Monday being the "legal" July 4th holiday, we went downtown to where the NCY began. Seeing the huge flag installed at the NY Stock Exchange was inspiring! We also saw a where George Washington was sworn in as 1st pres. The buildings down here are the oldest in the city and quite tall (so tall the streets were totally shaded), quite ornate ( Trinity Church) and quite interesting ( the bars over the windows at the Federal Reserve Bank--a fortress unlike any I've seen). It is interesting to see the security that has been put into place since 9/11. We see police in this area. Several roads are now blocked, pedestrian access only. Things of note: Wall Street is famous now for $$. But it was originally an actual wall installed by the Dutch carve out their territory--and protect themselves from the British that surrounded them. After you pass Wall Street, you start coming to streets named "Orchard, Cherry" etc. That is because beyond Wall street, the land was farm and wilderness area. City hall is built a few more streets up and it was interesting to me to find that the front of bldg is quite ornate, but the back is very plain. That is because at the time it was built they never conceived the city growing beyond City Hall. They left the back plain because they thought no one would ever see the back!! Jokes on them!
