Wall Street (New York City, New York)

 street, invisible, stock exchange

Wall Street is the name of the narrow street in New York in lower Manhattan, between Broadway and the East River. Considered the heart of the historic financial district, is the principal and permanent home of the New York Stock Exchange. The term 'Wall Street' is used to refer to the U.S. financial market and financial institutions. Interestingly, most of the financial firms in the metropolis are not on Wall Street, but are elsewhere in Manhattan, Fairfield County, Connecticut, or New Jersey.

The street name derives from the fact that during the seventeenth century, it marked the northern boundary of New Amsterdam. There, in 1652 Dutch settlers built a wall of wood and mud. The wall meant a defense against possible attack by the Lenape Indians, New England colonists and the British. The wall was demolished by the British in 1699. Although the wall disappeared the street name remained.

In the late eighteenth century, there was a tree just feet from the wall, where the financial intermediaries and speculators would gather to trade informally. This was the origin of the Commodities Exchange of New York. The Wall Street Journal, named in reference to the street, is a newspaper owned by Dow Jones & Company. The journal is published daily in the City of New York. Over the years, it had the largest circulation of newspapers in the United States, but is now second behind USA Today.