Wall Street

A short history

It was built in 1644 in the centre of Manhattan 'island' by the Dutch to protect against British attacks. Years later, the defence wall has been removed, but the street remains, giving it the name of Wall Street. We think of Wall Street as the world financial centre, but this hasn't always been the case.

Early on in the history of the USA, Boston was the financial centre of America. Bonds for projects such as road, canal and bridge construction, and contracts for basic products such as leathers and molasses were bought and sold by Boston businessmen. However, there was still no official location for carrying out this business.

Other countries had already had such stock 'exchanges' for many years. Belgium established its first stock exchange in 1531. Amsterdam quickly followed suit, setting one up in Warmoesstraat. In 1602, below the Amstel bridge, the East India Company's shares were bought and sold. The money was put towards financing pilgrim visits to America.

During this time, Paris carried out its financial business in the Rue de Quincampoix. At the start of the 17th century, German businessmen in Berlin carried out their dealings in the Grotte in Schlossgarten.

The London stock exchange started off as an outdoor market located on Exchange Passage. By 1725, many London merchants had begun to do business in Jonathan Coffee House, which came to be known as 'the Exchange' in 1773. A contemporary advertisement by businessman John Taylor proclaimed to 'sell and buy new lottery tickets, provision bills for the Marines, and East Indian bonds'.

It was, then, only a matter of time before the world's newest country, the United States of America, started to organise its shares and bonds in a formal manner. It all began in 1792. At this time, the population of New York city was around 34, 000, not including Brooklyn and Queens, which are still considered separate cities. A large part of Manhattan had just finished being rebuilt with brick buildings after the devastating Great Fire of 1776.

Wall Street was the commercial centre of New York. It connected Broadway in the west to the east river at its other end, though it had no pavement or cobblestones. Along it were shops selling leather, coffee and tea, and other imports from around the world. Towards the southern end, the streets were full of butchers' slaughterhouses and tanneries.

Rich enterprises would sell lottery tickets, bonds and shares in new banks which were being set up in addition to their ordinary business.

Until 1792, if someone wanted to buy or sell an investment, it was best to give this investment some publicity, or spread worth among acquaintances and friends. One of the first businessmen to maintain a share offer in the hand were Leonard Bleeker at 16 Wall Street, and Sutton & Harry at 20 Wall Street. On one day in 1791, 100 shares changed hands.

The first organised stock exchange was founded in 1792, when John Sutton, Benjamin Jay, and another 22 financial leaders signed an agreement on rules, regulations and rates under a budding tree in Castle Garden (now known as Battery Park)

Later on in a building at 22 Wall Street, the bonds were auctioned off every day from midday onwards, sold to the highest bidder. The seller paid the exchange a commission for every bond or share sold.

This organisation was originally known as the Office Stock Exchange. It was a very exclusive organisation, with only the financial elite of New York able to join. Certainly, no women were allowed to join! Only in recent years did Muriel Siebert become the first female member of the New York Stock Exchange.

Wall Street is one of the most famous financial areas in the world, it's located in the district of Manhattan, New York, in the south of the famous "Big Apple". It's not the most essential visit in New York since the city offers better monuments and buildings to see, but if you have some spare time, then it's an interesting visit in the heart of finances in one of the most influential cities in the world.

Before talking about this place, you have to know that its name comes from the wall that was used in Manhattan to keep the enemies and Native Americans out of Manhattan. Although it was knocked down centuries ago, this area is still known by this name nowadays.

The most important buildings in this area are the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) and the Federal Hall.

The NYSE is the largest stock market in the world in monetary volume and the most companies have affiliations with it. Before the 9/11 attacks, you could visit the building inside, but that's no longer possible. It's a shame because I'd like to know if it's true to what is seen in the movies with people shouting values. This building also lived through one of the worst days in the history of economics and produced one of the largest economic recessions in the country which was dubbed the famous black Thursday where the stock market crashed in 1929.

The façade of the building is quite classic, with the mythical, triangular pediment presiding over the building, and 6 columns. A giant American flag practically covers these columns. On the pediment there is a series of sculptures, but I don't know what they are or what they represent.

Federal Hall National Monument: This mythical building will always stay in the memories of American history since it's not only the first city hall, but in 1789 George Washington was named as president of the United States of America here, the first president of this nation and so the first presidential term had taken place here. Due to this, a statue of George Washington can be seen here on the steps which lead up to the building. However, it's not the same building where these historical things happened, it was destroyed and then rebuilt in the 19th century. Nowadays, the building houses a museum, which talks about the history of the building and contains the Bible on which George Washington was sworn into presidency, a historical object.

The entrance fee to the Federal Hall is free and the visiting hours are from Monday to Friday from 9 in the morning until 5 in the afternoon, and it's closed during national holidays.

The most famous sculpture in this place is the Charging Bull of Wall Street, a great statue of a bull built in bronze which weighs more than 3, 000 kilos. It was created by Antonio di Modica, who spent all his savings in order to build the statue after the stock-market crisis at the end of the 80's. Now it's a symbol of Wall Street and of businesses. The bull looks like it's in a charging stance and its two front legs are flexed as if it were going to charge. They sculpted it in this way so it was more representative of aggressiveness and financial prosperity. To see it, you have to go towards Bowling Green Park, which is stuck onto Wall Street. Some people, however, get confused and thing that the wolf represents Wall Street, thanks to the famous film "The Wolf of Wall Street".

They say that to have good luck and many years of economic prosperity, you have to touch the bull's balls, but I don't think that actually works seeing as I touched them two years ago and I'm still in the same financial situation as before.

The best thing to do is visit Wall Street during the week and during working hours so you can appreciate the ambiance of this area more, where the predominance of workers from all classes have the same thing in common - stress.

To get to Wall Street, you can take one of the bus lines; M1, M6 and M15 or if you prefer, you can take the metro to Broad Street Station with lines J, M and Z, to get to Wall Street Station take the I, R or W lines, or to get to Rector Street take the I, R or W lines. The most famous things close to Wall Street are the World Trade Centre and Battery Park. I went after my journey on the ferry to Staten Island, which you take from Battery Park.