As the British disappeared from the New York City they were sure to leave nothing behind. Decaying houses, disheveled streets, and buildings that were ruins were what epitomized New York during the late 18th century. According to The Historical Atlas of New York City: A Visual Celebration of Nearly 400 years of New York City’s History by Eric Homberger “Colonial Broadway, destroyed by the fire of 1776, was still a decaying ruin…the general harm done to the fabric of the city during seven years of British military occupation, left the returning inhabitants with a massive effort of reconstruction (pg. 56).” To rebuild the city as the British merchants were long gone, the “new class of patriot merchants” were establishing in effort to rebuild the city. With his came the re-development and expansion of streets. Homberger states that “In March 1787, the state legislature authorized the Common Council to layout new streets and improve existing ones, funded by levies upon the owners of lots or houses which benefitted from the work (pg. 58).” This brought a new development to streets that we see today, Broadway and Wall Street.
This is essential to the growth of New York City because it shows how reconstruction can help with the growth of the economy and population. According to Homberger “The attention given to Broadway and to Wall Street in the 1780s testifies to their rise to social and economic importance (pg. 58).” As buildings began to improve, many banks and insurance companies found it suitable to make a home in them, especially in Wall Street. With these improvements New York City became the capital of New York. It is imperative to see how the start toward what New York is today. How this city became what it is today after the revolution, as well as how far it came after the revolution.
I do agree that the reconstruction of NYC was important to our history, because if this reconstruction had not happened in the manner that it did, no one would have settled New York to the degree that we are now called “The Greatest City in the World”. I rate this a 9 out of 10 to New York City’s future.
I also believe that when the british left New York City in terrible shape and in ruins, they were doing the patriot merchants a favor. If it werent for the blueprints for new streets, and the re-building of historical sites we would still be living in Streets named after Dukes and Lords. I rate the importance of this historical change 8 out of 10