it from a precariously perched Devo cone hat to a strategically placed tattoo a la Richard Hell. This modern interpretation of the counter culture in the mid-seventies heralds back to the music scene of New York circa ‘74–’76 and will most certainly pay homage to classic punk details like studs, spikes, safety pins, distressed denims, and, of course, lots and lots of leather. Sure to be decked out in their best trash bag chic are co-chairs Rooney Mara (popular for her portrayal of punk princess Lisbeth Salander in Hollywood’s “Girl Who…”series), co-founder of Moda Operandi / Vogue editor Lauren Santo Domingo, and famed Italian fashion designer Riccardo Tisci. The fashion world is sure to hold its breath for a singular shot of Anna Wintour in plaid bondage pants.

Get all of the hottest updates in NYC – from Downtown and beyond – with Wall Street Walks.

Copyright: W Magazine

      

History of the Rockefeller Center

Originally, Rockefeller Center in midtown Manhattan was destined to be the new performance space for the Metropolitan Opera. However, delays from the Metropolitan Opera and the 1929 stock market crash spurred John D. Rockefeller, Jr. to take matters into his own hands. Which is something he was pretty good at.

“It was clear that there were only two courses open to me. One was to abandon the entire development. The other to go forward with it in the definite knowledge that I myself would have to build it and finance it alone.”

Rockefeller chose the second option and thus took on the largest private building project ever, at an estimate of $250 million dollars – and that’s in 1930’s money. The construction created over 70,000 jobs and Rockefeller was an integral employer during the depression. In fact, the famous photo “Lunch Atop a Skyscraper” of construction workers eating on a steel girder high above the city is from that jobsite.

The entire Rockefeller Center originally consisted of 14 buildings and currently houses some of New York City’s most notable tenants including the Today Show, Saturday Night Live, Prometheus overlooking the ice skating rink and of course, the world famous Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall. Rockefeller Center was named a national landmark on September 26, 1987.

The Panic of 1873

A year ago this week, Occupy Wall Street began as a relatively small protest in a park in New York City’s Wall St. Area. It is now an international movement that stands against financial greed and the “corrosive power” of major banks they feel led to our recent economic collapse.

A place not unaccustomed to financial panic and discord, Wall Street was also one of the earliest areas hit in the beginning of the original Great Depression in 1873. That year, the New York Stock Exchange was forced to close its doors for the very first time on September 20 during what was known as the Panic of 1873.

Much like our most recent economic disaster, the Panic of 1873 was sparked by the collapse of a large financial institution: Jay Cooke & Company, a brokerage firm and a major investor in railroad construction. Their failure led to a chain reaction and the country suffered economic despair for years, resulting in history’s worst financial crisis until the second Great Depression came along in the 1930’s.

Remembering September 11, 2001

The night before, Michael Jackson performed his 30^th Anniversary Special at Madison Square Garden and Yankees fans were disappointed when the game with their biggest rivalry, the Boston Red Sox, was rescheduled due to rain. The next morning, of course, was gorgeous.

That day, September 11, 2001, people all over New York City made their way to work humming Billie Jean and crossing their fingers against another rainout in the last moments of “life before.” Then, between 8:46 and 10:03 AM EST, four planes crashed into our beloved Twin Towers, the Pentagon and a field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, over 2,500 lives were lost and countless others were irrevocably changed in the worst terrorist attack in United States history.

Eleven years later, the construction is humming on the site of the new World Trade Center and the Freedom Tower is standing tall over the Wall Street area as it nears completion. Life in NYC is back to normal … but it’s a new normal for those of us who remember the days after, when the streets were quiet and we all took a little extra time to check in with everyone we passed.

Our new normal is one in which we love our city more than ever and take tremendous pride in honoring New York’s rich history, and her future, with people from all over the world. Join us for a Wall Street Walks tour and let us share a little bit of our New York City with you. Click here to learn more: https://www.wallstreetwalks.com/tours_main.html

New York City History

Settled in 1625, as New Amsterdam, New York City’s history is some of the richest and most vibrant in the entire United States. The actual birthplace of the American government, New York has seen an incredible amount of US, and worldwide firsts, two of which were recorded exactly 130 years ago this week.

On Monday, September 4, 1882, Thomas Edison switched on his large generator plant in downtown Manhattan and at 3 PM that afternoon, Pearl Street was lit with electricity for the first time ever.

The next morning, September 5, 10,000 workers joined together to march through New York City in the very first Labor Day Parade. The procession featured banners including: “To the Workers Should Belong the Wealth” and “Children in School, Not in Factories.”

Come join us for a Wall Street Walks tour and learn even more about the vibrant history of New York City. Our new fall schedule features tours at 11:00 AM on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, and 11:00 AM and 1:00 PM on Fridays. Click here to get your tickets now: https://www.wallstreetwalks.com/tours_main.html

Another Big Week For Car Companies

Before it was phased out in 2004, Oldsmobile produced over 35 million cars in its 107-year history. A staple of the Detroit Motor City industrial scene, over 14 million Oldsmobiles were built in their Lansing, Michigan factory. Opened on August 21, 1897, General Motors closed the division on April 29, 2004, presaging a decline into a 2009 bankruptcy for the iconic car company. Not to worry, though! GM bounced back and last year they were the world’s number one car manufacturer.

Another General Motors division, Cadillac Motor Company, was founded 5 years and 1 day after Oldsmobile on August 22, 1902. Named after the founder of the city of Detroit, Cadillac laid the foundation for mass automobile production by creating interchangeable parts for its cars. Just ten years later, they launched the first production automobile with an electric self-starter – a “car with no crank.” Faring much better than its older sister, Oldsmobile, Cadillac is still breaking new ground in the automotive industry and continues to be the “Standard of the World.”

Except of course, in New York, where every savvy urbanite knows that your feet are really your best vehicle for getting around town. The city is packed with so much energy and there is always something new to discover, even if you’ve lived in Manhattan your entire life. There’s so much to encounter, experience and learn from just from wandering these magical streets of ours.

The next time you’re downtown, check out one of our Wall Street Walks tours and let us show you what we’ve discovered then share with us some discoveries of your own! 

A Great Week in Car History

What a great week in car history! Let’s start with July 30, 1863, when Henry Ford famously said, “If I’d listened to what my customers wanted, I’d have given them a faster horse.” Also this week, on August 1, 1941, Jeep rolled out its first ever model and on August 3, Firestone Tire and Rubber Company will celebrate its 112^th Anniversary.

Thanks to the brilliance that was Henry Ford’s mind and the ingenuity of inventors and engineers who continued his legacy, America saw the birth of a car industry that would revolutionize the way we did everything! From, getting ourselves around town, to increasing travel beyond our city limits, to expanding our knowledge and access to the world around us, cars have become a way of life, a method for bandying social status, and for many people, a tangible portrayal of their own personalities.

Here in Manhattan, however, you’ll notice we use our cars mostly to sit in traffic. That’s why Wall Street Walks hits the town on our feet to get the most out of what this amazing city has to offer! Be sure to check out one of our incredible tours while you’re in town this summer. Happy August!

The Curb Market

Way before the New York Stock Exchange moved into it’s current home at 11 Wall Street, trading was done in an outdoor space at 30 Broad Street known as The Curb Market and the traders were known as the New York Curb Market.

For almost ten years traders bought and sold shares outside until they moved indoors on July 27, 1921, to a building in Lower Manhattan. Led by, Edward McCormick, the Curb Market’s chairman, brokers ceremoniously marched up Wall Street to their newly completed building on Trinity Place behind Trinity Church.

In 1929, the New York Curb Market changed its name to the New York Curb Exchange and soon became the top international stock market. Years later in 1953, they renamed themselves once again and became the American Stock Exchange. 

The Duel that Led to Alexander Hamilton's Death

You might remember the great “Got Milk” commercial from the 90’s that featured a historical museum’s curator eating a peanut butter sandwich. His local radio station calls and offers him $10,000 if he can tell them who shot Alexander Hamilton in the July 11, 1804, duel that led to his death.

The answer, which the curator couldn’t get out because he didn’t have milk, was Aaron Burr, the sitting Vice President of the United States at the time of the shooting. In the duel, Burr shot and fatally wounded Alexander Hamilton. Once he was injured, Hamilton was transferred from Weehawken, New Jersey, where the duel had taken place, to Manhattan, where he died at a house on Jane Street in Greenwich Village the next day.

Hamilton’s funeral was held two days later on July 14 at Trinity Church in the Wall Street area. He was buried in the adjacent Trinity Churchyard where his son Philip, also the victim of a duel, had been buried three years prior. Because dueling had recently been outlawed in New York and New Jersey before the Burr-Hamilton duel, the incident created a huge political uproar and Burr was indicted for murder, though he was never convicted.

A Big Week in New York History

This week is a big one in New York history. Back in 1916, Wall Street lost its Witch, Hetty Green, on July 3. Green was the first female tycoon in the US and was known around town as the “Witch of Wall Street.” An heiress to a multi-million dollar fortune, she was infamous for her stinginess and was rumored to go so far as to never use hot water and to ask her laundress to only wash the dirtiest parts of her dresses to save on soap.

On Wednesday, we celebrate the Fourth of July in honor of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence and our official separation from Great Britain on July 4, 1776. If you’re in the city, pay tribute to our country on a 90-minute tour of historic Wall Street and Ground Zero, or a 2-hour tour of Wall Street and the 9/11 Memorial. Afterwards, make your way to the West Side to stake out your claim to watch the stupendous fireworks display along the Hudson from 16^th Street all the way up to midtown. 

July 7, New York celebrates the 249^th birthday of its first multi-millionaire, one-time opium smuggler, John Jacob Astor. Born in Waldorf, Germany, Astor migrated to the US after the Revolutionary War. Arriving at age 21, with no money to speak of, he soon made a fortune in the fur trade. By the time of his death in 1848, John Jacob Astor was the richest man in the country.

Two noteworthy New York events happened on July 8^th. The first is another birthday – John D. Rockefeller was born in 1839. He is the senior of the Rockefeller dynasty and is one of New York’s most acclaimed philanthropists. With only $2000, Rockefeller formed his first partnership in 1859, and just four years later they were running their own oil refinery. In 1870, when Rockefeller organized The Standard Oil Company at the age of 31, the business had a capital of $1 million.

Also on July 8, we commemorate the first edition of the Wall Street Journal. Volume 1, Number 1 was published in 1889 and the price was two cents. Today it is #1 most-read newspapers, with a daily circulation of over 2,000,000 copies worldwide. Though it’s named after the street in New York’s financial district, the WSJ headquarters are now located on Sixth Avenue near Rockefeller Center.

Jesse Lauriston Livermore, the Great Bear of Wall Street

June 26th marks the 135th birthday of Jesse Lauriston Livermore, the “Great Bear of Wall Street.” Known as one of the greatest traders of all time, Livermore’s life and career were a dedication to the study and mastery of stock and commodity movement and prices.

For Jesse, life began in rural Massachusetts where he was the child of a poor farmer, seemingly doomed to repeat the same fate as his father. At 14, with his mother’s blessing and her $5, he ran away from home to escape the hardship of life on a farm.

His stock market success started that same year in “bucket shops,” gambling halls where Livermore made over $1000 (over $20,000 by 2012 standards) placing bets on stock prices before he ever actually bought or sold a single share. Once he began trading in legitimate markets, Livermore both earned and lost millions upon millions of dollars.

Jesse Livermore is quoted as saying that his losses were the result of not listening to his own advice. At the height of his fortune, his worth was in the billions by today’s standards. Although his death was over 70 years ago, Livermore’s book, “How to Trade in Stocks,” is still listed among the top books ever written on finance and Wall Street.

Happy Birthday Donald Trump!

You know the man, you know the empire, you know the hair …  but did you know that it was his birthday? This week on June 14, Donald J. Trump will turn 66 years old and he certainly has a lot of reasons to celebrate.

Born in 1946, in Queens, “The Donald” became a public figure as the result of his hugely successful career as a real estate developer in New York City during the late 70’s and 80’s. His building projects include the Grand Hyatt hotel on 42nd Street at Grand Central Terminal and the apartment-retail complex he built on New York’s Fifth Avenue, the iconic Trump Tower. 

Trump enjoyed unfathomable, well-publicized success for many years until a financial blow at his casino, the Taj Mahal, and a plummet in the real estate market in 1990, caused his net worth to drop drastically.

Not one to be beaten easily, Trump worked his way back and by the late 90’s got his net worth up into the multiple-billions. These days he enjoys a thriving career not only in real estate and development, but also in entertainment ventures such as producing beauty pageants, managing Central Park’s ice skating rinks and acting as a reality star on his own television show, The Celebrity Apprentice.

Summer in New York City

Summer in New York is such an exciting time. The days are long, the nights are cool and the city is bursting at the seams with exciting, fun outdoor activities to suit every taste imaginable.

If you’re in the city and looking for a way to celebrate the warm weather – may we suggest a Wall Street Walks tour? Not only is it amazing to stroll around the bustling streets of New York, you can visit the celebrated landmarks where America was born. Learn how an 18th century bazaar became the greatest financial center of the world. Walk in the footsteps of America’s forefathers and stand in the shadow of the rebirth of Ground Zero.

Another one of our favorite NY summertime activities is the River To River Festival held in locations across Lower Manhattan. Kicking off on June 17, the 2012 River To River Festival will host hundreds of events including live music, theater, dance and other cultural happenings through July 15.

This summer, treat yourself to a real downtown New York experience. Explore the rich and exciting history of the Wall Street Area then enjoy one of the great River To River Festival shows. Make a day of it … you’ll be glad you did!

75th Anniversary of the Death of John D. Rockefeller

This week marks the 75th anniversary of the death of John D. Rockefeller. Once known as the richest man in the world, Rockefeller gave over 500 million dollars to a variety of causes including education, science and religion institutions.

Born in Richford, New York, Rockefeller was an enterprising man who built his first oil refinery near Cleveland and incorporated Standard Oil Company when he was just 31 years old. His son, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., was his only heir and he carried on his father’s legacy of philanthropy.

In 1901 John D. Rockefeller, Jr. created Rockefeller University in NYC and during World War II, helped establish the USO for the troops. Later, Rockefeller Jr. personally funded the construction of Rockefeller Center, creating over 75,000 jobs during the depression, and establishing what is now a world-famous landmark in the center of midtown Manhattan.

Washington Inauguration

On April 30, 1789, just a few short weeks after the first United States Congress met at Federal Hall in to establish the first American government, George Washington stepped out onto an upstairs balcony and was sworn in as the first President of the United States.

Located in the heart of New York City’s financial district, Federal Hall is where America’s forefathers wrote the Bill of Rights and it served as a home for the Supreme Court and other city government offices until it was demolished in 1812.

The building that is now located on Wall Street was initially used as a Customs House but now is the home to Federal Hall National Memorial, a museum and memorial honoring the first President and the rich history of the United States.

Starting April 30 and lasting through May 2012, Federal Hall will be celebrating George Washington as well as the days when New York City was the national capital.

Fraunces Tavern, an Historical Landmark and a Stop on the Wall Street Walks Tour

Fraunces Tavern, located at 54 Pearl Street in New York City, was built in 1719 as a residence for a merchant named Stephan Delancey. In 1762, it was converted in a tavern which proved to be very popular as well as historically significant. The history of Fraunces Tavern is interwined with George Washington, the Revolutionary War and the budding U.S. Government that arose just after the war.

After nearly 250 years of serving travelers in New York City, you can still sit down and enjoy a meal at Fraunces Tavern. If you'd like to learn more about this American treasure, book a ticket on a Wall Street Walks guided walking tour of the Financial District of New York.