Customs House

I think the most important part of the "U.S. Customs House" (located just south of Bowling Green) is knowing exactly what a Customs House IS.  I certainly didn't really know.  It's the place where government officials processed the necessary paperwork for goods being imported and exported into the country.  This paperwork can include taxes, tariffs, animals and agriculture (that may or may not be indigenous to the country and may or may not bring in diseases or crazy swarms of locusts), or hazardous items that may or may not be restricted or forbidden.  Back in 1902 when the Alexander Hamilton Customs House was completed, this was a very important place, necessary to trade between countries.  Then, the 20th century happened and technology took over.  Computers could process the information far faster and in greater volume than those working in a customs house.  Thus, Customs Houses became beautiful relics of the past.  (Fun Fact before moving on - the "Customs Agency" is the oldest federal agency in the U.S. dating back to 1789.)

In 1899 - renowned architect Cass Gilbert won a design competition for the new "U.S. Customs House" in NYC.  Construction started in 1900 - and seven years later the Customs House was completed.  It housed the Customs Service until the completion of the original World Trade Center Towers.  Appropriately, the Customs Service move into the World Trade Center.  

The Customs House was one of the very first buildings to be honored with "National Historic Landmark Status."  It was assigned this status in 1976.  

In 1994, the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian moved into the Customs House.

  

Bowling Green

Tomorrow morning I need to give a three hour walking tour of lower Manhattan.  It's always daunting to me to give new tours, but it's also an exciting opportunity to learn something new.  Tonight, I deciding to learn more about Bowling Green Park.

Bowling Green Park is the oldest park in NYC.  It was built in 1733.  You have to bear with us Americans, we get REALLLLLLLLLLY excited about landmarks that are 300 years old.  I know to Europeans that is a NEW landmark.  For example, Hyde Park in London was "acquired" by Henry VIII in 1536 and made open to the public in 1637.  St. James' park dates back to 1532.  But we New Yorkers have our 1733 park, and it's dear to us.  

Bowling was a park built to - well - bowl.  Or play "lawn bowls" - a bizarre game you can learn about here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PonGXrse4MU  Apparently wearing white is of utmost importance and you actually use tape measures for precision.  But before the days trying to get your balls closest to the "jack," the land was a council ground for the Lenape Indians.*  Legend has it this was also the location where Peter Minuit basically tricked the Lenape Indians into selling the Dutch the island of Manhattan in 1626 for a mere $24.**  Sixty years after this infamous deed the land became public and acquired the name "Bowling Green" after the aforementioned lawn bowling.  

King George III sent over a little present in 1770 that was erected in Bowling Green. It was a led statue of himself.  He was modest like that.  A year after his statue was erected they put up an iron fence.  It is actually the same exact fence that is still at Bowling Green to this day! 

On July 9th, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was read at City Hall.  Excited, enraged, adrenaline hyped colonists ran to Bowling Green and tore down the statue of King George III.  The dragged it up and down the streets, and then the led it was made of was melted down.  The colonists decided to regift King George III 's present back to the English.  They decided to do this in the form of musket balls made from the statues melted down led.The citizens also took saws to remove the gold finials from the top of the fence.  This is why to this day, if you go up to the fence that has stood there since 1771, the fence points are uneven and you can see saw marks. 

By the turn of the century, Bowling green became up upscale residential area - where many political families lived.

In 1989, Arturo Di Modica installed his "Charging Bull" on the north end of Bowling Green. IN my opinion this must go down as the most successful piece of guerrilla art fare the world has ever known.   The bull has been move up the street, but Bowling Green remains open tot he public and it a beautiful piece of NYC history.  You can literally touch the past by touching the fence.  Remember, we Americans get realllllllly excited about things that are 300 years old.  We lack London's White Tower of 1078 - so let us revel in our old gate and all the beautiful things around it.

*I will need to write an entry about the poor Lenape Indians in the future.

**This story will be including in the entry about the Lenape Indians.

Welcome - why I am starting this blog.

My name is Megan and I am a tour guide in New York City.  (I occasionally get paid to sing, dance, and act in the city, but for all intents and purposes I pay my bills by leading tours.)

Not going to lie, I originally thought, "Oh this will be a super easy day job."  I've lived in NYC for 8 years.  Obviously I know every thing there is to know.  People will pay my millions for my endless knowledge of the city.

Turns out, I know virtually nothing.  Simply studying for the tour exam proved to be a behemoth task.  I didn't even know simple facts such as what "halal" meant much less who Elizabeth Ann Seton was or why we cared.  

Still, I passed the exam on my first try, a fact I am extremely proud of.   But the truth is I barely passed. I think I was two points above the "fail" line.  This didn't really bother me since the only two tours I was leading at the moment were ghost tours and food tours. Who needed to know what the Customs House is.  None of my friends when they visited ever asked about the Customs House. What a silly building to spend more than a second even thinking about.

Then I started giving bus tours to students.  Four hour bus tours.  And each group of students wanted their own customized tours.  It turned out, they really did care about the Customs House, and statuary in Central Park, and St. John the Divine, and the Jewish Heritage Museum.  They got excited because they had studied the Lenape Indians and Emily Roebling and wanted to share their knowledge.  Their excitement made me think, oh - wow - this stuff is pretty cool - and I should probably delve deeper into it!  So I started following around other tour guides where I learned A LOT - including how much I didn't know - such as where to find strawberries in "Strawberry Fields."  

I know at the moment I'm making myself out to be the worst tour guide in NYC.  Perhaps I am.  Perhaps I am not.  The entire reason I am starting this blog is because I want to share with you what I am learning, bit by bit.  The truth is no one can ever know everything there is to know about NYC.  It has a deep rich history and is in a constant state of change.  I'm going to attempt to share a little tidbit about NYC every day.  Hopefully I will learn. Hopefully you will learn.  Hopefully someone will even read this blog.  

I just know that the city is full of wonders, mysteries, and history.  The only way to uncover these gems is by asking questions, and I realize I have not been asking enough.  So I am going to ask questions and share whatever answers I find with you.

Please feel free to e-mail me if YOU have a question and I will endeavour to find an answer for you.  meganmermaid@gmail.com