The History of Wall Street

When people in the media, or just people in the know, refer to the various stock markets in lower Manhattan in New York City, they usually just refer to Wall Street. The now famous financial district has become synonymous with large amounts of money, power and influence. But how did one street manage to evolve into such an important address?

Ironically, most major investment firms that helped to build Wall Street into the financial force that it is today aren’t even headquartered there anymore. Thanks to technology advancements, these companies are usually headquartered in other parts of Manhattan or in neighbouring New Jersey or Connecticut. One of the most influential companies in Wall Street history, J.P. Morgan moved from the address that they helped make famous in late 2001.

The name Wall Street was actually given to the street since it formed a boundary to the New Amsterdam settlement in the early 1600’s. To help ward off the British, a 12-foot wall was built around the street to keep out invaders in 1653. In 1792, the Buttonwood agreement started the New York Stock Exchange and its headquarters would be on Wall Street.

In 1889, a newspaper that would eventually become the Wall Street Journal began publication. The paper took its name from the fact that a growing financial district was sprouting around the stock exchange and many companies that would go on to be powerful forces in the United States economy were headquartered there.

One of the most well known symbols of Wall Street, the JP Morgan headquarters, was built in 1914. The building still stands today, but is now owned and run by Deutsche Bank.

Wall Street has seen its fair share of history over the years, with the 1920 bombing that killed around 40 people and injured 400 to the great crash of 1929 that saw some people kill themselves. Today, if you check the front façade of the JP Morgan building, you can still see pock marks of the 1920 terrorist attack.

The construction of the World Trade Centers were the only real major architectural change to the financial district in the last half of the 20th century, and their subsequent destruction has left a void in the hearts and minds of many that work and live near there.

The history of Wall Street is a collage of incredible highs and devastating lows. As the center for American and some would say world finance, you can bet that there will be plenty of memories made on the most famous street in the world.

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