American Surety, U.S. Express & Trinity Bldgs.

In 1857 Elisha Otis introduced the safety elevator, allowing easy passenger access to upper floors. A crucial development was also the use of a steel frame instead of stone or brick. An early development in this area was five floors high Oriel Chambers in Liverpool, England. While its height is not considered very impressive today, the world's first skyscraper was the ten-story Home Insurance Building in Chicago, built in 1884–1885. Most early skyscrapers emerged in the land-strapped areas of Chicago and New York City toward the end of the 19th century. In a building like these, a steel frame supported the entire weight of the walls, instead of walls carrying the weight called "Chicago skeleton" construction. 1889 marks the first all-steel framed skyscraper in Chicago, while Louis Sullivan's Wainwright Building in St. Louis, Missouri, 1891, was the first steel-framed building with vertical bands to emphasize the height of the building and is therefore considered by some to be the first true skyscraper. After an early competition between Chicago and New York City for the world's tallest building, New York took the lead by 1895 with the completion of the American Surety Building, leaving New York with the title of the world's tallest building for many years. New York City developers competed among themselves, with successively taller buildings claiming the title of "world's tallest" in the 1920s and early 1930s, culminating with the completion of the Chrysler Building in 1930 and the Empire State Building in 1931, the world's tallest building for forty years.

Wall Street in Lower Manhattan is one of the most famous streets in the world, known for its role in the international financial system. Wall Street is the symbolic and geographic center of American capitalism. Geographically, Wall Street is the center of Manhattan's financial district. It runs east/west for eight blocks from Broadway to South Street. The Street ran along a physical wall built by Dutch settlers when New York was still a Dutch Colony. Then-Governor Peter Stuyvesant ordered a 10-foot wooden wall that protected the lower peninsula from the British and Native Americans. It later became a street bazaar where traders met under a now-famous buttonwood tree. New York Stock Exchange is located on 11 Wall Street. History Of The New York Stock Exchange The NYSE was founded 17 May 1792 when 24 stockbrokers signed the Buttonwood Agreement on Wall Street in New York City. Other businesses: The New York Federal Reserve Bank is at 33 Liberty Street, in close proximity to the Stock Exchange. The NASDAQ OMX is on 1 Liberty Place. Goldman Sachs is at 200 West Street, and JPMorgan Chase is at 200 Park Avenue. The NYMEX is at One North End Avenue in the World Financial Center. Wall Street Journal is at 1211 Avenue of the Americas.

The City History Collection. Predominantly Manhattan Views.