BOWLING GREEN BOWLING GREEN BY SPENCER TRASK ILLUSTRATED G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS NKW YORK AND LONDON Che "ffxiuckeibochcr ipict^y Copyright, 1898 BY G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS tibc Iknicfccibochcr press, UAcw Bock iii ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE Map of New Netherlands. With a View of New Amsterdam (now T New York), A.I). lO^b. Froutispietc From Adriaen van der Donck's New NetlicrLiiuis Edition of lO^o. The "Sea Mew" in the Bay 2 First Seal of City. 1023-1654 3 The Fort .... 4 The Sally-Port . -> Dancing .... 7 " Pipe of Peace" . 9 A Fair Vrolw 1 1 The Palisades 14 The Fortifications I =, An Informer 16 The Valiant Army 17 New York in i6q^ 18 Plan by Rev. John Miller. The Drummer IQ The Sheriff .... 21 Burgomasters 2^ Map of Original Grants ^7 2046809 iv flllustrations PAGE Seal of City, 1686, Granted by James II. 2C) Broadway and the Bowling Green in 1835. Showing Kennedy, Watts, Livingston, and Van Cortlandt Houses 31 Map Showing Extensions of the Bat- tery 3=- Stained-Glass Window in "Bowling Green Offices." Showing Green about 1760 .... 37 Part of Plan of City, 1761 . 38 Surveyed by F. Maerschalck. Kennedy House, No. i Broadway 39 Autograph of Martin Cregier . 43 King's Arms Tavern or Burns' Coffee House, 9-1 1 Broadway 4=i First Reading of the Declaration of Independence .... 51 Part of Map Drawn by Jeremiah John- son, Showing Governor's Island at Time of Revolution S4 Bowling Green at Time of the Revo- lution 55 Governor's Island as Now . 57 Thf Fort and Battery, 1750 61 Thi; Battery and Castle Clinton, 1822 6s ■flUustratious The Aquarium Government House "Steamship Row, 1898" The Produce Exchange The Beginning of Broadway Bowling Green Offices, s-i i Broadway 7> 77 78 81 82 BOWLING GREEN EW YORK is cosmopoli- tan, essentially so, be- yond all large cities of the world. Absorbed in the whirl and stir of the To- day, occupied with vast schemes and enterprises for the To- morrow, overswept bv a constant influx of new life and new elements, it seems to have no individual entity. It does not hold fast its old traditions, its past associa- tions. It is hurried on. in the quickstep of its march of improvement, faraway from its start- ing-point ; and as it goes and grows with rapid progress into something new and vast, it ruth- lessly obliterates its old landmarks and forgets its early historv. It is well, sometimes, to look back and remember the beginning of things. /Rarcb of Umpiovcs mcut Bowliiuj Green Zbc 36o\vling Orcen to quicken our civic pride by measuring our growth, to recall the struggles and the con- quests which proved the courage, patience, and stamina of the people who made New York what it is. There is no piece of land on Manhattan Is- land which has retained for a longer period its distinctive name, and at the same time fulfilled more thoroughly the purposes of its creation, than the small park at the extreme southern end of Broadway known as Bowling Green. It is the one historic spot which has never lost its identity or been diverted from public use since the foundation of the city. -.-...:*/::Wffi:. THE SEA MEW " IN THE BAY The history of the city from the time when the good ship Sen Mac sailed into the bay. May 6, 1626. bearing the doughty Dutch Gov- ernor, Peter Minuet. — with no city and no peo- JBowlino Green pie as vet to govern, — to the present, might ahnost be written from what has been seen and heard from this small plot of land. The West India Companv was chartered by the States-General of Holland in 1621. In i62t. enough capital had been raised, and colonists obtained, to warrant the Companv in begin- ning to avail itself of the almost unlimited privileges granted, of exclusive trade along the whole Atlantic coast, and of almost sov- ereign power. The first act of the honest Dutchman on that May morn was to call to- g e t h e r the M a n h a 1 1 a n tribe of hidi- ans, probably on the vervsite of the future Green. There he traded for the whole island, named after the tribe, estimated at that time to contain about " 1 1,000 Dutch morgens," ' or 22,000 acres, a quantity of beads, trinkets, etc., valued at sixty guilders, or about twenty-four dollars, a sum far less than that now paid for a single square foot of any portion of that land which then came within his vision. From this sharp bar- FIRST SEAL OF CITY. 1623-1664. JGaitcr witb JBowlino (3recn Zbc Ifoit gain was to grow the citv that was destined to be the commercial metropolis of the new continent, and the second largest city of the world. In order to insure peaceable possession, a fort was built, seemingly under the direction of one Kryn Frederycke, and in 1635, a larger one was erected at the contract price of $i63S- It was 300 feet long, and 2 so wide. This enclosed the Governor's house, barracks, and, later, the church. The contract for the building of the church required it to be of " Rock Stone," 72 feet long, s^ feet broad, and 16 feet high. The price was $1000. This fort occupied the space between the present streets called Whitehall. Bridge, State, and Bowling Green. The sally-port was at the north. THE SALLY-PORT. 3Bo\vliiui Green The large open space opposite the sallv-poit was set apart and known at first as "The Plaine," afterwards to become the Bowling Green. It held a place of great importance in the annals of the city in times of peace and times of war. This was the village green, which " XTbc BMamc marked the growing social life of the people. Here the children played, looking tar off into the waterv distance as thev remembered stories of their grandfathers' and fathers' homes beyond the sea ; here the youths and maidens danced Bowlino (Breeu Ibow tbc ©recti was Usci> on holidays and crowned their loveliest on the tirst of May, wreathing their Mav-poles with the early green. It was also the parade-ground for the soldiers. On Sundays, we can see it crowded with the country wagons of all de- scriptions, of those who came to worship at the church "within the Fort," the horses being turned loose to graze on the hillside running down to the water on the site of the present Battery. Here, also, was the well, built for the use both of the garrison and of the general pub- lic. Tradition has affirmed that the site of this well was originally a spring, the surplus waters of which ran in a little brook down the present line of Beaver Street, and contributed to form the marsh in the present Broad Street, then called " Blommaert's ■' Valley. Here Governor Van Twiller proved his valor and his contempt for the English. An English trading vessel came into the bay to trade with Indians up the river. One of the sailors de- poses that "The Dutch here inhabitinge send and com- mand all our Companye (excepte one boye) to come to their forte, where they staide about twoe houres and the Governor commande his gunner to make ready three peeces of ordnance and shott them off for the Prince of Orange, and sprede the Prince's Coloures. Where- upon Jacob Elekins, the merchant's factor of the Shippe, the IV/IIiiiiii, commande William Bowliiui (Brccii Oovcinoi •Cwnllcr'e Ualor Ftbrde of LvmehoLise (the gunner) to go aboid the Shippe and sprede her coloures and shoote off three peeces of ordnance for the Kinge of England.'"' Then Jacob Elekins coolly sailed up the river HI defiance of the guns of the fort, leaving the astonished Governor to meditate on his audac- itv. Thunderstruck at such an act of temer- ity. Van Twiller summoned all the people to "The Plaine," then orderinii a cask of wine " PIPE OF PEACE. and another of beer to be rolled out, he tilled a glass and called on all good citizens to drink a health to the Prince of Orange and confusion to the English. Here, after two years of a blood v and sav- Bowlmo (Brecu Bnnual Jfane age war with the surrounding Indians, during which the island was almost depopulated, the farms destroyed, and many adjacent settle- ments obliterated, the sachems of all the hos- tile tribes assembled August 30, 164s. smoked the calumet of peace, and buried the toma- hawk, pledging eternal friendship with the whites." In 1041, Governor Kieft established two an- nual fairs for the encouragement of agricul- ture, the first for cattle, to begin October is, and the second for hogs, to begin November i. These were ordered to be held "att the mar- kett house and plaine afore the forte."' This fair was the great annual event of the citv, forerunner of the Horse Fair and Dog Show. We can picture the sturdy burghers and their fair vrouws, in all the glorv of starched ruffs and variegated quilted petticoats, discussing the respective merits of their Holsteins and hogs. One inducement held out to attract strangers was that no one should be liable for arrest for debt during the continuance of the fair. This must have materially added to the number of visitors. The peace and quiet of the worthy burgh- ers, as indicated bv these fairs and social gath- erings, were rudely shaken when, early in i6s3, a war having broken out between Eng- land and Holland, an invasion from New Hnirland was threatened. At a General Ses- A FAIR VROUW. Bowlino Green sion of the Councillors held March 13, 16S3.' it was resolved. •• I St. That the whole body of citizens shall keep watch by night in such places as shall be designated, the City Tavern to be the tem- p o ra r y he a d q u a r t e rs . ' ' " 2nd. That the Fort be repaired." " 3rd. Because the Fort is not large enough to contain all the inhabitants, it is deemed necessary to enclose the citv with palisades and breastworks." "4th. Some way must be devised to raise money." " 5th. Captain Vischer is to be requested to fix his sails, to have his piece loaded, and to keep his vessel in readiness." ( Whether for fight or flight is not said ! ) Evidently not much reliance could have been placed upon the palisades, for on July 28, the Governor sends a missive to the City Magistrates, stating that the palisades are completed, and requesting them "to keep the hogs away from the repaired ramparts of the Fort." ' Some years later we find the fol- lowing entry: "Whereas, the lortiflcations of this city Ulav tion» 14 JSowlino Green lUar lPrc= cautions have at great and excessive expense, trouble and labor of the Burghery and inhabitants, been mostly completed, and it is therefore necessary for the preservation of the same and better security of this city some orders be made, therefore " Ittem. It is strictly forbidden and pro- hibited, that any person, be he who he may, THE PALISADES. presume to land within this City, or quit the same in any other manner, way or means, than thro the ordinary City Gate, on paine of Death. And finally, as it is found that the hogs which are kept within this city in multi- tudes along the public streets, have from time to time committed areat damac:e on the east- Bowlino Green 15 ern fortitications, and that the same are most ®l•^inancc certainly to be expected in like manner here on the erected works, every one who keeps aciainst llDOtJS hogs within this city is here ordered and charged to take care that tlicir I/oos sIm// not conic ■^ to. in or on the Bulicarks. j^^^^ '/ Bastions, Gardens or Bat- !^^^^^^^M1^ ^ tcrics. under forfeiture of '' ~ ^ ^^1 said hogs, and double the ^-' - ' ril^l-\ value thereof, to be ap- "'"" MS^'^^- *^^ plied the one half tor the ^^fc^JH^ informer, the other half i^^7~W\ tor the informer who ^^e .ort,f,cat,ons. shall put this in execution. Everv one is herebv warned and put on his guard against injury." " Bv order of the Heer Govnr. Gen. of N. Netherlands. N. Bayard, Sec'y.'" Fortunately no more serious assaults than these from the hogs and from the horns of the cattle were made against the palisades, tor peace was shortlv after declared between England and Holland, and their colonies had to restrain their martial ardor. The following vear but one was again full of fears; for in February, ib^s. a council oi war was held to consider a threatened attack of the Swedes on the South (Delaware) River. It was then "Deemed necessarv that the toi- i6 :)Bo\vlnu3 Onccn against tbc titlcations be repaired " — the cattle probably in the meantime having become obstreperous and displayed their ferocity against the stock- ade — "by spiking with good spikes, a blind of planks tlve or six feet in height against the palisades." )W"'^? AN INFORMER. Again was all this precaution useless, for, the Swedes not coming, Governor Stuyvesant decided to go to them ; and the council of war, at a special meeting, having applied for and obtained "two drummers to improve the marching of the militia." the valiant army set forth, and returned triumphant, having de- stroyed the Swedish fort. Later in this year a forav of Indians was made in the surround- ing countrv. and the vigilant magistrates, on ,„„ iL, THE VALLIANT ARMY. J^ce THE DRUMMER. Bowline} Green on tbe Sovclin^ Orccn erage good house was fourteen dollars per annum. The ditch, which heretofore had run through the centre of Broad Street, was sided up with boards. Several of the streets were ordered paved with stone, whence Stone Street re- ceived its name, being one of the first paved streets in the city. In ibsQ. an ordinance was passed establish- ing a public market on the present Bowling Green." "It is found good and resolved, that for all fat cattle brought to the market (not slaugh- tered) posts shall be erected by the side of the church where those who bring such cattle to market for sale shall present them. "It is also resolved, that shambles be built, a cover be made, and a block brought in, and that the key be given to Andries. the baker, who shall keep oversight of the same." It was at this time made the duty of the Sheriff to go around the city at night. He evi- dentlvmust have considered this as detracting from his dignity, for he officially complains, "That the dogs attack him: that the people cause frights bv halloing " Indian ' in the night, and that the boys cut • koeckies.' " For some time the English colonists occu- pying the country to the north and the south of New Netherland had been restive, and the home government was more than willing to Jfiowlmo Grecu ^3 back up their claims that no rival power should separate their possessions, claiming that the Dutch occupation was usurpation of the English rights. Charles the Second, with kingly liberality, granted a patent under date of March 12, 1664, to his brother James, Duke of York, bestowing upon him the whole of New Netherland, and that part of Con- necticut lying west of the Connecticut River. That he had no right or title in this property disturbed him little, he believing, with other monarchs of that time, that might made right. The King had previous- ly granted to the Earl of Sterling the whole of Long Island; in order ^/ to consolidate his pos- sessions, James bought this of him for three hundred pounds, and then arranged to send an expedition to take formal possession of all his new territory. The utter uselessness of resistance, notwith- standing the amount of work and time that had been spent upon the fort and palisades, was apparent to the Governor's Council and the Buriromasters. even if not to the Governor Oiaiit to tbc E)ui;e of lL>orh 24 IBowlinci (Breen IHew Hm3tcr= ^am becomes mew lorh himself. In vain Peter Stuyvesant stormed around on his wooden leg, endeavoring to infuse his own courage into the others. He fmally, however, was compelled to vield to necessity, and on August 26, 1664. the capit- ulation was formally agreed upon. New Am- sterdam thenceforth becoming (except for a short period when, in 167^. the Dutch retook the city and held it for about a year) known as New York. The terms of surrender were most favorable, it being agreed that the West Indies Company should enjoy all their " f^ist property" except forts, etc. ; the then magis- trates were continued in office until future election by the people ; the Dutch inhabitants were confirmed in their property and liberties. There seems little question but that the people generally felt that the change of government would be for their ultimate good. At any rate, they accepted the situation gracefully, for a few months after the capitulation the Burgomasters (being the same who had been in office at the time of the surrender) sent the following petition: ' " To His Royal Highness The Duke of York, by the Grace of God, our most Gracious Lord, Greeting." "It hath pleased God to bring us under voLir R. H's obediance, wherein we promise to conduct ourselves as good subjects are bound to do. deeminsf ourselves fortunate 3Bo\vlino (Breeii that His Highness hath p^rovided us with so gentle, wise, and intelligent a gentleman for Governor as the Hon. Col. Richard Nichols, confident and assured that iiihtcr tlic icings of this valiant gciitlcuiaii ice sliall bloom and grow lilxC tlie Cedar of Lebanon. BURGOMASTERS Assuming that this gracious acceptance of the inevitable, in all the rhetorical splendor of its mixed metaphor, must soften his heart, they at once proceed to request further rights and privi- leges, and pray to be relieved from certain on- erous imposts and burdens for tlve or six years. Doubting not but His Royal Highness will at the close of these years learn with hearty delight the advancement of this Prov- ince, even to a place from which your Royal Highness shall come to derive great revenue, being then peopled with thousands of fami- lies, and having great trade by sea from New England and other places out of Europe, Af- rica or America.'' Ipctlttoii to tbe ©uhc of lljorh JBowlimj (3rceu 1Rc>:apturc of tbeCitv In: tbc Sutcb Certainly these Burgomasters, with their prophetic souls, could not be accused of any old-fashioned ideas as to loyalty and allegiance to their past, for in the very next year, in the record of the "proceedings of the Burgomas- ters and Schepens," under date of June 24, 1665, It is recorded: "This dav. after the usual ringing of the city-hall bell three times, is published a certain proclamation regarding the confiscation of the West India Go's ef- fects, in consequence of the Company inflict- ing all sorts of injury on His Royal jMajestv's subjects." Thus passed away the last rights of the West India Company, In 1673, war haying been declared by Eng- land against Holland, a Dutch fleet appeared in the harbor of New York, and recaptured the city on August g, 1673. The name was then changed to New Orange. Only for a short period, howeyer, were the Dutch al- lowed to retain possession, for the next year a treaty of peace was signed between the pai"- ent countries, by the terms of which Surinam was giyen to the Dutch as an equivalent for New York ! ! The city was restored to the English, November 10, 1674. and the name changed back to New York. Under the sway 01 the English, increased prosperity came to the city. Among the privileges granted was a monopoly in the bolting of flour and in the exportation of sea-biscuit and tloui". The im- ORIGINAL GRANTS. JBowling (Brecn 29 'M portance of this monopoly, which histed un- til 1604, can hardly be over-estimated, since it gave New York a commercial importance which it has never since lost. In i685, under Governor Dongan, a charter was granted to the citv, which still tbrms the basis of its mu- nicipal rights and privileges. At the same time a new seal was given which, with the substitution of an eagle for a crown and a sailor for one of the Indi- ans, is virtually the present seal of the city. This seal retained the beaver from the old seal of 1623, emblematic of the city's commercial beginning, a n d added to it the flour-barrel and the arms of a wind-mill, as tokens of the prosperity which had come to it from the Bolting Act. Interesting as it would be to follow the his- tory of the city and its gradual progress to- wards its present condition, space compels us to confine ourselves more especially to those events and changes which show the evolu- tion of the BowlincT Green and its immediate SEAL OF CITY, GRANTED BY JAMES Zbc Charter a^^ Seal 3Bowlim3 Green Ifirst Grants of lots neighborhood. The lower part of Broadway, facing Bowling Green, in common with that upon the east-side, was simply designated as "The Market-field." Afterwards, it received the name of the " Heere Straat," or Great Highway, and later the name "Broad Way." Grants of lots were first made, and deeds given, in 1642. Until then settlers had been al- lowed to occupy land as they saw fit, and lines and boundaries were established by chance, or according to each one's own sweet will. in 1643, the first lot granted on " De Heere Straat " was deeded to Martin Cregier. It was thus described (translated from the Dutch)': "Grant to Marten Cregier. 1643. Lot for a house and garden lying north of the Fort, ex- tending from the house, about west, nine rods two feet ; towards the fort, south, six rods nine feet. Again about east, with a great out-point, fourteen rods six feet ; further, to the place of beginning, four rods five feet. Amounting, in an uneven, four-sided figure. to eighty-six rods three feet."' This lot is now known as numbers q and 1 1 Broadway, being part of the land upon which the Bowl- ing Green Offices are built. The citv fathers, in their later attempt to lav out the citv. and to fix lines and boundaries, in April, 1744, " Ordered : That the owners of the houses between Mr. Chambers and Mr. I)e- peysters corner house, by the Bowling Green, z < JBowlino Green Bttcinptt; to Jf ir %\uce of 1I.V11SCB have liberty to rans^e their t'ronls in such manner as the Alderman and Assistant of the West Ward mav think proper.""' And again, in Mav of the next vear. they "Ordered: That a straight line be drawn from the south corner of the house of Mr. Augustus jav. now in the occupation of Peter Warren, Hsquire. to the north Corner of the house of Archibald Kennedy, fronting the Bowling Green in the Broad Wav. and that Mr. William Smith, who is now about to build a house (and all other persons who shall build between the two houses) lav their foundations and build conformably to the aforesaid straight line." The liberty gi\'en to the owners of the houses bv the ordinance of 1744, "to range their fronts" as might be thought proper, was so thoroughly availed of that even until the present time, one hundred and tiftv years af- ter, no attention has been paid to the later order of 174^. for the buildings pulled down in i8qs. to make room for the new Bowling Green Offices, were very far from being on a line, and the few buildings still remaining to the north, towards Morris Street, do not even vet front on a straight line. A view taken in 183s. shows the projecting edges of the houses. The map of the city in ibq^.* shows that the waters of the North River came beyond the * See p^ge lo. 34 Bowliiui Green Opening iHcw Streets present eastern side of Greenwich Street. A later map siiows how the city has been gradu- ally extended, the dotted lines marking the water-line at various periods. In 1723, the city offered for sale the lands between high- and low-water mark, "from the house of Mr. Gaasbeck near the Fort to the green trees, commonly called the locust trees, near the English Church," '" or from the pres- ent Battery to Rector Street. In 1729. it was ordered: "For the better utility of trade and commerce, and increasing the buildings within the city, and improving the revenue of the corporation," that two streets should be sur- veyed and laid out along the Hudson River, one street of forty feet in width at high-water mark, and the other of thirty feet in width at low-water mark; the high-water mark to be the centre of one street, and the low-water mark to be the centre of the other." These streets are the present Greenwich and Wash- ington Streets, the former deriving its name from its being an extension of a lane which led to Greenwich Village. Notwithstanding the "order," it was some years before any- thing was done towards filling in the land and opening these streets, for on a map so late as i7^s these streets are not shown as existing at their southern end. In March. 17^2. the then city fathers" " Resohed. that this Corporation will lease From " In Old New York," Copyright, IS9a, by Harper & Brother!. 35 MAP SHOWING EXTENSIONS OF THE BATTERY. Bowlnui Ovccn a piece of land lyiiii; at the lower end ot Broad- way, fronting to the Fort, to some of the in- habitants of the said Broadway, in order to be inclosed to make a Bowling-Green thereof, with walks therein, for the beauty and orna- ment of said street, as well as for the recrea- tion and delight of the inhabitants of the citv. leaving the Street on each side thereof so ft. in breadth." jrifrit iiamini) Ciccn "■""'^^■^^^^^ STAINFD GLASS WINDOW IN " BOWLING GREEN OFFICES." 5H0WING GREEN ABOUT 1760. Three public-spirited and sport-loving citi- zens, John Chambers, Peter Bayard, and Peter jay, — may their names be placed upon the roll of the worthy. — hired, in accordance with this resolution, this ground, theretofore called "The Plaine," and later. " The Parade." for a term of eleven years, at the enormous rent of one peppercorn per annum, and prepared it for the sport of bowls. Let us hope they did not charge too much per game to recoup them- selves. As this lease neared its termination, JBowliucj Green IRcncwal of lease it was ordered that it be renewed for eleven years, on payment of twenty shillings per an- num, the lessees being John Chambers, Colo- nel Phillipse. and John Roosevelt. We are not told what happened at the expiration of this PART OF PLAN OF CITY, 1763. SURVEYED BY F. MAERSCHALCK. A. — The Fort. O. — Custom House. P — Governor's House. Q. — Sec- retary's Office. S. — E.xchange. T. — Fish Market. 4. — Block House. lease, whether they demanded a reduction of rent, and failing to obtain it abandoned the Green, or whether other sports became the fad KENNEDY HOUSE, NO. 1 BROADWAY. Bowliiui Oiccn 41 ot the Liltra-tashionables, whose liOLises then iicibitc surrounded the Green. '^^^^^ In a map of 1763,* we find Greenwich Street has been opened, the Bowling Green being then laid down in the shape of a triangle. The land beside the Fort, on the east and west side, was anciently called "T' Marck- velt," or "The Market-tield," from its vicinity to the markets then held on the "Plaine," or Bowling Green. The portion on the east is now Whitehall Street. The name " Market- field." however, remains in connection with the small street originally I'unning fi^om White- hall to Broad, formerly called •"Petticoat Lane," a part of which has since been obliterated to make room for the present Produce Exchange. The name '•Whitehall" originated in a large storehouse on the corner of Whitehall and State Streets, built by Peter Stuyvesant, after- wards falling into the hands of Governor Don- gan, he named it the "White Hall." This subsequently, for a little while, became the custom-house of the city, which later was moved to number i Broadway." This plot of land. 1 Broadway, had origi- nally been owned by a widow, Annetje Kocks, who for years kept a tavern here. In 17O0. Captain Kennedy, atterwards Pari of (^assilis, built on this corner a mansion, which was destined to be famous for many *See p.ige ;8, 4^ Bowlino Green ■Cbc XClasbs 3Suil5ina ye:irs. The garden in its rear extended to the Hudson River. Captain Kennedy, returning to England prior to the Revolution, left the prop- erty to his son Robert, Irom whom it passed to the late Nathaniel Prime, a leading banker of the city. In the spring of 1776, General Lee, and afterward General Putnam, occu- pied this house as their headquarters, and, for a time, Washington.'^ During the occupancy of the city by the English. Sir Guy Carleton and other British officers lived here. Mr. Isaac Sears, one of the prominent " Liberty Boys," lived in it subsequent to the Revolu- tion. He was commonly called "King Sears," and his daughters "The Princesses." After- ward, it was taken by Mrs. Graham for a girls' school, and later was known as the best boarding-house in the citv. For many years it was called the Washington Inn. in 1882. it was torn down, and the present struc- ture known as the Washington Building was erected by Cvrus Field, to whose per- severance and skill was due the laying of the first Atlantic cable. After the land at the rear of these houses was extended, a house was built in what had been the garden of the Kennedy house, in which Robert Fulton, the inventor of the steamboat, lived and died. At number 3 Broadway, John Watts, one of the Governor's Council, lived ; his daughter was the wife of Archibald Kennedy.'* Bowlino Green 43 /6y(, Next to this was the property of Martin Cregier, ah'eadv referred to. This same Mar- tin Cregier was a notable citizen. He was by turns /^^^^^W^-t kMt*y-r*^- an Indian trader. AUTOGRAPH OF MARTIN CREGIER. sloop owner, and master. In 1(548, he was appointed one of the first four Fire Wardens. In 10=^4, we tnid that a new seal having been granted to the city, it was publicly delivered December 8, by the Director to Martin Cregier, presiding Burgo- master. (The salary of Burgomaster was three hundred and fifty guilders — when it was paid ! ) '^ He was Captain of the " Burgh- ery," or citizens' company, he commanded an expedition against the Swedes on the Delaware River, and, in 1663, against the Hsopus Indians." In all of these various occupations h.e must have been successful, for, in ibSQ, we find he built upon his lot a tavern, which soon became a place of fashionable resort, the Del- monico or Waldorf-Astoria of the time. For- tune favored him, as before, for. in 167;, during the temporary recapture of the city by the Dutch, at a meeting of the "Val- iant Council of War," an order was passed calling for the nomination of six persons as Burgomasters. '"To wit : from the U^'caltJii- cst Inhabitants and those only who are of the Reformed Christian Religion."' Cregier, fuKill- /JOartin Ciciiicr 44 Bowliucj Green Hrins Cavcin ing all these requirements, was duly elected, further proving that tavern-keeping was equally prosperous then as now, and not in- consistent with religious profession. In 1674. wetlnd him superintending the fortifications, in anticipation of the coming of the English force. Whether his Dutch blood resented the linal capture of the city by the English, or whether new and more modern taverns eclipsed his own and took his custom, we are not told; but we find that later he abandoned New York, and with his family moved to the banks of the Mohawk, then on the verv tVontiers. where he died, in 1713, nearly a century old. As Cregier's Tavern became old and behind the times, a new building was erected, which afterward bore the name of '"King's Arms Tavern." and at the time of the Revolution was familiarly called "Burns' Coffee House." It was among the few buildings that escaped the fires of 1776 and 184^. As late as i860, the same building was still standing, bearing the title of "The Atlantic Garden." This is re- markable as being only the second structure to occupv the site since the foundation of the city. Almost until the present time the gar- den connected with this property has fur- nished a place for popular amusement. In Parker's Post Boy of Mav 27, 17O2, appears the following notice: '"This is to cive Notice, to all Gentlemen 45 KING'S ARMS TAVERN OR BURNS' COFFEE HOUSE 9-11 BROADWAY. Bowluui Green HACWfir paper IHoticcs ;iiul Ladies, Lovers and Hncouragers of Mu- sick. That this day will be opened, by Messrs. Leonard & Dienval, Musick Masters, of this citv, at Mr. Burns' Room, near the Batterv, a public and weekly Concert of Musick. Tick- ets, four shilliuiTs.'" "N. B. The concert is to begin exactly at 8 o'clock, and end at ten. on account of the coolness of the evening. No Body will be admitted without tickets, nor no money will be taken at the door. " In the next year. 1763. a Mrs. Steel, who had kept the King's Arms Tavern in Broad Street (the most noted tavern in the citv for thirty years), removed to this house, carrying with her the name of her old place. The an- nouncement is thus made in the Post "Bov : "Mrs. Steel, Takes this method to acquaint her Friends and Customers. That the King's Arms Tavern, which she formerly kept oppo- site the Exchange, she hath now removed into Broadway (the lower end opposite the Fort), a more commodious house, where she will not only have it in her power to accom- modate gentlemen with conveniences requi- site as a tavern, but also, with genteel lodging apartments, which she doubts not will give satisfaction to every one who will be pleased to give her that honour." Mrs. Steel's move must have been an unfor- tunate one, for. in 176=., we tlnd Burns again in 48 Bowlino Oi'ccn Ipublic fliifignas tion aiiaiiist Stamp B:t control (perhaps he married the widow), and from then on the place seems to have been known as "Burns' Coffee House." On October 31, 176s, a meeting of the mer- chants of the city was called at Burns' Coffee House, in order to express their opposition to the Stamp Act. Here they passed and signed the tlrst non-importation agreement of the col- onies. Over two hundred merchants signed the resolutions, thus securing lor New York the credit of being the first to sacrifice its commercial interests to the cause of libertv. At this meeting a non-importation association was also organized, and a committee ap- pointed to correspond with the other colo- nies, with a view to the universal adoption of similar measures. In the morning of the next day, November i, when the Stamp Act was to go into effect, handbills mvsteriouslv appeared throughout the city, forbidding any one. at his peril, to use the stamped paper. In the evening two companies, largelv com- posed of the Sons of Liberty, whose headquar- ters were at Burns' Coffee House, appeared in the streets. The first companv proceeded to the "fields," or common (City Hall Park), where they erected a gallows and suspended thereon an effigy of Lieutenant-Covernor Col- den, with the stamped paper in his hand, a drum at his back, and bv his side they hung an effi^v of the devil with a boot in his hand. Bowlino Green 49 The other companv. with another effigy of iRcpcai Golden seated in a chair, broke open his °^ stamp Stable, and taking out his chariot placed the effigy in it, and then, joining the other com- pany, both proceeded to the Fort, strictest orders having been given that not a word should be spoken or a stone thrown. On ar- riving at the Bowling Green, they found the soldiers drawn up on the ramparts of the Fort, and the muzzles of the cannon pointed toward them. General Gage, who was then the British commander, prudently refrained from firing upon the mob, knowing well that the tlrst vollev would be followed by the immediate destruction of the Fort. The people having been refused admission to the Fort, tore down the wooden fence about the Bowl- ing Green, kindled a tire there, and burned the carriage, gallows, eftlgies, and all. The odious Stamp Act was finally repealed on February 20, 1765. This action of the ministry was received with the wildest en- thusiasm. The whole city was illuminated, special bonfires being kindled on the Bowling Green. For a time this action of the home government aroused the enthusiasm of the populace, and on June 23. another meeting was held at Burns" Coffee House, petitioning the Assembly to erect a statue in honor of William Pitt, and also an equestrian statue of George the Third. On August 21, 1770, the JBovvliiig Ovccn statue of (Scorac tbc Xrbir6 Statue of George the Third having arrived tVom England, it was placed in the centre of Bowling Green amid the general acclamation of the people. In November, it was ordered : "That a temporary fence be forthwith made around the Bowling Green, of posts and rails not to exceed five rails high." The following year, 1771, it was ordered: "Whereas the General Assembly of this Province have been at the great expense of sending for an eques- trian statue of his present majesty [George 111.], and erected the same on the Bowling Green, before his majesty's Fort in this city, and this Board, conceiving, that unless the said Green be fenced in, the same will very soon became a receptacle for all the filth and dirt of the neighborhood, in order to prevent which, it is ordered that the same be fenced with iron rails, in a stone foundation, at an expense of ^800." This fence and the origi- nal stones still surround the Green, the crowns which originally ornamented the tops of the pillars having been broken off. At the breaking out of the Revolution, to celebrate the news of the Declaration of Inde- pendence, this statue was dragged from its pedestal, and drawn through the streets. It was then sent to Litchfield, the residence of Oliver Wolcott. Governor of Connecticut, bv whose wife and daughter it was run into 42.000 bullets, "to assimilate with the brains Bowluuj Orecn of the adversary." Subsequently, durini^ the invasion of Connecticut by Governor Tryon. over four hundred British soldiers were killed, probably by this very lead. The pedestal of the statue remained standing for some time longer, as is shown in a contemporaneous print of the Bowling Green at the time of the Revolution. On August 2b, 1776, the city was captured by the English. Shortlv alter the occupancy of the British a great tire occurred, destroying four hundred and ninetv-two houses, nearly one eighth of the entire city. The houses at the lower end of Broadway, facing Bowling Green on the west side, were saved. The Green again welcomed the joyous and exultant crowds who there gathered to see the final evacuation of the city by the British on November 2S. 178^ Before leaving, the English had nailed their defeated colors to the flag-pole which stood near, and in the hope of preventing the immediate raising of the stars and stripes, had thoroughly greased the pole. Captain John Van Arsdale. however, quickly managed to climb the pole, and in sight of the departing troops fiung our flag to the breeze. Ever since then it has been the custom for one of his descendants, on the morning of Evacua- tion Day, to raise the tlag on the present lib- erty pole in the park. A map of Brooklyn, drawn by General Captuic an^ iFiiial 3evacua= tion of tbc Cits ^/> ftt^'''" vtiff^ BOWLING GREEN AT TIME OF THE REVOLUTION. JBowliiui Green Jeremiah Johnson about this time, is curious, as indicating a fact which probably is unknown to most New Yorkers: that Governor's Island was at one time used as a race-track. tSovcrnoi' GOVERNOR'S ISLAND AS NOW. On the adoption of the new constitution by the State of New York, the event was cele- biated bv a "wonderful" procession, which was reviewed by Washington and other nota- bles, from the ramparts of the Fort, as it cir- cled around the Bowling Green. One of the principal floats in this procession was an enor- mous ship named HaiiiiltoiL which at the close of the procession was deposited in the Green. This required, in 178Q, the appoint- ment of a committee "to remove the Federal Ship out of the Bowling Green, to have the 58 :fiSowliug Green JBowling ©recti l.t:asc5 to CbanccUor Uivinciston fence repaired, and to let out the Bowling Green." Three years before this, in 1786. there is re- corded a request of Mr. Daniel Ludlow. "That he may be permitted to have the care and use of the Bowling Green, at the lower end of the Broad Wav, for two years, he being willing, at his own expense, to manure the ground, and sow the same with proper grass seed, and have it well laid down as a green; and a request of Mr. Chancellor Liv- ingston, that the direction and use of the said Bowling Green may be granted to him, were respectively read. Oi'ifcrcJ. That the direc- tion and use of the said Bowling Green, be granted to Mr. Chancellor Livingston, on the terms offered by Mr. Ludlow." Evidently. Mr. Chancellor Livingston had "a pull.'" In 1791, the street committee reported "That in their opinion the Bowling Green, in front of the Government House, ought to be preserved, and that it will be necessary the fence should be raised in proportion to the reg- ulation of Broadway. Agreed to." in 179=,. it was " OrdtTCif, — that the inclosed ground, commonly called the Bowling Green, in front of the Government House, be appropriated to the use of the Governor, for the time being. '" Notwithstanding the fact that it had been thus set aside for the use of the Governor, in this same year, on July 18. the sanctity of the Green JBowlino (3recn 59 was invaded by a tumultuous crowd of citizens who had just held a public meeting to express their opposition to the treaty with England, which had recently been concluded by John Jay. At this meeting, which had been ad- dressed by Aaron Burr and Chancellor Liv- ingston, some one moved that they should adjourn to the Bowling Green and burn the treaty. This was done, the band playing the " Carmagnole." — the French and American tlags being bound together, — the treaty having been considered by many as a repudiation of our debt of gratitude to France. The Governor did not seem to appreciate the advantages of the Bowling Green, or perhaps he was not able to preserve its privacy, for. in 1798, we find that it was ordered "That Mr. John Rogers mav have the use of the Bowling Green, on condition that he keep it in good order, and suffer no creatures to run in it." In a map of 17Q7, the Bowling Green lias assumed its present shape, the Fort has dis- appeared, the Government House, above re- ferred to, occupying its site, the Battery has been extended, but even yet the "Order" given seventy years before for the laying out of additional streets, had not been complied with except as to Greenwich Street, showing that municipal progress was not much more rapid at that time than now. The destruction of the Fort seems to have been deteimined Xlbe 3as tlrcatv 36urnc^ in CbcOiccii 6o .iBowling (Breen SCStlUCs tionof tbc Ifoit upon in 1789, when, by act of the Legislature, "The ground at the Fort and the Battery was reserved for the public use and for continuing the Broad Way through to the river. " This last was never done. In 1790, it was "Ordered, that Messrs. Tor- boss, Van Zant and George Janeway, be ap- pointed commissioners to superintend the taking down the stone and removing the earth of the Fort." The earth thus removed was used to enlarge the area of the Battery "from Eli's corner to the Flat Rock." When the Fort was torn down, a vault, which had been sealed up under the chapel, was uncov- ered. In this were the remains of Lord Bella- mont, a former Governor, members of his familv, and some others. Lord Bellamont's familv was distinguished by the silver plates bearing the familv escutcheon, let into the lead coffins. The coffins and bones were buried in an unmarked grave in St. Paul's churchvard. Mr. Van Zant, one of the commissioners, se- cured the silver plates, intending to preserve them, but after his death thev were converted into spoons. The Batterv, which has retained nothing whatever suggestive of its warlike origin ex- cept the name, owes its beginning to the fol- lowing order. In Ux)^. the then Governor made the following proclamation: " "Whereas there is actual warr between Bowliiuj Green our Sovereign Lord ;ind Lady the King and Qtieen, and the French King; and I am in- formed ot~ a Squadron of Ships and land forces, intended from France to invade this (jtty and i^rovince ; and whereas, for the safety and preservation thereof, I flnde itt of absolute necessity to make a platforme upon the outmost pointe ot rocks under the Fort, whereon 1 intend to build a battery to com- mand both rivers; I have therefore thought titte, and doe hereby require you, the Mayor, Recorder and Aldermen of the Citty of New York and Manning and Barnes Island, to cut down 8b cordes of stockades, of 12 feet in length, and to have them in readiness to be conveyed to New York. (Signed) •■Benj. Fletcher." The rocks upon which the Battery was built were called Capske Rocks. These works were then known as the Whitehall Battery, and from this time on. until the close of the Revo- lutionary War. various additions were made thereto, and later, somewhere about the be- ginning of the present century, there was built what was known as the Southwest Bat- tery, some three hundred feet or more tVom the shore, the approach to which was by means of a bridge with a draw. This later was called •'Castle (Clinton." In the year 1822. upon the Federal government taking possession of Governor's Island, Castle Clin- Ontiin of tbc 36attcivi 04 36o\vliiU3 Green Castle Oar&cn ton was ceded to the city. It was then pro- posed that this and the former Batterv. and the grounds included between, should be made into a public park, Castle Clinton being turned into a public assembly- room, and called Castle Garden. On Lafayette's return to America, in 1824, "a splendid fete and gala was given to him at Castle Garden, on September 14. which for grandeur, expense, and entire effect was never before witnessed in this country. About six thousand persons were assembled in that immense area, and the evening being clear and calm, the whole passed off happily, owing to the excellent arrangementsof the committee. " '" On December =,, i8si, the Hungarian hero. Louis Kossuth, arrived, and was received at Castle Garden, after which he was escorted to his hotel by a procession, which for years was famous for its size and enthusiasm. Jennv Lind here gave her fu'st concert Sep- tember 12, 18^0. For nearlv forty years, beginning in i8^^, this building was used as the emigrants' landing-place and depot, and later was transformed into a public aqua- rium. For many years the Battery was the citv"s parade-ground. Here, in the heyday of theii' popularity, the Pulaski Cadets, the Light Guard, the red-coated City Guards, and the Tompkins Blues went througii their elaboi'ate Bowlino Green 67 mana'uvres, before the admiring gaze of the citizens grouped in surrounding windows and on the walks. Here, also, the Blue Stockings and the Red Stockings vied for championship in the national frame. Gastic ©aiJcn Jfc'tcs THE AQUARIUM. In his Diarv. Philip Hone writes: "t^pril IS. 18^4. — This was the day of the Great Fete at Castle Garden, to celebrate the triumph gained bv the Whig Partv in the late Charter election in this citv. and it went off 6S JBowlino Green Castle ^Ba^^cn gloriously. Tables were spread in a double row within the outer circumference. Three pipes of wine and 40 barrels of beer were placed in the centre under an awning, and served out during the repast." " ''Monday, October the 2ytJi. 18^4. — The Jackson men marched down to Castle Garden, where a feast (not of reason) was prepared, and a flow of whiskey (not of soul) was served out gratuitously to the well drilled troops of the Regency. They tired guns and exhibited fire works, and all in the way of rejoicing for vic- tories not won. or rather ' to keep their spirits up by pouring spirits down.' "' '" '' Wilson's History of Neie York, 1893. UC SOUTHERN! REGIONAL LIBRARY f A 000 036 112