Although Wall Street is at the heart of and directly associated with the Financial District in New York City’s Lower Manhattan, the business district goes well beyond this thoroughfare. The rhythm of the week and the weekend are completely different. From Monday to Friday, the sidewalks are taken over by nervous employees in a hurry to get to or leave work. On the other two days or all public holidays, tourists stroll peacefully admiring the buildings, which are nevertheless devoid of action.

Wall Street bears its name since a wall was there during the Dutch occupation, between 1653 and 1699, to protect the city from an enemy attack. From the very beginning of the 18th century, the first town hall was built here on the site of today’s Federal Hall. It is around this artery that slaves were sadly traded until 1762.

As early as 1791, at a special rendezvous point under a tree on Wall Street, the volume of trades increased significantly and led to the Buttonwood Agreement which required transactions to go through member brokers and be unrelated to government authorities.

For a long time, the big banks have chosen Wall Street to set up their offices. Today, Wall Street is still the economic pulse of the country and the world. Hundreds of thousands of securities are traded for values ​​exceeding billions of dollars daily. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York and many commercial banks and insurance companies are based there.

Although a major fire affected Wall Street and more than 700 surrounding buildings in 1835, the heart of business remained in one place.

Some interesting facts: Samuel Morse’s telegraph was well received by traders in 1837.  In 1882, Thomas Edison experimented with his direct current system thanks to the first power station in the world which made it possible to light 85 houses, offices or shops on Wall Street, an initiative that would change the world.

Today, notice the architecture of the buildings. Some have been converted into luxury residential spaces while retaining their pretty distinct styles.

Some buildings on Wall Street include:

• Irving Trust Company Building et Bank of New York Building (1 Wall Street)
• New York Stock Exchange Building (11 Wall Street)
• Bankers Trust Company (14 Wall Street)
• J.P. Morgan & Co (23 Wall Street)
• Federal Hall National Memorial (26 Wall street)
• Bank of Manhattan Company Building (40 Wall Street)
• Bank of New York & Trust Company Building (48 Wall Street)
• Merchants Exchange (55 Wall Street)
• J.P. Morgan & Co/ Deutsche Bank (60 Wall Street)

Note1: The Charging Bull is actually on Broadway near Wall Street.

Note2: The Fearless Girl is actually on Broad Street near Wall Street.

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