Adrian Block Tablet, 45 Broadway

Photo dated December 1952 shows the Adrian Block tablet at the left side of the façade of the 45 Broadway building, originally the Aldrich Court Building, completed in 1887. Photograph by Angelo Rizzuto (1906-1967) from the collection of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

This bronze tablet was installed in September 1890 by the Holland Society of New York, on the façade of 41-45 Broadway, with the following inscription: «This tablet marks the site of the first habitations of white men on the Island of Manhattan. Adrian Block commander of the "Tiger" erected here four houses or huts after his vessel was burned November 1613 he built the Restless the first vessel made by Europeans in this country the Restless was launched in the spring of 1614». The Dutch explorer and private trader Adrian Block (1567-1627) is best known for exploring the coastal and river valley areas between present-day New Jersey and Massachusetts during four voyages from 1611 to 1614, following the 1609 expedition by Henry Hudson.

More: New York in the 17th Century ►

At the time of this photo above, the 45 Broadway building was being used by the Maritime Administration. The building was seized by the United States Government during the World War I and demolished in 1982 to make way for the 45 Broadway Atrium. The bronze tablet was removed and returned to the Holland Society. In 2017, the tablet was re-installed at the 45 Broadway Atrium.