NEW YORK CITY TOURS
5 1/2-HOUR ITINERARY:
8:30AM - 2PM
3PM - 8:30PM
Get out of the shuttle at all stops!
START AT: TIMES SQUARE
WORLD TRADE CENTER
Memorial
STATUE OF LIBERTY
(Aboard the free Staten Island Ferry)
NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE
WALL STREET
ST. PAUL'S CHAPEL
TKTS LINE - B'WAY TIX
TRINITY CHURCH
BROADWAY
WORLD FINANCIAL CENTER
FEDERAL HALL
SOUTH STREET SEAPORT
(Snack break: not included in price)
US CUSTOMS BUILDING
5TH AVENUE
ROCKEFELLER CENTER
ST. PATRICK'S CATHEDRAL
CENTRAL PARK
STRAWBERRY FIELDS
DAKOTA BUILDING
CANYON OF HEROES
EMPIRE STATE BUILDING
(Optional, extra $14 admission)
OTHER SIGHTS YOU'LL SEE:
We stop near these attractions and provide historical narrative
MADISON SQUARE PARK
FLATIRON BUILDING
BROOKLYN BRIDGE
VERRAZANO BRIDGE
HUDSON RIVER
EAST RIVER
FAO SCHWARZ
LINCOLN CENTER
CHRYSLER BUILDING
WOOLWORTH BUILDING
MET LIFE BUIDING
TRUMP TOWER
(From the Apprentice)
PLAZA HOTEL
CENTRAL PARK ZOO
CITY HALL
ELLIS ISLAND
(view from Staten Island Ferry)
WASHINGTON SQUARE PARK
NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
GREENWICH VILLAGE
SOHO/TRIBECA
MACY'S
HERALD SQUARE
TRUMP INTERNATIONAL
TIFFANY'S
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Wall
Street and New York Stock Exchange
written by the New
York Party Shuttle staff
|
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Stock Exchange, the
history of Wall Street and Federal Hall, where George Washington was inaugurated.
This brisk walk down to Wall Street takes only 10 minutes with an interesting
surprise at the end.
Once the city's
northernmost boundary, Wall Street did indeed get its name from a wooden
palisade that had been erected back in 1653 under the direction of Dutch
Governor Peter Stuyvesant between the Hudson and East River to protect the
town from marauding Indians. This palisade was 10 feet high and made of thick
planks. However, before the wall was finished a street began to grow on the
"town" side. This became known as Wall Street and over the years, the
barricade gradually fell into disrepair as the dreaded Indian attacks failed
to materialize. The farmers and other citizenry would eventually rip down the
planks to use as building material or firewood, so that it would finally
disappear in 1699. But the "Wall Street" name remained.
After walking
down the now "pedestrian only" street that Wall Street has become since 9/11,
we come upon Federal Hall, the site of Washington's inauguration as first
President on April 30, 1789. The exact location is marked by Washington's
statue, as the present building was built in 1842 to house the first US
Customs House.
From here we get an excellent view of the New York Stock
Exchange. Located on Broad Street, the Visitor Gallery has been closed since
9/11 and there is no indication of whether it will be reopened. However we get a splendid
view of the magnificent Corinthian columns and sculpted figures on the
pediment symbolizing Commerce. The New York Stock Exchange was founded in 1792 when 24 New York City
stockbrokers and merchants signed the Buttonwood Agreement under a
buttonwood tree. Since then, the NYSE has grown to become the global marketplace it
is
today.
From the NYSE, we walk back to Broadway and stroll down to the famous Wall
Street Bull, one of the best photo opportunities in the area. Created by
then-unknown sculptor Arturo Di Modica, this Wall Street fixture since 1989
features a 7,000 pound bronze rendition of a charging bull with flaring
nostrils that are rubbed for good luck by many traders each morning. The
sculpture was inspired by the 1987 stock market crash, when Di Modica sold
his farm in Sicily to help fund his project. "Charging Bull" arrived
in front of the Stock Exchange in the dead of night on December 15, 1989 when
there were no authorities nearby. Since there was no permit, it was removed
by the police. So great was public support for this endeavor that on December
20, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation arranged for the piece to have a new
stomping ground at its current location at Bowling Green, the city's oldest
park.
Check
out our Statue
of Liberty tour information link.
Check out our Empire State Building tour information link.
Check
out our Madison
Square Park tour information link.
Check out
our World
Financial Center tour information link.
Check
out how to get tickets
to David Letterman's show.
Check out how to get
tickets
to Saturday Night live.
Check out New
York Tourist Advisor.
Article
Copyright 2005 by New
York Party Shuttle.
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