400 years
of history on Stone Street.

Stone Street became New York’s first paved street in 1658, and has been designated a NYC historical landmark since 1996.

Today it is one of the top tourist attractions of Manhattan, as well as a bustling night life scene, but not everyone knows about the rich history of the street and neighborhood. Keep reading to join us as we travel 400 years back in time!

1624

New Amsterdam is established

Stone Street is one of New York's oldest streets, having been built not long after the Dutch West India Company established New Amsterdam in 1624.

Stone Street contains parts of two original colonial streets:

  • Breuers Straet ("Brewers Street", named after the breweries along the street), later renamed Brouwer Straet, from Whitehall to Broad Streets.

  • and Hoogh Straet ("High Street"), from Broad Street to Hanover Square.

Castello Plan, 1660.

Affairs and men of New Amsterdam - J. Paulding

1657-1658

Stone Street becomes the first paved street in New York

In ‘History of the City of New York’ (1853) the author David T. Valentine wrote that, judged by the occupations of the residents, "it is to be inferred that this was one of the best streets of the town".

In March 1657, residents of Breuers Straet filed a petition to pave the street with cobblestone, funding the project with their own money. The petition was approved and, in 1658, Breuers Straet became the first cobbled street in New Amsterdam.

Late 1600s

The first printing press in New York is established on Stone Street

The British took over New Amsterdam in 1664 and renamed it New York. Brouwer Straet was renamed Stony Street, and Hoogh Straet was translated to High Street.

By the late 1600s, Stone Street (High Street) had become known as the “English Quarters” as many British merchants moved to the area.

One example was William Bradford, who established the first printing press in New York in 1693, which was located in his offices at 48 Stone Street (which is where you’ll find the pub Beckett’s today)

1700s

Both sections of Stone Street are officially combined into one street

In the early 1700s, the east section of Stone Street was renamed once again from High Street to Duke Street. But following the American Revolutionary War in 1783, New Yorkers sought to change names that reflected British rule.

The west section of Stone Street was already called Stony Street at the time, but the city's common council approved extending the name to Duke Street as well. Subsequently, Duke Street and Stony Street officially became one long street named Stone Street in 1794.

What New York looked like in the 1700s. (Painting by Franz Xaver Habermann, 1776.)

Early 1800s

Stone Street becomes a commercial area

At the beginning of the 1800s, Lower Manhattan was starting to get expanded via landfill. As the neighborhood was (literally) growing, Stone Street started becoming increasingly commercial and many residences on and around Stone Street were subdivided.

In 1811, the common council approved petitions to widen Stone Street, and the street was expanded by about 4 feet (1.2 m) for $150,000*.

*$150,000 in 1811 is equivalent to about $3.4 million in 2023.

1835

The Great Fire of New York

Most of the Stone Street’s structures were damaged or destroyed on December 16, 1835, when the Great Fire of New York started at a nearby warehouse and spread through the neighborhood by high winds. The fire covered 13 acres (53,000 m2) and destroyed almost 700 buildings in Lower Manhattan south of Wall St.

1835-1900s

Reconstruction of Stone Street

Most of the buildings we see today on Stone Street were built in the aftermath of the Great Fire during the 1800s and early 1900s

  • The building where Harry’s is located today on the West corner of Stone Street, was completed in 1854 and is an Italianate-style brownstone.

  • 57 Stone St (Gran Via), 55 Stone St (Underdog), and 53 Stone St (Grievous Angel) were all built in the Dutch Colonial Revival style in the early 1900s.

  • A neo-Renaissance facade was added to the existing structure at 54 Stone St (now home to Adrienne’s Pizza Bar) in 1919.

  • 45 Stone St (Havana Social) and 47 Stone St (The Cauldron) were erected as the locale for the private club Block Hall and are built in a neo-Tudor style architecture.

45 & 47 Stone Street

57 Stone St

West corner of Stone Street

1950s-1970s

Stone Street starts to get surrounded by skyscrapers

While the now Landmark-protected buildings on Stone Street have remained mostly unchanged since the early 1900s, it’s surroundings were starting change rapidly by the 1950s.

In the late 1960s there were plans to close Stone Street to make way for a 38-story skyscraper, but luckily the building plans were scrapped in 1970 due to a poor real estate market.

The backside facade (facing S. Williams St.) of the buildings on 45 through 57 Stone St.

1979-1980s

Archaeological excavation of the Stadt Huys Block & NYC Landmark designation

The towering 32-story skyscraper on 85 Broad Street, that splits Stone Street in half, started construction in 1980 and was finalized in 1983 — before that it was just a vacant lot used for parking.

In 1979, archeologists started excavating the site (called the Stadt Huys Block) and today you can still view the dug out remains of the old 1600s Stone Street on display. The original street is actually about 6-7 feet (2m) beneath the street we walk on today.

Excavation site of old Stone Street.

The 85 Broad St skyscraper splits Stone St in half.

1990s-2000s

A rundown Stone Street gets restored to it’s old glory.

By the 1990s, Stone Street had become rundown. The once cobbled street had been paved with asphalt, now filled with potholes, and the buildings were covered in graffiti.

Stone Street Historic District was designated a protected NYC Landmark in 1996, and was added to the National Register of Historical Places in 1999.

In the late 90s, The Landmarks Preservations Commission, city agencies, and Downtown Alliance collectively contributed $1.8 million toward the restoration of Stone Street. The work was finished in 2000, including the installation of 23,000 Belgian block cobblestones.

A rundown Stone Street in the 1990s.

Stone Street today

A bustling night life district honoring it’s rich history.

Following the restoration of the historical street, Stone Street bloomed into a busy restaurant district in the 2000s and has remained so for over 20 years now.

Today the street is pedestrian-only, with wall-to-wall restaurants and bars, all offering lively outdoor dining for most of the year — attracting FiDi locals and tourists alike.

Five times per year, the local businesses of Stone Street come together to organize annual street festivals under different themes, attracting thousands of visitors each time.

“Here Grows New York” by Myles Zhang.