The southern tip of Manhattan is the historic heart of New York City. Until the late 17th century the vast majority of the city's residents lived south of Wall Street, where there was a wall built by the Dutch settlers, in 1653, to protect New Amsterdam (later New York) from invasions.
The Battery Park,
where artillery batteries were built in the late 17th century to protect the
fort and settlement behind them, is now a lovely place to wander, a beautiful
waterfront with gardens. In 1855, Castle Garden, situated inside the Park,
became the world’s first immigrant depot.
The Bowling Green, the oldest public park established in New York City and where Broadway begins, is now surrounded by skyscrapers.
Manhattan's current southern waterfront was built primarily on landfill, stretching toward New York's Upper Bay, the Hudson River and the East River.
