As we roam the modern streets of New York City, we can see the skyline and neighborhoods change each year. Given how complicated our city’s systems have become, it is difficult to imagine a time without the founding principles of zoning, planning, and preservation. The man who created many of those frameworks for modern-day New York is George McAneny. During his extensive civic career, he served in several official positions, including New York City comptroller, executive manager of The New York Times, first president of the Regional Plan Association, and Manhattan Borough President. The snippets of history that can be seen on Urban Archive are just a small part of McAneny’s legacy, making him one of the most remarkable New York City visionaries of the first half of the 20th century.

A walking tour of some of Lower Manhattan's most notable landmarks.

In its history, New York City has seen its fair share of accidents, disasters, and catastrophes. Some have been man-made, while others were the work of Mother Nature. These events have, over time, altered and shaped the city and its citizens.

“Federal Hall National Memorial, ca. 1975. The Federal Hall National Memorial commemorates historic events at the former Federal Hall, which occupied the same site until 1812. The original building, completed in 1703 as New York’s second City Hall, became a meeting place for colonial delegates prior to the Revolutionary War, and later for representatives of the nascent American government in the First United States Congress. Federal Hall became the first Capitol of the United States in 1789, when the Constitution came into force. Under the first Congress, Federal Hall was the site of Washington’s Inauguration and the proposal of the Constitutional amendments that today make up the Bill of Rights. After Congress moved to Philadelphia in 1790, New York’s City government operations returned to Federal Hall until a new City Hall building was completed in 1812. The building was razed thereafter. The current temple-front Greek Revival marble structure was designed by John Frazee and completed in 1842.

City government in New Amsterdam had met in the Dutch Stadt Huys, built as a tavern in 1642 on Pearl Street, then known simply as The Waterside. After the British takeover, in 1703, a new building, seen in the upper image, was constructed to serve as City Hall. Together with Trinity Church and the First Presbyterian Church, City Hall gave weight to the dignity of the west end of Wall Street. After the Revolutionary War, in 1788, Pierre L'Enfant, who was best known for his later planning of the new capital city of Washington D.C., designed the renovation and enlargement of City Hall, which became knows as Federal Hall when it housed the Continental Congress. The balcony served as the location of the inauguration of George Washington as the nation's first president on April 30th, 1789. The nation's capital moved to another temporary home in Philadelphia in 1790 and the building resumed its previous function of city hall until the current City Hall was constructed in 1812.

The Federal Hall National Memorial commemorates historic events at the former Federal Hall, which occupied the same site until 1812.

A walking tours through Lower Manhattan's skyscraper canyons and more than a century of high-rise construction. This walk focuses on the buildings on Wall Street.

Federal Hall, built in 1703 as New York's City Hall, later served as the first capitol building of the United States of America under the Constitution, as well as the site of George Washington's inauguration as the first President of the United States under the Constitution. It was also where the United States Bill of Rights was introduced in the First Congress. The building was demolished in 1812.

In the United States, power and the ability to pass laws is spread out across three levels of government: the federal, state, and local levels. Each level has different responsibilities and is in charge of a different group of people. Government at the federal level is in charge of the entire nation. Members of the federal government include the President, the House of Representatives, and the Senate. They make laws and deal with issues that affect the whole nation. Members of the state government are in charge of making laws and protecting the interests of people in a specific state, like New York for example. The governor, and state representatives are examples of people involved with state government. Finally, every city, town, or county has their own local government. They deal with the most specific needs of a local group of people, like keeping communities clean and safe. Members of the local government, can include a mayor, city council members, or county executives. Throughout New York City's history different places have served government functions for each level of government. As you look through this story, consider some of the different responsibilities the various levels of government have and how they have changed over time. New York Social Studies Scope and Sequence Standards 4.4b,c For Teachers: Different Levels of Government Lesson Plan

The Constitution of the United States of America establishes the laws and governmental structure of the United States. It was first drafted by James Madison and explains which rights are reserved to the national and state governments. The Constitution was ratified in 1787, four years after the official ending of the Revolutionary War. In the years between the Treaty of Paris, which ended the war, and the Constitutional Convention, the United States was governed by a document titled Articles of Confederation. This document gave more power to the various states instead of a single national government. This made important decisions regarding trade, taxation, and defense, very hard to make. Many people recognized the serious situation the new nation found itself in and met in Philadelphia to create a new guiding document. After intense debate, they produced the US Constitution, which still forms the basis of our government. In fact, the US Constitution is the oldest constitution still in use today. While not perfect, this document laid out the fundamental rights that all Americans enjoy today. These different locations throughout New York help to highlight some of the powers and rules laid out in our founding document. NYS Social Studies Scope and Sequence Standards 7.4 & 11.2 For Teachers: US Constitution Lesson Plan

By Rob Koehler New York City’s oldest continuously operating library is the New York Society Library, currently located on 79th St. just east of Central Park. The Library was originally founded in 1754 but was forced to close for fourteen years during the lead-up to the Revolutionary War, the British occupation of the city, and the ensuing Post-War depression. It was re-founded in 1789 as part of the larger cultural revival of the city in the 1780s and has been open since. The library has always functioned on a subscription basis, with members providing the funds by which the library continues to operate and buy new books. Yet, the re-founding of the library was not just the reemergence of a lapsed cultural institution during the post-war recovery, it was also a part of larger debates about the cultural resources necessary to sustain the new national government. Read this in its original format here.

Wall Street bombing, 1920. At lunchtime on September 16, 1920, as banking clerks and businessmen bustled through the streets, a massive bomb tore through the Financial District. Set off from a rickety horse-drawn wagon at the corner of Wall and Broad Streets, the bomb was heard AND felt for blocks. It derailed a streetcar a block away, sent debris as high as the 34th floor of a neighboring building, and created a rain shower of glass from broken windows. In total 38 men and women were killed, while hundreds were injured. Though the investigation into the culprits and motivations of the terrorism went unsolved, it was believed that the business of J.P Morgan was the intended target (who some felt had profited from the horrors of World War I). Most of the dead though were not high-level bankers but secretaries and clerks. Historians believe that the action was carried out by Galleanists (Italian anarchists), who had been responsible for similar, though smaller bombings in 1910. This was the deadliest domestic terror attack until the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing.

Between 1954 and 1957, the Municipal Art Society surveyed historic buildings in all five boroughs to create a database of potential landmarks to preserve. Local residents and MAS staff compiled individual sheets devoted to about 200 buildings. Each sheet outlined the building’s date, location, and style and provided a description and a small photograph. This is the list of Manhattan buildings.

City government in New Amsterdam had met in the Dutch Stadt Huys, built as a tavern in 1642 on Pearl Street, then known simply as The Waterside. After the British takeover, in 1703, a new building, seen in the upper image, was constructed to serve as City Hall. Together with Trinity Church and the First Presbyterian Church, City Hall gave weight to the dignity of the west end of Wall Street. After the Revolutionary War, in 1788, Pierre L'Enfant, who was best known for his later planning of the new capital city of Washington D.C., designed the renovation and enlargement of City Hall, which became knows as Federal Hall when it housed the Continental Congress. The balcony served as the location of the inauguration of George Washington as the nation's first president on April 30th, 1789. The nation's capital moved to another temporary home in Philadelphia in 1790 and the building resumed its previous function of city hall until the current City Hall was constructed in 1812.

This temple-like building was erected as the U.S. Custom House. Its initial design was the work of Ithiel Town and Alexander Jackson Davis, one of the famous and talented partnerships in America in the early nineteenth century. The Greek Revival style temple form used here set the standard for commercial and government architecture on Wall Street in the pre-Civil War period. This building stands on the site of the first City Hall, later called Federal Hall. George Washington took the first presidential oath of office on the site in 1789. A designated National Landmark, the building is maintained by the National Park Service and open to the public with exhibits.

Federal Hall National Memorial prior to 1883 To place a circular rotunda in a rectangular building may seem illogical, but such were the vagaries of the Greek Revival. It was originally planned to build a Roman dome over the rotunda, set squarely in the middle of this Greek temple. The dome was never built, but the handsome rotunda may still be seen. This building is located on the site of the old Federal Hall, a Federal Style building designed by Major L'Enfant, on whose balcony George Washington took the oath of office as President.

This Presidents Day, we wanted to take a look back at some of the most iconic places that the nation's executives have occupied in New York over the years. Here is a list of a few of our favorites!