lower Manhattan

Lower Manhattan is delineated on the north by 14th Street, on the west by the Hudson River, on the east by the East River, and on the south by New York Harbor. Its northern border is designated by thoroughfares about a mile-and-a-half south of 14th Street and a mile north of Manhattan's southern tip around Chambers Street near the Hudson River east of the entrances and overpass to the Brooklyn Bridge.{{cite web |url=http://www.downtownny.com/district-information |title=District Information |publisher=Downtown Alliance |access-date=August 16, 2017 |archive-date=January 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200130103211/https://www.downtownny.com/district-information |url-status=dead }} Two other major arteries to Lower Manhattan are Canal Street, roughly half a mile north of Chambers Street, and 23rd Street, roughly half a mile north of 14th Street.

Lower Manhattan's central business district forms the core of the area below Chambers Street and includes the Financial District, commonly known as Wall Street after the name of its primary artery, and the World Trade Center site. At the island's southern tip is Battery Park, near the Bowling Green; City Hall is north of the Financial District. South of Chambers Street are Battery Park City and South Street Seaport. TriBeCa straddles Chambers Street on the west side; at the street's east end is the giant Manhattan Municipal Building. North of Chambers Street and the Brooklyn Bridge and south of Canal Street is the Chinatown neighborhood, home to the largest concentration of Chinese people in the Western Hemisphere.{{cite web |url=https://www.introducingnewyork.com/chinatown |title=Chinatown New York |publisher=Civitatis New York |quote=As its name suggests, Chinatown is where the largest population of Chinese people live in the Western Hemisphere. |access-date=March 23, 2024 |archive-date=April 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200404164227/https://www.introducingnewyork.com/chinatown |url-status=live }}* {{cite web |url=http://www.explorechinatown.com/PDF/FactSheet.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050528160253/http://www.explorechinatown.com/PDF/FactSheet.pdf |archive-date=May 28, 2005 |url-status=live |title=Chinatown New York City Fact Sheet |publisher=www.explorechinatown.com |access-date=March 23, 2024}}

• {{cite web |url=http://www.ny.com/articles/chinatown.html |title=The History of New York's Chinatown |author=Sarah Waxman |publisher=Mediabridge Infosystems, Inc |access-date=March 23, 2024 |quote=Manhattan's Chinatown, the largest Chinatown in the United States and the site of the largest concentration of Chinese in the Western Hemisphere, is located on the Lower East Side. |archive-date=May 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525014333/https://www.ny.com/articles/chinatown.html |url-status=live}}
• {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NagJFMxtkAcC&q=Flushing+Chinatown+Little+Taiwan&pg=PA104 |title=Still the golden door: the Third ... – Google Books |author=David M. Reimers |access-date=April 11, 2016 |isbn=9780231076814 |year=1992 |publisher=Columbia University Press |archive-date=November 3, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231103153044/https://books.google.com/books?id=NagJFMxtkAcC&q=Flushing+Chinatown+Little+Taiwan&pg=PA104#v=snippet&q=Flushing%20Chinatown%20Little%20Taiwan&f=false |url-status=live}}
• {{cite web |url=http://geographyplanning.buffalostate.edu/MSG%202002/13_McGlinn.pdf |title=Beyond Chinatown: Dual immigration and the Chinese population of metropolitan New York City, 2000, Page 4 |author=Lawrence A. McGlinn, Department of Geography SUNY-New Paltz |publisher=Middle States Geographer, 2002, 35: 110–119, Journal of the Middle States Division of the Association of American Geographers |access-date=March 23, 2024 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121029075400/http://geographyplanning.buffalostate.edu/MSG%202002/13_McGlinn.pdf |archive-date=October 29, 2012}}
• {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NagJFMxtkAcC&q=Flushing+Chinatown+Little+Taiwan&pg=PA104 |title=Still the golden door: the Third ... – Google Books |author=David M. Reimers |access-date=March 23, 2024 |isbn=9780231076814 |year=1992 |publisher=Columbia University Press |archive-date=November 3, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231103153044/https://books.google.com/books?id=NagJFMxtkAcC&q=Flushing+Chinatown+Little+Taiwan&pg=PA104#v=snippet&q=Flushing%20Chinatown%20Little%20Taiwan&f=false |url-status=live }} Many court buildings and other government offices are located in this area.

The Lower East Side neighborhood straddles Canal Street. North of Canal Street and south of 14th Street are SoHo, the Meatpacking District, the West Village, Greenwich Village, Little Italy, Nolita, and the East Village. Between 14th and 23rd Streets are lower Chelsea, Union Square, the Flatiron District, Gramercy, and Stuyvesant Town–Peter Cooper Village.

{{See also|History of New York City|History of Manhattan}}

{{Main|History of New York City (prehistory–1664)}}

File:GezichtOpNieuwAmsterdam.jpg, centered in what eventually became Lower Manhattan, in 1664, the year England took control and renamed it New York]]

File:Petrus (Peter Pieter) Stuyvesant portrait c1660.jpg]]

The area that would eventually encompass modern-day New York City was inhabited by the Lenape people. These groups of culturally and linguistically identical Native Americans who spoke an Algonquian language now referred to as Unami.

European settlement began with the founding of a Dutch fur trading post in Lower Manhattan, later called New Amsterdam ({{langx|nl|Nieuw-Amsterdam}}) in 1626.{{cite web |url=http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h2122.html |title=United States History – History of New York City, New York |publisher=Online Highways LLC |via=www.u-s-history.com |access-date=July 20, 2014 }}{{cite book |title=New York: the World's Capital City, Its Development and Contributions to Progress |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.226262 |last1=Rankin |first1=Rebecca B. |first2=Cleveland |last2=Rodgers |publisher=Harper |year=1948 }} The first fort was built at The Battery to protect New Netherland.{{cite web |url=https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/battery-park/history |title=The Battery Highlights : NYC Parks |publisher=New York City Department of Parks and Recreation |access-date=March 2, 2019 }}

In approximately 1626, construction of Fort Amsterdam began. The Dutch West Indies Company subsequently imported African slaves to serve as laborers; they helped to build the wall that defended the town against English and native attacks. Early directors included Willem Verhulst and Peter Minuit. Willem Kieft became a director in 1638 but five years later was embroiled in Kieft's War against the Native Americans. The Pavonia Massacre, across the Hudson River in present-day Jersey City, New Jersey resulted in the death of 80 natives in February 1643. Following the massacre, Algonquian tribes joined forces and nearly defeated the Dutch. The Dutch Republic sent additional forces to the aid of Kieft, leading to the overwhelming defeat of the Native Americans and a peace treaty on August 29, 1645.{{cite book |title=The Epic of New York City |last=Ellis |first=Edward Robb |publisher=Old Town Books |year=1966 }}{{rp|37–40}}

On May 27, 1647, Peter Stuyvesant was inaugurated as director general upon his arrival. The colony was granted self-government in 1652, and New Amsterdam was formally incorporated as a city on February 2, 1653.{{rp|57}} The first mayors (burgemeesters) of New Amsterdam, Arent van Hattem and Martin Cregier, were appointed in that year.Scheltema, Gajus and Westerhuijs, Heleen (eds.),Exploring Historic Dutch New York. Museum of the City of New York/Dover Publications, New York 2011.

{{Main|History of New York City (1665–1783)}}

File:New York Harbor Waterfront 1727 panorama map.jpg, 1727]]

In 1664, the English conquered the area and renamed it "New York" after the Duke of York and the city of York in Yorkshire.{{cite journal |journal=English Historical Review |volume=22 |issue=88 |pages=674–693 |jstor=550138 |title=The Capture of New Amsterdam |last1=Schoolcraft |first1=Henry L. |year=1907 |doi=10.1093/ehr/XXII.LXXXVIII.674 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1431702 }}{{cite book |title=The Historical Atlas of New York City: A Visual Celebration of 400 Years of New York City's History |last=Homberger |first=Eric |year=2005 |page=34 |publisher=Owl Books |isbn=0-8050-7842-8 }}

At that time, people of African descent made up 20% of the population of the city, with European settlers numbering approximately 1,500,{{cite book |title=In the Shadow of Slavery: African Americans in New York City, 1626–1863 |last=Harris |first=Leslie M. |year=2003 |publisher=The University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0226317731 }}{{rp|14}} and people of African descent numbering 375 (with 300 of that 375 enslaved and 75 free).{{rp|22}} While it has been claimed that African slaves comprised 40% of the small population of the city at that time,[http://www.archaeology.org/online/features/afrburial/ Spencer P.M. Harrington, "Bones and Bureaucrats"], Archeology, March/April 1993, accessed February 11, 2012. this claim has not been substantiated. During the mid-1600s, farms of free blacks covered {{convert|130|acres}} where Washington Square Park later developed.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/26/arts/design/26burial.html |title=A Burial Ground and Its Dead Are Given Life |access-date=March 1, 2010 |work=The New York Times |first=Edward |last=Rothstein |date=February 26, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100302214226/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/26/arts/design/26burial.html |archive-date=March 2, 2010 |url-status=live }}

The Dutch briefly regained the city in 1673, renaming the city "New Orange", before permanently ceding the colony of New Netherland to the English for what is now Suriname in November 1674.

The new English rulers of the formerly Dutch New Amsterdam and New Netherland renamed the settlement back to New York. As the colony grew and prospered, sentiment also grew for greater autonomy. In the context of the Glorious Revolution in England, Jacob Leisler led Leisler's Rebellion and effectively controlled the city and surrounding areas from 1689 to 1691, before being arrested and executed.

By 1700, the Lenape population of New York had diminished to 200.[http://www.gothamcenter.org/features/timeline/ "Gotham Center for New York City History"] {{webarchive |url=https://swap.stanford.edu/20081229214923/http://www.gothamcenter.org/features/timeline/ |date=December 29, 2008 }} Timeline 1700–1800. By 1703, 42% of households in New York had slaves, a higher percentage than in Philadelphia or Boston.{{cite web |title=The Hidden History of Slavery in New York |url=http://www.thenation.com/doc/20051107/slavery_in_new_york |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060530212901/http://www.thenation.com/doc/20051107/slavery_in_new_york |archive-date=May 30, 2006 |access-date=February 11, 2008 |work=The Nation }}

The 1735 libel trial of John Peter Zenger in the city was a seminal influence on freedom of the press in North America. It would be a standard for the basic articles of freedom in the United States Declaration of Independence.

By the 1740s, with expansion of settlers, 20% of the population of New York were slaves, totaling about 2,500 people. After a series of fires in 1741, the city became panicked that blacks planned to burn the city in a conspiracy with some poor whites. Historians believe their alarm was mostly fabrication and fear, but officials rounded up 31 blacks and 4 whites, all of whom were convicted of arson and executed. City officials executed 13 blacks by burning them alive and hanged 4 whites and 18 blacks.{{cite book |last=Morison |first=Samuel Eliot |author-link=Samuel Eliot Morison |title=The Oxford History of the American People |publisher=Mentor Books |year=1972 |location=New York City |page=[https://archive.org/details/oxfordhistoryoft02samu/page/207 207] |url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordhistoryoft02samu |url-access=registration |isbn=0-451-62600-1 }}

In 1754, Columbia University was founded under charter by George II of Great Britain as King's College in Lower Manhattan.{{cite book |title=An Historical Sketch of Columbia College, in the City of New York, 1754–1876 |last=Moore |first=Nathaniel Fish |year=1876 |page=8 |publisher=Columbia College }}

The Stamp Act and other British measures fomented dissent, particularly among the Sons of Liberty, who maintained a long-running skirmish with locally stationed British troops over Liberty Poles from 1766 to 1776. The Stamp Act Congress met in New York City in 1765 in the first organized resistance to British authority across the colonies. After the major defeat of the Continental Army in the Battle of Long Island, General George Washington withdrew to Manhattan Island, but with the subsequent defeat at the Battle of Fort Washington the island was effectively left to the British. The city became a haven for loyalist refugees, becoming a British stronghold for the entire war. Consequently, the area also became the focal point for Washington's espionage and intelligence-gathering throughout the war.

In 1771, Bear Market was established along the Hudson River shoreline on land donated by Trinity Church, and replaced by Washington Market in 1813.{{cite web |title=A Public Market for Lower Manhattan |url=http://www.nyccouncil.info/pdf_files/reports/publicmarket.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070126000539/http://www.nyccouncil.info/pdf_files/reports/publicmarket.pdf |archive-date=January 26, 2007 |publisher=New York City Council }}

New York City was greatly damaged twice by fires of suspicious origin during British military rule. The city became the political and military center of operations for the British in North America for the remainder of the war and a haven for Loyalist refugees. Continental Army officer Nathan Hale was hanged in Manhattan for espionage. In addition, the British began to hold the majority of captured American prisoners of war aboard prison ships in Wallabout Bay, across the East River in Brooklyn. More Americans died from neglect aboard these ships than died in all the battles of the war. British occupation lasted until November 25, 1783. George Washington triumphantly returned to the city that day, as the last British forces left the city.

Starting in 1785, the Congress met in New York City under the Articles of Confederation. In 1789, New York City became the first national capital of the United States under the new United States Constitution. The Constitution also created the current Congress of the United States, and its first sitting was at Federal Hall on Wall Street. The first United States Supreme Court sat there. The United States Bill of Rights was drafted and ratified there. George Washington was inaugurated at Federal Hall.{{cite web |title=The People's Vote: President George Washington's First Inaugural Speech (1789) |publisher=U.S. News & World Report |url=https://www.usnews.com/usnews/documents/docpages/document_page11.htm |access-date=May 28, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080925045133/http://www.usnews.com/usnews/documents/docpages/document_page11.htm |archive-date=September 25, 2008 }} New York City remained the capital of the U.S. until 1790, when the role was transferred to Philadelphia.

{{Main|History of New York City (1784–1854)|History of New York City (1855–1897)}}

File:Twelve Miles Around New York (City) Map 1849 by James Charles Sidney.jpg

File:The_Cooper_Union's_Foundation_Building_-_North_Side_(48072759802).jpg at Astor Place, one of Lower Manhattan's most storied buildings, where Abraham Lincoln gave his famed Cooper Union speech on February 27, 1860]]

New York grew as an economic center, first as a result of Alexander Hamilton's policies and practices as the first Secretary of the Treasury and, later, with the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825, which connected the Atlantic port to the vast agricultural markets of the North American interior.{{cite book |last=Bridges |first=William |title=Map of the City of New York and Island of Manhattan with Explanatory Remarks and References |year=1811 }}Lankevich (1998), pp. 67–68. Immigration resumed after being slowed by wars in Europe, and a new street grid system, the Commissioners' Plan of 1811, expanded to encompass all of Manhattan. Early in the 19th century, the landfill was used to expand Lower Manhattan from the natural Hudson shoreline at Greenwich Street to West Street.{{cite book |title=Over and Back: The History of Ferryboats in New York Harbor |last=Cudahy |first=Brian J. |publisher=Fordham University Press |year=1990 |page=25 |isbn=0-8232-1245-9 }}

In 1898, the modern City of New York was formed with the consolidation of Brooklyn (until then an independent city), Manhattan and outlying areas.[https://archive.today/20120526195410/http://www.nyc.gov/html/nyc100/html/classroom/hist_info/100aniv.html The 100 Year Anniversary of the Consolidation of the 5 Boroughs into New York City], New York City. Retrieved June 29, 2007. The borough of Brooklyn incorporated the independent City of Brooklyn, recently joined to Manhattan by the Brooklyn Bridge in Lower Manhattan. Municipal governments contained within the boroughs were abolished, and the county governmental functions, housed in Lower Manhattan after unification, were absorbed by the city or each borough.{{cite book |last=Jackson |first=Kenneth |title=Encyclopedia of New York City |year=1995 |publisher=Yale University Press |location=New Haven |page=206}} "[B]orough presidents ... responsible for local administration and public works."

{{Main|History of New York City (1898–1945)|History of New York City (1946–1977)|History of New York City (1978–present)}}

File:View from Woolworth Building 1913 New York City.jpg in 1913]]

File:Manhattan 1931.jpg

File:NYC Manhattan 1938 Franz Grasser.jpg]]

Washington Market was located between Barclay and Hubert Streets, and from Greenwich Street to West Street.{{cite news |title=Restless Ports for the City's Food |author=Millstein, Gilbert |work=The New York Times |date=April 24, 1960 }} It was demolished in the 1960s and replaced by a new Independence Plaza, Washington Market Park, and other developments.

Lower Manhattan retains the most irregular street grid plans in the borough. Throughout the early decades of the 1900s, the area experienced a construction boom, with major towers such as 40 Wall Street, the American International Building, Woolworth Building, and 20 Exchange Place being erected. Many new water crossings into Lower Manhattan were built at this time, including the Williamsburg Bridge in 1903{{Cite news |date=December 20, 1903 |title=New Bridge in a Glory of Fire; Wind-Up of Opening Ceremonies a Brilliant Scene |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1903/12/20/archives/new-bridge-in-a-glory-of-fire-windup-of-opening-ceremonies-a.html |access-date=January 10, 2023 |issn=0362-4331 }} and the Manhattan Bridge in 1909.{{Cite news |date=January 1, 1910 |title=Manhattan Bridge Opened to Traffic – Mayor McClellan's Last Act in Public Was to Lead a Procession on Wheels Across – Brooklyn Men Celebrate – New Structure Has the Largest Carrying Capacity of Any Crossing the River – The Span Is 1,470 Feet |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1910/01/01/104915453.pdf |access-date=December 24, 2017 }} The Holland Tunnel to New Jersey opened in 1927,{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1927/11/13/archives/great-crowd-treks-into-holland-tubes-after-gala-opening-thousands.html |title=Great Crowd Treks Into Holland Tubes After Gala Opening |date=November 13, 1927 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |access-date=May 9, 2018 }} while the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel to Brooklyn opened in 1950 and was the last major fixed crossing to be built to Lower Manhattan.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1950/05/26/archives/brooklyn-tunnel-costing-80000000-opened-by-mayor-marking-opening-of.html |title=Brooklyn Tunnel Costing $80,000,000 Opened By Mayor |last=Ingraham |first=Joseph C. |date=May 26, 1950 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=March 6, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170902153332/http://www.nytimes.com/1950/05/26/archives/brooklyn-tunnel-costing-80000000-opened-by-mayor-marking-opening-of.html |archive-date=September 2, 2017 }}

Despite these road connections opening, the economic center of New York City began to shift from Lower Manhattan to Midtown with the opening of many commuter rail terminals at the turn of the 20th century. The original Penn Station opened in 1910,{{Cite news |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1910/11/27/archives/pennsylvania-opens-its-great-station-first-regular-train-sent.html |title=Pennsylvania Opens Its Great Station; First Regular Train Sent Through the Hudson River Tunnel at Midnight |date=November 27, 1910 |work=The New York Times |access-date=May 23, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180411111506/https://www.nytimes.com/1910/11/27/archives/pennsylvania-opens-its-great-station-first-regular-train-sent.html |archive-date=April 11, 2018 |url-status=live }} the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad (now PATH) extension to 33rd Street was completed in 1910,{{cite news |date=November 3, 1910 |title=M'Adoo Tubes Now Reach 33rd Street; First Through Train from the Downtown Terminal to New One in the Shopping Belt |language=en-US |page=11 |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive/pdf?res=950CEFDF1339E433A25750C0A9679D946196D6CF |access-date=August 16, 2009 |issn=0362-4331 }} and Grand Central Terminal opened in 1913.{{cite magazine |magazine=Railway Age |page=78 |title=Grand Central Terminal opens |date=September 2006 |issn=0033-8826 }}

On March 25, 1911, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in Greenwich Village took the lives of 146 garment workers, which would eventually lead to great advancements in the city's fire department, building codes, and workplace regulations.

Throughout the first half of the 20th century, New York became a world center for industry, commerce, and communication. Interborough Rapid Transit, the first New York City Subway company, began operating in 1904. The area's demographics stabilized, labor unionization brought new protections and affluence to the working class, the city's government and infrastructure underwent a dramatic overhaul under Fiorello La Guardia, and his controversial parks commissioner, Robert Moses, ended the 'blight' of many tenement areas, by demolishing slums, factories, and working-class neighborhoods through public works such as the High line, the West Side Highway and FDR Drive, built housing projects, expanded new parks, rebuilt streets, and zoning controls, especially in Lower Manhattan. The zoning changes were intended to displace the industrial workforce by removing zoning protection for industrial space and incentivizing upscale residential and clerical redevelopment. The port of New York, despite its physical suitability for berthing and its close proximity to Europe, began to deteriorate due to the city's unwillingness to invest or modernise the port and the deindustrialization zoning policy. However a large number of small scale, dynamic, and highly specialized industries persisted despite the city's efforts such as the garment industry which was closely tied to the fashion industry in Midtown, or the printing industry; linked with the publishing industry.

In the 1950s, a few new buildings were constructed in Lower Manhattan, including an 11-story building at 156 William Street in 1955.{{cite news |title=Building Activity Soars Downtown |last=Bartnett |first=Edmond J. |work=The New York Times |date=December 25, 1960 }} A 27-story office building at 20 Broad Street, a 12-story building at 80 Pine Street, a 26-story building at 123 William Street, and a few others were built in 1957. By the end of the decade, Lower Manhattan had become economically depressed, in comparison with Midtown Manhattan, which was booming with the continued march uptown. David Rockefeller spearheaded widespread urban renewal efforts in Lower Manhattan, beginning with constructing One Chase Manhattan Plaza, the new headquarters for his bank. He established the Downtown-Lower Manhattan Association (DLMA) which drew up plans for broader revitalization of Lower Manhattan, with the development of a world trade center at the heart of these plans. The original DLMA plans called for the "world trade center" to be built along the East River, between Old Slip and Fulton Street. After negotiations with New Jersey Governor Richard J. Hughes, the Port Authority decided to build the World Trade Center on a site along the Hudson River and the West Side Highway, rather than the East River site.{{citation needed|date=November 2009}}

File:Aerial view of East River, Lower Manhattan, New York Harbor, 1981.jpg when the Lower Manhattan skyline was dominated by the Twin Towers of the former World Trade Center]]

When building the World Trade Center, 1.2 million cubic yards (917,000 m³) of material was excavated from the site.{{cite book |last=Gillespie |first=Angus K. |year=1999 |title=Twin Towers: The Life of New York City's World Trade Center |url=https://archive.org/details/twintowerslifeof00gill |url-access=registration |publisher=Rutgers University Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/twintowerslifeof00gill/page/71 71] |isbn=0-7838-9785-5 }} Rather than dumping the spoil at sea or in landfills, the fill material was used to expand the Manhattan shoreline across West Street, creating Battery Park City.{{cite magazine |title=The Biggest Foundation |last=Iglauer |first=Edith |date=November 4, 1972 |magazine=The New Yorker }} The result was a 700-foot (210-m) extension into the river, running six blocks or {{convert|1,484|ft|m}}, covering {{convert|92|acre|ha}}, providing a {{convert|1.2|mi|km|adj=on}} riverfront esplanade and over {{convert|30|acre|ha}} of parks.[https://archive.today/20120720031543/http://www.asla.org/awards/2003/battery_park_city.htm ASLA 2003 The Landmark Award], American Society of Landscape Architects. Accessed May 17, 2007.

Through much of its history, the area south of Chambers Street was mainly a commercial district, with a small population of residents—in 1960, it was home to about 4,000.{{cite news |title='Downtown' Enters a New Era |last=Brown |first=Charles H. |date=January 31, 1960 |work=The New York Times }} Construction of Battery Park City, on landfill from construction of the World Trade Center, brought many new residents to the area. Gateway Plaza, the first Battery Park City development, was finished in 1983. The project's centerpiece, the World Financial Center, consists of four luxury highrise towers. By the turn of the century, Battery Park City was mostly completed, with the exception of some ongoing construction on West Street. Around this time, Lower Manhattan reached its highest population of business tenants and full-time residents.{{citation needed|date=November 2009}} These developments struggled to become fully occupied at desirable rents, with relatively high vacancy rates.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/01/31/realestate/city-s-office-market-stabilizes-after-post-recession-surge.html |title=City's Office Market Stabilizes After Post-Recession Surge |work=The New York Times |date=January 31, 1982 |last1=Henry |first1=Diane }}

In 1993, the Downtown Lower Manhattan Association contributed to a city plan calling for the revitalization of Lower Manhattan. The plan included recommended zoning changes, tax incentives to encourage new tenants, and the conversion of commercial buildings into apartments. It also called for the creation of a business improvement district, called The Alliance for Downtown New York, to help spur the area's renewal. Between 1995 and 2014, 15.8 million square feet of office space was converted to residential or hotel use. As a result, Lower Manhattan's residential population rose from 14,000 to 60,000.{{cite web |publisher=Downtown Alliance |title=Lower Manhattan Real Estate Year In Review 2014 |url=http://www.downtownny.com/reports/lower-manhattan-real-estate-year-in-review-2014 |year=2014 |access-date=August 25, 2017 |archive-date=August 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170825191307/http://www.downtownny.com/reports/lower-manhattan-real-estate-year-in-review-2014 |url-status=dead }}

{{main|History of New York City (1978–present)}}

File:UA Flight 175 hits WTC south tower 9-11 edit.jpeg hits the South Tower of the original World Trade Center on September 11, 2001]]

File:Lower Manhattan from Governors Island with a fishing boat (46294p).jpg]]

In the early 21st century, the Meatpacking District, once the sparsely populated province of after-hours BDSM clubs and transgender prostitutes, gained a reputation as New York City's trendiest neighborhood.{{cite journal |url=https://nymag.com/visitorsguide/neighborhoods/meatpacking.htm |last=Steinberg |first=Jon |title=Meatpacking District Walking Tour |date=August 18, 2004 |journal=New York |access-date=March 7, 2008 }}

During the September 11 attacks in 2001, two of four hijacked planes were flown into the Twin Towers of the original World Trade Center, and the towers collapsed. The 7 World Trade Center was not struck by a plane but uncontrolled fires that were caused by falling debris resulted in the building's collapse; a first in the history of steel framed skyscrapers.[https://www.nist.gov/pao/questions-and-answers-about-nist-wtc-7-investigation Questions and Answers about the NIST WTC 7 Investigation] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240114141638/https://www.nist.gov/pao/questions-and-answers-about-nist-wtc-7-investigation |date=January 14, 2024 }}, National Institute of Standards and Technology, created May 24, 2010, updated September 21, 2016. Accessed August 31, 2023. "Debris from the collapse of WTC 1, which was 370 feet to the south, ignited fires on at least 10 floors in the building at its south and west faces.... The heat from the uncontrolled fires caused steel floor beams and girders to thermally expand, leading to a chain of events that caused a key structural column to fail. The failure of this structural column then initiated a fire-induced progressive collapse of the entire building.... The collapse of WTC 7 is the first known instance of a tall building brought down primarily by uncontrolled fires." The 3, 4, 5, and 6 World Trade Center buildings were damaged beyond repair or destroyed, and soon after demolished. The collapse of the Twin Towers also caused extensive damage to surrounding buildings and skyscrapers in Lower Manhattan. A total of 2,753 people, including those on the planes, were killed in New York.{{cite web |url=https://www.cnn.com/2013/07/27/us/september-11-anniversary-fast-facts/index.html |publisher=CNN |date=September 18, 2020 |title=September 11 Terror Attacks Fast Facts }} About 400,000 people, including rescue workers and residents of the area were exposed to toxic dust and debris; many developed serious respiratory illnesses, cancers, and other harms arising from the attack, and 3,496 died.{{cite web |url=https://6abc.com/911-illness-deaths-after-new-york-firefighter/6418931/ |date=September 11, 2020 |title=Sept. 11 attacks are still killing first responders 19 years later |publisher=KTRK-TV }}

Following September 11, Lower Manhattan lost much of its economy and office space but has since rebounded significantly. Private sector employment reached 233,000 at the end of 2016, the highest levels since the end of 2001. This was largely due to growth and diversification in the local workforce with gains in employment sectors like Technology, Advertising, Media and Information, as well as Hotel, Restaurants, Retailing, and Health care.{{cite web |url=http://www.downtownny.com/press-releases/retail-leads-lower-manhattan-real-estate-activity-in-2016 |title=Retail Leads Lower Manhattan Real Estate Activity in 2016 |publisher=Downtown Alliance |access-date=August 16, 2017 |date=February 7, 2017 }} As of 2016, Lower Manhattan's business district is home to approximately 700 retail stores and 500 bars and restaurants.{{cite web |date=November 2016 |title=2017 Retail Market Guide |url=http://www.downtownny.com/reports/2017-retail-market-guide |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170608020722/http://www.downtownny.com/reports/2017-retail-market-guide |archive-date=June 8, 2017 |access-date=August 16, 2017 |publisher=Downtown Alliance }}

The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation has consummated plans to rebuild downtown Manhattan by adding new streets, buildings, and office space. The National September 11 Memorial at the site was opened to the public on September 11, 2011, while the National September 11 Museum was officially inaugurated by President Barack Obama on May 15, 2014.{{cite web |url=http://www.unitedstatesnews.net/index.php/sid/222031767 |title=Long delayed Sept 11 Memorial Museum inaugurated by Obama |publisher=Mainstream Media EC |date=May 15, 2014 |access-date=December 7, 2014 }} As of the time of its opening in November 2014, the new One World Trade Center, formerly known as the Freedom Tower, is the tallest skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere{{cite news |url=https://nypost.com/2014/11/03/1-world-trade-center-is-open-for-business/ |title=1 World Trade Center is open for business |last=DeGregory |first=Priscilla |work=New York Post |date=November 3, 2014 |access-date=November 24, 2014 }} and the sixth-tallest in the world, at {{convert|1,776|ft|m}};{{cite web |url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/12/travel/one-world-trade-center-tallest-us-building/index.html?hpt=hp_t2 |title=It's official: One World Trade Center to be tallest U.S. skyscraper |author=Katia Hetter |publisher=CNN |date=November 12, 2013 |access-date=November 12, 2013 }} while other skyscrapers are under construction at the site.

The Occupy Wall Street protests in Zuccotti Park, formerly known as Liberty Plaza Park, began in the Financial District on September 17, 2011, receiving global attention and spawning the Occupy movement against social and economic inequality worldwide.{{cite web |url=http://occupywallst.org/about/ |title=OccupyWallStreet – About |publisher=Occupy Wall Street |access-date=July 20, 2014 }}

On October 29 and 30, 2012, Hurricane Sandy ravaged portions of Lower Manhattan with record-high storm surge from New York Harbor, severe flooding, and high winds, causing power outages for hundreds of thousands of Manhattanites and leading to gasoline shortages and disruption of mass transit systems. The storm and its effects have prompted the discussion of constructing seawalls and other coastal barriers around the shorelines of Manhattan and the New York City metropolitan region to minimize the risk of destructive consequences from another such event in the future.{{cite web |last=Eshelman |first=Robert S. |date=November 15, 2012 |title=Adaptation: Political support for a sea wall in New York Harbor begins to form |url=http://www.eenews.net/public/climatewire/2012/11/15/1 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121130140525/http://www.eenews.net/public/climatewire/2012/11/15/1 |archive-date=November 30, 2012 |access-date=December 2, 2012 |publisher=E&E Publishing }}

Lower Manhattan has been experiencing a baby boom, well above the overall birth rate in Manhattan, with the area south of Canal Street witnessing 1,086 births in 2010, 12% greater than 2009 and over twice the number born in 2001.{{cite web |url=http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20120111/downtown/downtown-baby-boom-sees-12-percent-increase-births |title=Downtown Baby Boom Sees 12 Percent Increase in Births |first=Julie |last=Shapiro |publisher=DNAinfo New York |date=January 11, 2012 |access-date=August 4, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141020080917/http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20120111/downtown/downtown-baby-boom-sees-12-percent-increase-births |archive-date=October 20, 2014 }} The Financial District alone has witnessed growth in its population to approximately 43,000 as of 2014, nearly double the 23,000 recorded at the 2000 Census.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/10/realestate/the-financial-district-gains-momentum.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=HpSectionSumSmallMedia&module=real-estate-left-region®ion=real-estate-left-region&WT.nav=real-estate-left-region |title=The Financial District Gains Momentum |author=C. J. Hughes |newspaper=The New York Times |date=August 8, 2014 |access-date=August 14, 2014 }}

There are currently 61,000 residents in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan south of Chambers Street{{cite news |title=Residential Pipeline 2Q 2017 |publisher=Downtown Alliance |url=http://www.downtownny.com/reports/residential-pipeline-2q-2017 |url-status=dead |access-date=August 17, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170818012600/http://www.downtownny.com/reports/residential-pipeline-2q-2017 |archive-date=August 18, 2017 }} and more than 62 percent of the population is between 18 and 44. Lower Manhattan is home to more young professionals than Greenpoint, the East Village, and Downtown Brooklyn and on par with Downtown Jersey City and Williamsburg.{{cite news |url=https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20161013/financial-district/downtown-manhattan-demographics-night-scene |title=Downtown Is Home to as Many Young Professionals as Williamsburg: Report |publisher=DNAinfo |date=October 13, 2016 |access-date=August 17, 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170818011902/https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20161013/financial-district/downtown-manhattan-demographics-night-scene |archive-date=August 18, 2017 }}

In June 2015, The New York Times wrote that Lower Manhattan's dining scene was experiencing a renaissance.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/24/dining/manhattan-restaurants-downtown-renaissance.html?hpw&rref=food&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-region®ion=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well&_r=0 |title=Manhattan's Dining Center of Gravity Shifts Downtown |first=Jeff |last=Gordinier |newspaper=The New York Times |date=June 23, 2015 |access-date=June 24, 2015 }} There are over 400 casual dining and more than 100 full-service dining restaurants in the area.{{cite news |title=Map of Lower Manhattan |publisher=Downtown Alliance |url=http://www.downtownny.com/map?category=Dining-Casual%20Eating |url-status=dead |access-date=August 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151022132706/http://www.downtownny.com/map?category=Dining-Casual%20Eating |archive-date=October 22, 2015 }} The Village Voice, based at 80 Maiden Lane in the Financial District and historically the largest alternative newspaper in the United States, announced in 2017 that it would cease publication of its print edition and convert to a fully digital venture.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/22/nyregion/village-voice-to-end-print-publication.html?mcubz=1 |title=After 62 Years and Many Battles, Village Voice Will End Print Publication |first1=John |last1=Leland |author-link=John Leland (journalist) |first2=Sarah |last2=Maslin Nir |newspaper=The New York Times |date=August 22, 2017 |access-date=September 2, 2017 }}

Since 2010, a Lower Manhattan community known as Little Australia has emerged and is growing in the Nolita neighborhood.{{cite web |url=https://karryon.com.au/lifestyle/travel-inspiration/crikey-welcome-to-little-australia-in-new-york-city/ |title=G-day! Welcome to Little Australia in New York City |author=Shaun Busuttil |publisher=KarryOn |date=November 3, 2016 |access-date=May 24, 2019 |quote=In Little Australia, Australian-owned cafes are popping up all over the place (such as Two Hands), joining other Australian-owned businesses (such as nightclubs and art galleries) as part of a growing green and gold contingent in NYC. Indeed, walking in this neighbourhood, the odds of your hearing a fellow Aussie ordering a coffee or just kicking back and chatting are high – very high – so much so that if you're keen to meet other Aussies whilst taking your own bite out of the Big Apple, then this is the place to throw that Australian accent around like it's going out of fashion! }}

Before the September 11 attacks, the Twin Towers were iconic of Lower Manhattan's global significance as a financial center. The new office towers built since the attack (including One World Trade Center) have transformed the skyline of Lower Manhattan. The 9/11 Memorial & Museum at the former World Trade Center site has become a popular draw for visitors. New York City has been described as the gay capital of the world, and the epicenter of LGBT culture and its catalyst as a continuing cultural force in modern society has been the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village.{{cite web |url=https://gayexpress.co.nz/2018/04/new-york-worlds-gay-capital/ |title=New York – The World's Gay Capital |author=Peter Minkoff |publisher=Your LGBTQ+ Voice |date=April 5, 2018 |access-date=January 4, 2023 }} Similarly, Chinatown, which was spawned just east of the original Five Points neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, was born in the 1850s and continues to be the epicenter of culture for the Chinese diaspora.

Lower Manhattan contains many more historical buildings and sites, including Castle Clinton, Bowling Green, the old United States Customs House (now the National Museum of the American Indian), Federal Hall National Memorial commemorating the site where George Washington was inaugurated as the first U.S. President, Fraunces Tavern, New York City Hall, the Museum of American Finance, the New York Stock Exchange Building, South Street Seaport, the Brooklyn Bridge, South Ferry (the embarkation point for the Staten Island Ferry), and Trinity Church. Lower Manhattan is home to some of New York City's most spectacular skyscrapers, including the Woolworth Building, 40 Wall Street (also known as the Trump Building), 26 Wall Street (also known as the Standard Oil Building), and 70 Pine Street (also known as the American International Building).

In 1966, the commercial district of Radio Row on Cortlandt Street was demolished to make way for construction of the former World Trade Center.

File:Chinatown manhattan 2009.JPG is home to the highest concentration of Overseas Chinese in the Western Hemisphere]]

{{further|Chinese people in Lower Manhattan |LGBTQ culture of Lower Manhattan|Transgender culture of Lower Manhattan|Greenwich Village Halloween Parade}}

File:Greenwich Village Halloween Parade (6451249051).jpg in Greenwich Village is the world's largest Halloween parade, with millions of spectators annually.{{cite web |url=https://www.logotv.com/news/cv61fg/the-queer-history-and-present-of-nycs-village-halloween-parade |title=The Queer History (and Present) of NYC's Village Halloween Parade |author=Bryan van Gorder |publisher=Logo TV |date=October 22, 2018 |access-date=November 12, 2022 }}]]

Since the early-20th century, Lower Manhattan has been an important center for the arts and leisure activities. Greenwich Village was a locus of bohemian culture from the first decade of the century through the 1980s. Several of the city's leading jazz clubs are still located in Greenwich Village, which was also one of the primary bases of the American folk music revival of the 1960s. Many art galleries were located in SoHo between the 1970s and early 1990s; today, the downtown Manhattan gallery scene is centered in Chelsea. From the 1960s onward, Lower Manhattan has been home to many alternative theater companies, constituting the heart of the Off-Off-Broadway community.

Punk rock and its musical derivatives emerged in the mid-1970s largely at two Lower Manhattan venues, CBGB on Bowery in the western edge of the East Village, and Max's Kansas City on Park Avenue South. At the same time, the area's surfeit of appropriated industrial lofts, played an integral role in the development and sustenance of the minimalist composition, free jazz, disco, and electronic dance music subcultures. The area's many nightclubs and bars, though mostly shorn of the freewheeling iconoclasm, pioneering spirit, and do-it-yourself mentality that characterized the pre-gentrification era, still draw patrons from throughout the city and the surrounding region.

{{see also|Downtown}}

File:1_new_york_city_union_square_2010.JPG and its surrounding neighborhood, located between 14th and 17th Streets, may be considered a part of either Lower or Midtown Manhattan.]]

Downtown in the context of Manhattan, and of New York City generally, has different meanings to different people, especially depending on where in the city they reside. Residents of the island or of The Bronx generally speak of going "downtown" to refer to any southbound excursion to any Manhattan destination.[https://archive.today/20071011014616/http://www.nycvisit.com/content/index.cfm?pagePkey=365 NYC Basics], NYCvisit.com. Retrieved on December 2, 2007. A declaration that one is going to be "downtown" may indicate a plan to be anywhere south of 14th Street—the definition of downtown according to the city's official tourism marketing organization—or even 23rd Street.[https://timeout.com/newyork/file/visitor-info/listings.downtown.html Hotels: Downtown below 23rd Street] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071120030226/http://www.timeout.com/newyork/file/visitor-info/listings.downtown.html |date= November 20, 2007}}, Time Out New York. Retrieved December 3, 2007.[http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?&aid=57528&search_result=1&stid=8 "Residents Angered By Bar Noise In Downtown Manhattan"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060717005233/http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?&aid=57528&search_result=1&stid=8 |date= July 17, 2006}}, NY1 News, March 3, 2006. Retrieved on December 3, 2007. The full phrase Downtown Manhattan may also refer more specifically to the area of Manhattan south of Canal Street. Within business-related contexts, many people use the term Downtown Manhattan to refer only to the Financial District and the corporate offices in the immediate vicinity. For instance, the Business Improvement District managed by the Alliance for Downtown New York defines Downtown as south of Murray Street (essentially South of New York City Hall), which includes the World Trade Center area and the Financial District. The phrase Lower Manhattan may apply to any of these definitions: the broader ones often if the speaker is discussing the area in relation to the rest of the city; more restrictive ones, again, if the focus is on business matters or on the colonial and early post-colonial history of the island.{{citation needed|date=November 2009}}

As reflected in popular culture, "Downtown" in Manhattan has historically represented a place where one could "forget all your troubles, forget all your cares, and go Downtown," as the lyrics of Petula Clark's 1964 hit "Downtown" celebrate (although Tony Hatch, the songwriter of the track, later clarified that he naively believed Times Square to be "downtown", and was the actual inspiration for the hit single). The protagonist of Billy Joel's 1983 hit "Uptown Girl" contrasts himself (a "downtown man") with the purportedly staid uptown world.Downtown: Its Rise and Fall, 1880–1950 by Professor Robert M. Fogelson. Yale University Press, 2003. {{ISBN|0-300-09827-8}}. pg 3 Likewise, the chorus of Neil Young's 1995 single "Downtown" urges "Let's have a party, downtown all right."

File:New_York_Stock_Exchange_August_2017_01.jpg is, by a significant margin, the world's largest stock exchange with a $23.1 trillion market capitalization of its listed companies as of April 2018.{{cite web |title=The NYSE Makes Stock Exchanges Around The World Look Tiny |website=Business Insider |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/global-stock-market-capitalization-chart-2014-11?IR=T |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170126114852/http://www.businessinsider.com/global-stock-market-capitalization-chart-2014-11?IR=T |archive-date=January 26, 2017 |access-date=March 26, 2017 }}{{cite web |title=Is the New York Stock Exchange the Largest Stock Market in the World? |url=http://finance.zacks.com/new-york-stock-exchange-largest-stock-market-world-5426.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170126160825/http://finance.zacks.com/new-york-stock-exchange-largest-stock-market-world-5426.html |archive-date=January 26, 2017 |access-date=March 26, 2017 }}{{cite web |title=Largest stock exchange operators worldwide as of April 2018, by market capitalization of listed companies (in trillion U.S. dollars) |url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/270126/largest-stock-exchange-operators-by-market-capitalization-of-listed-companies/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190322142648/https://www.statista.com/statistics/270126/largest-stock-exchange-operators-by-market-capitalization-of-listed-companies/ |archive-date=March 22, 2019 |access-date=February 18, 2019 |publisher=Statista }} Pictured is the exchange's building on Wall Street.]]

File:New_York_City_Hall_exterior,_October_2016.jpg in Lower Manhattan's Civic Center neighborhood]]

Lower Manhattan is the third-largest business district in the United States, after Midtown Manhattan and the Chicago Loop.{{cite web |title=Lower Manhattan |url=http://www.nycedc.com/program/lower-manhattan |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120526212809/http://www.nycedc.com/program/lower-manhattan |archive-date=May 26, 2012 |access-date=March 31, 2014 |publisher=New York City Economic Development Corporation }} Anchored by Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City functions as the financial and fintech center of the world and has been called the world's most economically powerful city.{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-finance/new-york-widens-lead-over-london-as-finance-hub-duff-phelps-idUSKBN2AG0OS |title=New York widens lead over London as finance hub: Duff & Phelps |publisher=Thomson Reuters |date=February 16, 2021 |access-date=March 25, 2025 }}{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-survey-markets/united-states-top-britain-second-in-financial-activity-think-tank-idUSKCN1LK2TM |title=United States top, Britain second in financial activity: think-tank |first=Huw |last=Jones |publisher=Thomson Reuters |date=September 4, 2018 |access-date=September 4, 2018 |quote=Think-tank New Financial's study, which focuses on the "raw" value of actual domestic and international financial activity like managing assets and issuing equity, underscored the overall dominance of New York as the world's top financial center.}}{{cite news |url=http://www.citylab.com/work/2015/03/sorry-london-new-york-is-the-worlds-most-economically-powerful-city/386315/ |title=Sorry, London: New York Is the World's Most Economically Powerful City |first=Richard |last=Florida |newspaper=Bloomberg |publisher=The Atlantic Monthly Group |date=March 3, 2015 |access-date=March 25, 2025 |quote=Our new ranking puts the Big Apple firmly on top. }} Lower Manhattan is home to the New York Stock Exchange, at 11 Wall Street, and the corporate headquarters of NASDAQ, at 165 Broadway, representing the world's largest and second largest stock exchanges, respectively, when measured both by overall average daily trading volume and by total market capitalization of their listed companies in 2013.{{cite web |url=http://www.world-exchanges.org/files/2013_WFE_Market_Highlights.pdf |title=2013 WFE Market Highlights |publisher=World Federation of Exchanges |access-date=July 20, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140327112731/http://www.world-exchanges.org/files/2013_WFE_Market_Highlights.pdf |archive-date=March 27, 2014 }} Wall Street investment banking fees in 2012 totaled approximately US$40 billion.{{cite web |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-11-27/london-bankers-bracing-for-leaner-bonuses-than-new-york.html |title=London Bankers Bracing for Leaner Bonuses Than New York |first1=Ambereen |last1=Choudhury |first2=Elisa |last2=Martinuzzi |first3=Ben |last3=Moshinsky |publisher=Bloomberg L.P. |date=November 26, 2012 |access-date=July 20, 2014 }}{{cite web |title=Lower Manhattan's Hotel Market Diversifies as Mid-Priced Options Expand |url=http://www.downtownny.com/sites/default/files/tourism/Hotel%20Diversity%20and%20Growth_Fast%20Fact_LowRes.jpg |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170825191026/http://www.downtownny.com/sites/default/files/tourism/Hotel%20Diversity%20and%20Growth_Fast%20Fact_LowRes.jpg |archive-date=August 25, 2017 |access-date=August 25, 2017 |publisher=Downtown Alliance }}

Other large companies with headquarters in Lower Manhattan include (in alphabetical order):

• AIG, 175 Water Street{{cite web |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=250388 |title=Company Overview of American International Group, Inc. |publisher=Bloomberg L.P. |access-date=April 24, 2018 }}
• Ambac Financial Group"[http://www.ambac.com/contactus.asp Contact Us] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100920071132/http://ambac.com/contactus.asp |date=September 20, 2010 }}." Ambac Financial Group. Retrieved on December 11, 2009.
• AOL, at 770 Broadway"[http://corp.aol.com/about-aol/company-overview Company Overview] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090218213649/http://corp.aol.com/about-aol/company-overview |date=2009-02-18 }}." AOL. Retrieved on May 7, 2009.
• BARKER, 30 Broad Street{{cite web |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/nycs-ad-agencies-head-to-financial-district-2014-1 |title=Madison Avenue Is Moving To Wall Street |work=Business Insider |date=January 24, 2014 |access-date=August 17, 2017 }}
• Condé Nast, One World Trade Center, publisher of Vogue, W, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, and other publications{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/03/nyregion/conde-nast-moves-into-the-world-trade-center-as-lower-manhattan-is-remade.html |title=Condé Nast Moves Into the World Trade Center as Lower Manhattan Is Remade |work=The New York Times |date=November 2, 2014 |access-date=August 17, 2017 }}
• EmblemHealth and Standard & Poor's, at 55 Water Street"[https://archive.today/20120910141625/http://www.standardandpoors.com/about-sp/office-locations/en/us Office Locations]". Standard & Poor's. Retrieved on August 12, 2011. "Corporate 55 Water Street New York New York""[http://www.emblemhealth.com/pdf/eh_lg_app.pdf Large Employer Group Application] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512220254/http://www.emblemhealth.com/pdf/eh_lg_app.pdf |date=2013-05-12 }}". EmblemHealth. Retrieved on August 12, 2011. "EmblemHealth, 55 Water Street, New York, New York 10041 HIP Insurance Company of New York, 55 Water Street, New York, NY 10041 Group Health Incorporated, 441 Ninth Avenue, New York, NY 10001" HIP Health Plan of New York, which became a part of EmblemHealth, moved there with 2,000 employees in October 2004. It was the largest corporate relocation in downtown Manhattan following the September 11 attacks."[http://www.emblemhealth.com/default.aspx?Page=50020 HIP Celebrates Opening of New Headquarters in Lower Manhattan Relocation of 2,000 Employees to 55 Water Street Represents Largest Corporate Relocation to Lower Manhattan Since 9/11] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141013145015/http://www.emblemhealth.com/default.aspx?Page=50020 |date=2014-10-13 }}". HIP Health Plan. October 12, 2004. Retrieved on August 12, 2011.
• Goldman Sachs, at 200 West Street
• Group M, 3 World Trade Center{{cite news |url=http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20160105/BLOGS03/160109973/media-agency-groupm-completes-deal-to-expand-at-3-wtc |title=Media agency GroupM completes deal to expand at 3 WTC |work=Crain's New York |date=January 5, 2016 |access-date=August 17, 2017 }}
• Hudson's Bay Company, Brookfield Place, the parent company of Saks, Lord and Taylor and Gilt Groupe{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/24/realestate/commercial/saks-embraces-lower-manhattan-.html |title=Saks Embraces Lower Manhattan |work=The New York Times |date=September 4, 2014 |access-date=August 17, 2017 }}
• IBT Media, publisher of the International Business Times and Newsweek, among other publications; located in Hanover Square
• Nielsen Company and subsidiary Nielsen Media Research"[https://web.archive.org/web/20111213083438/http://www.sptimes.com/2004/06/11/Business/Univision_sues_over_N.shtml Univision sues over Nielsen's meters]." Associated Press at the St. Petersburg Times. June 11, 2004. Retrieved on August 28, 2011. "New York is the corporate headquarters of Nielsen,[...]""[http://nielsen.com/us/en/contact.html Contact Us] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110829055350/http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/contact.html |date=2011-08-29 }}." Nielsen Company. Retrieved on August 28, 2011. "The Nielsen Company, 770 Broadway, New York, NY 10003-9595"
• PR Newswire, at 350 Hudson Street"{{cite news |url=http://prnewswire.mediaroom.com/index.php?s%3D29545 |title=PR Newswire – A UBM PLC company – Worldwide Offices |publisher=PR Newswire |access-date=July 20, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140726130322/http://prnewswire.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=29545 |archive-date=July 26, 2014 }}
• Spotify, 4 World Trade Center{{cite news |url=https://nypost.com/2017/02/15/spotify-signs-massive-lease-at-4-world-trade-center/ |title=Spotify signs massive lease at 4 World Trade Center |work=New York Post |date=February 15, 2017 |access-date=August 17, 2017 }}
• Verizon Communications, at 140 West Street[http://www.corporateofficeheadquarters.com/2011/02/verizon-corporate-office-and-corporate.html]. Verizon Corporate Office Headquarters. Retrieved on July 30, 2014.

Prior to the September 11 attacks, One World Trade Center served as the headquarters of Cantor Fitzgerald."[https://web.archive.org/web/20000304012316/http://www.cantor.com/locations.htm office locations]." Cantor Fitzgerald. March 4, 2000. Retrieved on October 4, 2009. Prior to its dissolution, the headquarters of US Helicopter were in Lower Manhattan."[https://web.archive.org/web/20080130015544/http://www.flyush.com/contact.shtml Contact Us]." US Helicopter. Retrieved on September 25, 2009. When Hi Tech Expressions existed, its headquarters were in Lower Manhattan.Ward's Business Directory of U.S. Private and Public Companies, 1995: Alphabetic listing, G-O Volume 2. Gale Research, 1995. "[https://books.google.com/books?id=ouEb48iD0DYC&q=%22Hi+Tech+Expressions%22 2073]. Retrieved from Google Books on July 28, 2010. "Hi Tech Expressions Inc. 584 Broadway New York, NY 10012." {{ISBN|0-8103-8831-6}}, {{ISBN|978-0-8103-8831-4}}."[https://web.archive.org/web/20110609121047/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=PG&p_theme=pg&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EADF00CC76916BC&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM Playin fair video-game manufacturers target an untapped market – Girls]". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. June 12, 1994. K-1. Retrieved on July 28, 2010. "Meanwhile, over at Hi Tech Expressions, a New York-based software company".

The headquarters of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is located in 4 World Trade Center of the World Trade Center complex."[https://web.archive.org/web/20000622214437/http://panynj.gov/abframe.HTM About the Port Authority]." Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. June 22, 2000. Retrieved on January 22, 2010.

The city hall and related government infrastructure of the City of New York are located in Lower Manhattan, next to City Hall Park. The Jacob K. Javits Federal Building is located in Civic Center. It includes the Federal Bureau of Investigation New York field office."[https://www.fbi.gov/newyork New York Field Office]." Federal Bureau of Investigation. Retrieved on June 9, 2015. "26 Federal Plaza, 23rd Floor New York, NY 10278-0004"

Many New York City Subway routes converge downtown. The largest hub, Fulton Center, was completed in 2014 after a $1.4 billion reconstruction project necessitated by the September 11, 2001, attacks, and involves six separate stations. This transit hub was expected to serve 300,000 daily riders as of late 2014.{{cite news |date=December 10, 2014 |title=Biggest NY Subway Hub Opens; Expects 300,000 Daily |publisher=ABC News |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/big-ny-subway-hub-opens-serve-300000-day-26790611 |url-status=dead |access-date=November 18, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141111183019/https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/big-ny-subway-hub-opens-serve-300000-day-26790611 |archive-date=November 11, 2014 }} The World Trade Center Transportation Hub and PATH station opened in 2016.{{cite web |title=World Trade Center transportation hub, dubbed Oculus, opens to public |website=ABC7 New York |date=March 3, 2016 |url=http://abc7ny.com/1229181/ |access-date=July 8, 2018 }} Ferry services are also concentrated downtown, including the Staten Island Ferry at the Whitehall Terminal, NYC Ferry at Pier 11/Wall Street (and Battery Park City Ferry Terminal starting in 2020), and service to Governors Island at the Battery Maritime Building.

Lower Manhattan is accessible by vehicle through several major thoroughfares. From New Jersey, Lower Manhattan is accessible through the Holland Tunnel from Interstate 78. From Queens, Long Island, and points east, it is accessible through the Queens–Midtown Tunnel from the Long Island Expressway. From Midtown and Upper Manhattan, it is accessible from the West Side Highway.

Many MTA express buses stop in lower Manhattan, the {{NYC bus link|SIM1|SIM2|SIM4|SIM5|SIM7|SIM9|SIM15|SIM32|SIM33|SIM34|}}, and {{NYC bus link|SIM35}} to Staten Island, the {{NYC bus link|BM1|BM2|BM3|BM4|X27|}}, and {{NYC bus link|X28}} to Brooklyn, the {{NYC bus link|QM7|QM8|QM11|}}, and {{NYC bus link|QM25}} to Queens, and the {{NYC bus link|BxM18}} to The Bronx.

{{Portal|New York City}}

• East Side
• Lower East Side
• Lower West Side
• Midtown Manhattan
• Upper Manhattan
• West Side

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{{commons category|Lower Manhattan}}

• [https://www.nycgo.com/boroughs-neighborhoods/manhattan/lower-manhattan/ Lower Manhattan] at NYCgo.com

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Manhattan

Category:Economy of New York City

Category:Neighborhoods in Manhattan