Follow the Money in Lower Manhattan: A Tour of New York’s Most Historic Neighborhood

Explore the economic history of New York City on this engaging walking tour that covers the oldest parts of Lower Manhattan. Learn how a small Dutch settlement grew into the world’s financial capital over four centuries. The tour highlights the city’s rise as a center of finance, its local politics, and how these factors shaped the neighborhood’s architecture and streetscape. Walk past historic sites such as Bowling Green, the city’s oldest park, and see Wall Street landmarks including the New York Stock Exchange and Trinity Church. Visit Federal Hall, where George Washington was sworn in, and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, home to the world’s largest stock of gold.

The tour also explores J.P. Morgan’s headquarters and the remnants of its 1920 bombing, the Equitable Building which influenced the city’s first zoning code, and St. Paul’s Chapel, Manhattan’s oldest building. Learn about modern history at the pocket park where Occupy Wall Street gathered, One World Trade Center, and the Oculus train station. Conclude at New York City Hall, the oldest city hall still in use in the United States. This two-hour, one and a half mile tour is ideal for adults and teenagers with an interest in the city’s financial and urban history, providing both historical insight and contemporary context.