Stone Street Historic District - Financial District - New York City

- By Vivienne Gucwa

Something I absolutely love about New York City is that tucked away between the towering monuments of modernity that populate the cityscape are streets that look as if they have been transported from another era and geographic location entirely. These streets are suspended in time like flies in amber.

This area is known as the Stone Street historic district in lower Manhattan. Bound by Stone Street, Pearl Street, and South William Streets and Mill Lane, it is a section that is unlike any of its surrounding blocks. This particular section is bound by South William street and 13-15 South William Street can be seen in this particular view. Around the block from this part of the area are other historic buildings and the Stone Street area ‘proper’.

In 1903, the architect C.P.H. Gilbert designed new street facades on the buildings in this section of South William Street (57 Stone Street on the other side). Gilbert’s neo-Dutch Renaissance architecture features structural details like stepped gables and strapwork and was a nod to the early settlement of Manhattan .

This area which dates back to the 1600s when New York City was first colonized by Dutch settlers was sadly destroyed by the Great Fire of 1835. The surrounding section of Stone Street was rebuilt with granite bases of post-and-lintel construction and upper-additions of brick which were specifically erected for importers and merchants.

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Stone Street Historic District - Financial District - New York City

- By Vivienne Gucwa

Something I absolutely love about New York City is that tucked away between the towering monuments of modernity that populate the cityscape are streets that look as if they have been transported from another era and geographic location entirely. These streets are suspended in time like flies in amber.

This area is known as the Stone Street historic district in lower Manhattan. Bound by Stone Street, Pearl Street, and South William Streets and Mill Lane, it is a section that is unlike any of its surrounding blocks. This particular section is bound by South William street and 13-15 South William Street can be seen in this particular view. Around the block from this part of the area are other historic buildings and the Stone Street area ‘proper’.

In 1903, the architect C.P.H. Gilbert designed new street facades on the buildings in this section of South William Street (57 Stone Street on the other side). Gilbert’s neo-Dutch Renaissance architecture features structural details like stepped gables and strapwork and was a nod to the early settlement of Manhattan .

This area which dates back to the 1600s when New York City was first colonized by Dutch settlers was sadly destroyed by the Great Fire of 1835. The surrounding section of Stone Street was rebuilt with granite bases of post-and-lintel construction and upper-additions of brick which were specifically erected for importers and merchants.

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