The street known today as Wall Street, was once called Het Cingle. At that time, Manhattan was a Dutch settlement and there was an actual wall along the street. actually the wall was a fortification intended to protect the settlement from natives or other bellicose intrusions. This rampart was fortified during Stuyevan’s rule using slave labor (which became common in New York by the 17th century). when the British came, they wanted to extend the city and so destroyed the original wall to construct another fortification north in 1699. The story of wall street is one of strategies. At first it was a strategic separation from the natives. Then it become a point in the city where businessmen would gather – it is said under a tree – to informally trade. Then, this gathering became so important that the Stock Exchange was born.
The path that makes Wall street was early on an important commercial and residential place. Along with Broadway, they become the first mythic streets of NYC. The most amazing pictures of Wall Street are those taken after the crash of 1929. The street symbolizes the growth and decay of capitalism at once and this is what makes it so special.
