“WALL STREET/FINANCIAL DISTRICT”

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It’s difficult to navigate the history of this region without giving generous attention to the Dutch merchants, Dutch Knickerbockers of “New Amsterdam” and the British upper-classes who generated a “society” on Manhattan that has set her tone for ever more. The juxtaposition of the Trinity church within a maze of trading dens and alleys testifies to this regions smelted heritage of trade and higher destiny. When one walks the streets – streets that wind, bend and narrow – one can actually feel the energy, the tightness, the pace and the anxiety of the early colonizers. It’s as though a resonance was begun here of such magnitude that it continues to hum despite the concrete. North of the FINANCIAL DISTRICT was a great wilderness still populated with Indians and plentiful game. Facing the river Hudson was the constant threat from the British colonists (New Englanders) – hence the construction of WALL STREET. The continuation of Dutch trading interests under the British ensured that the island’s shift from “New Amsterdam” to “New York” (named after the then Duke of York) passed relatively smoothly (by European standards). The Charging Bull (Sculpture) of Bowling Alley (The oldest park in Manhattan) is a fitting symbol of this area’s historical - enduring - financial power. Sculpted by Arturo Di Modica in 1987 during the stock market crash it epitomizes “…. aggressive financial optimism and prosperity…”. Di Modica created his piece at his own expense, installing it in December 1989 as a Christmas gift to the people of New York. I salute Di Modica for his faith in the FINANCIAL DISTRICT’S stamina, and post 911 – it is a fitting accolade to New York’s refusal to surrender.