The Seaport

The ground you are walking on exists because of an aggressive, centuries-old real estate project. The original shoreline of Manhattan was much further inland, near present-day Pearl Street. To expand the city’s footprint, colonial officials sold water lots to wealthy merchants with the requirement that the buyers fill in the river at their own expense to create new land. This man-made infill pushed the city three blocks into the East River, creating the solid foundation for the counting houses and warehouses that once defined the port.