Wall Street

History
Iconic Place

Romane

Published on 19/03/2025

This point of interest is available as audio on the tour: Visit New York, The Towers of Wall Street

Care to know the story behind this street’s name? We have to go back in time to 1653, when New York was just a small Dutch colony, much coveted by the English. To defend their colony, then known as New Amsterdam, the Dutch built a wall south of Manhattan. This very wall gave its name to the now-iconic Wall Street. It started out as the name of a single street, but has now become synonymous with the entire neighborhood – one of the world’s biggest financial centres. Wall Street, the so-called Heart of Global Finance, is home to two of Manhattan’s most important and famous buildings – the New York Stock Exchange and Federal Hall National Memorial. After all, this is where the world’s financial future is decided… and that’s saying something! No wonder Wall Street is now the name of this world-famous business district!