| Maps: Layers of Lower Manhattan (text-only) |
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1760s: British Colonial Town
Upon seizing New Amsterdam , the British renamed the city New York, in honor of the king's brother James, the Duke of York. The British built up the wharves, expanded the shoreline and achieved what the Dutch had not been able to do -- turn the city into a highly profitable port of trade. The city grew more dense as Dutch and English residents built homes and workplaces on former parks and commons.
A 1683 charter divided the region into wards, with the richest citizens living in the Dock Ward near the harbor. For the first time, the West Ward, the area west of Broadway, was extended with defined streets. New York City grew into a powerful commercial hub and was briefly the seat of the new United States government, for five years after the American Revolution.
1. Fort George/The Battery
The British renamed the fortress several times in honor of British sovereigns -- Fort James, Fort William, Fort Anne, and Fort George. They built up its seawall to accommodate a battery of cannons and maintained it as a crucial defense against their Dutch and French enemies. As in Dutch times, the governor's house was sited within the fortress walls.
2. Bowling Green
In New Amsterdam's early years, the open area across from the fort was the village green -- an all-purpose space for meetings, markets or leisure. British residents anointed it a playing field for the aristocratic sport of lawn bowling in 1733, making it the first official park in New York -- and the colonies. George Washington is said to have bowled there.
3. City Hall
In 1699, a new City Hall was built where Broad Street ended at Wall Street, across from Trinity Church. The structure housed administrative offices, as well as the city's fire engine and jail. In 1754, citizens lobbied successfully to open the city's first library there. French architect Pierre L'Enfant remodeled the hall in 1788 before George Washington was inaugurated as president there the following year.
4. Trinity Church / St. Paul's Chapel / King's College
British colonists built Trinity Church with land grants from King William III and Queen Anne. New York's first college started classes at the church in 1754 with a student body of eight. Known as King's College, it would become Columbia University. The current Trinity Church, the third incarnation, was consecrated in 1846.
St. Paul's Chapel opened in 1766 to serve residents living further north in the city and remains New York City's oldest public building in continual service.
5. African Burial Ground
An 18th century burial site for thousands of black residents, both slaves and free people, was located on the town's northern outskirts, where Chambers Street is today. The approximately five acre burial ground, rediscovered during construction in 1991, contained human remains and artifacts including African trade beads, jewelry and coins. The government altered construction plans to leave some of the area undeveloped for a future memorial.
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