 Financial District, New York City
The Financial District of New York City (see map) is a neighborhood on the southernmost part of Manhattan. This is where you find the skyscrapers housing offices and headquarters of many of the country's major companies. The New York Stock Exchange and the American Stock Exchange are both located here.
The Financial District's biggest landmark used to be the twin towers of the World Trade Center which were destroyed in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Now a new skyscraper, to be known as One World Trade Center, is under construction to replace the fallen buildings. When completed around 2014, it will be the tallest skyscraper in the United States.
Federal Hall in the Financial District of Manhattan, New York City
Author: Gryffindor (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported)
The Financial District is a very old neighborhood. Its boundaries follows that of the New Amsterdam settlement that was established by the Dutch in the late 17th century. It includes the area to the south of City Hall Park, but does not include Battery Park and Battery Park City. Wall Street and Broad Street are two of the most important streets in the area.
One of the historic sites in the Financial District is the Federal Hall National Memorial. This is the site of the first US Capitol and the inauguration of George Washington as the first President of the United States. It is located at the corner of Wall Street and Nassau Street.
Few people actually live in the Financial District area. It has a resident population of 30,000 people, although during the day, the number of people in the area grows to 300,000. After the 9-11 incident, more people actually moved in to live in the Financial District, as before that it had a population of only around 18,000 people.
New York City Police Museum
Author: Dmadeo (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported)
Among the tourist attractions within the Financial District include the adjacent South Street Seaport Historic District, New York City Police Museum, and Museum of American Finance. The Sports Museum of America is located at the base of the Canyon of Heroes where the famed New York City Ticker-tape parades begin. The Museum of Jewish Heritage and the Skyscraper Museum are both in adjacent Battery Park City which is also home to the World Financial Center.
Although the term is sometimes used as a synonym for "Wall Street", the latter term is often applied metonymously to the financial markets as a whole, whereas "the Financial District" implies an actual geographical location. According City of New York official data, the neighborhood is named Wall Street.
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