Broad Street, New York City

Broad Street, looking north from Exchange Place, New York City. Illustration above published in A History of the American People by Woodrow Wilson, 1902, redrawn from an old print. Illustration below (from A Tour around New York, and My Summer Acre; being the Recreations of Mr. Felix Oldboy by John Flavel Mines (1835-1891) seems to depict the same section at a later time, the top of the spire of the First Presbyterian Church is represented in the background. Both images probably depict scenes in the 18th century.

Early notable buildings on Broad Street included the Lovelace Tavern, Fraunces Tavern and the Exchange. In 1691, the first Broad Street market was established at the south end of the Street. The City’s first firehouse was built in 1736, in front of present NYSE. Many buildings on Broad Street were destroyed by the Great Fire of 1776, during the Independence War.