Wall Street, New York City

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Jeniffer took us to the sites that associated with Victoria Woodhull and told us about her story.

Who is Victoria Woodhull? She was a woman 100 years ahead of her time. She was advocated many things from the 8-hour work day, profit sharing, graduated income tax to social welfare programs.

She lived in contradictions. She fed the hungry, cared for the sick and visited the prisioners. She offered her hospitality to prostitutes and royalty alike. She was having affairs with married men.

She owned a newspaper, the first female stockbroker on Wall Street. She was nominated for U.S. Presidency by the Equal Rights Party and the first female presidential candidate spent election day in jail. She never made it to the White House, no woman has made it.

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The walk continued to where Wall Street dead-ends at Broadway. The Anglican parish Trinity Church stood elegantly with its rose-colored Gothic chapel and graveyard. Every Thursday at 1 p.m. classical concerts are perform here. For those who wish to learn more about this church can join the guided tour offered at 2 p.m. There is also a small museum in the church. Alexander Hamilton, Robert Fulton and William Bradford are buried in the Trinity Church graveyard.

The walk brings us to a three-story brick Georgian mansion known as Fraunces Tavern.

In 1762 Samuel Fraunces purchased the building where then it became a well-known gathering place among his friends. Many events of great significance occurred at Fraunces Tavern such as in 1768 where the first New York Chamber of Commerce was born here. But the most often remembered was happening in the Museum’s Long Room on December 4, 1783, where George Washington made his farewell speech to his officers. Now it’s a restaurant with a small museum.

The Alliance for Downtown New York, offers a free, 90 minutes Wall Street Walking Tour every Thursday and Saturday at noon. This guided tour weaving together history, events, architecture and people of Downtown. Reservation are not necessary, just show up on the steps of U.S. Customs House, at 1 Bowling Green on rain or shine day.

East of the bull, on the site of Alexander Hamilton’s law offices, seat Cunard Building and Standard Oil Building.

Passengers used to booked cruise ships in Cunard Building before it abandoned and turned to Post Office in 1977.

The Standard Oil Building now home to the American Museum of Financial History and the Tribute Museum, was designed by Thomas Hastings and has one of the highest spires in Manhattan’s southern skyline. When it built, Standard Oil Company was the largest U.S. Corporation founded by John D. Rockefeller.

Since December 1989, another icon has sat at the head of Bowling Green, the 7,000-pound bronze statue of Charging Bull. Its sculptor, Arturo DiModica, says the bronze figure represents “the strength, power and hope of the American people for the future.”

The statue visited by numerous tourists everyday and touched by stock market investors for good luck. Once in 1989 it was mysteriously appeared in front of the Stock Exchange shortly before it was moved to Bowling Green. It has also been linked to the prosperity enjoyed by Wall Street in the past decade.

From the Customs House, we moved to Bowling Green, the city’s oldest existing park dates from 1733. The area began as a cattle market and a place for parades until 1733 it was converted into a bowling green, hence today's name. Until 1776 a popular statue of King George III stood here, but patriots tumbled the statue after listening to a reading of the Declaration of Independence in July 1776, and recycled it into bullets.

During the heat of summer months, the park is a popular lunch spot for New Yorker, with its birch-like London Plane trees, fountain and wooden benches.

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The tour starts at the Alexander Hamilton Customs House. This building is one of the finest beaux arts building in New York City. In 1994 the Customs House opened as the National Museum of the American Indian.

In this walking tour our guide, Jeniffer, only explained about the four sculptures at its façade. The sculptures are representating North America, Europe, Asia and Africa. These sculptures are created by Daniel Chester French who also sculptured Lincoln for the Lincoln Memorial.