In the 1990s, the Heritage Trails Sitemarkers program created more than 40 large sidewalk installations placed in front of major sites in the Wall Street/Financial district area. There were plans to connect the sitemarkers with giant multi-color “dots” on the sidewalk, but that never happened. Writing the text for the sitemarkers was a great pleasure – I learned an enormous amount about Downtown New York’s history.
Today the sitemarkers are maintained by the Alliance for Downtown New York (which calls them “Exploring Downtown”). Every so often they have me update the text.
Some of the markers seem to have disappeared, most notably the one next to the World Trade Center site – which prompted an article in the New York Times from David Dunlap (who had also written up the sitemarkers when they first appeared).
I’ve put up a few of the sitemarkers here, plus Mr. Dunlap’s articles.
No. 40 Wall Street (Bank of the Manhattan Company Building)
No.48 Wall Street (Bank of New York Building)/Museum of American Financial History)
Fulton Fish Market/Pier 17
India House/Hanover Square/British Memorial Garden
Pace University
David Dunlap’s article on the Sitemarkers (New York Times, January 5, 1997)
David Dunlap’s article on the World Trade Center Sitemarker (New York Times, November 28, 2003)
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