About Manhattan's Financial District

It is locally called “the Bowery” and is a street and neighborhood in Manhattan. The Bowery neighborhood is bounded by East 4th Street and the East Village to the north, Canal Street and Chinatown to the south, Allen Street and the Lower East Side to the east and Little Italy to the west. The street runs from Chatham Square in the south to Cooper Square at 4th Street in the north where it turns into Third Avenue. The Bowery is considered the oldest thoroughfare on Manhattan, its roots dating back to the Lenapes who used it as a footpath. The Bowery has seen its highs and lows like so many other Manhattan neighborhoods. It was the home turf of one of America’s earliest street gangs, the Bowery Boys. From the 1940’s through the 1970’s the street was considered New York City’s Skid Row and was lined with flop houses.

Despite the neighborhood’s small physical stature, however, it still hosts some impressive visuals, including the New York Stock Exchange building – hard to miss with its high columns and neo-classical architecture – and Federal Hall. Extending out to the East River, the South Street Seaport is also considered one of the hallmarks of the neighborhood.