Financial District, Manhattan

The Financial District of New York City (sometimes called FiDi ) is a neighborhood on the southernmost section of the borough of Manhattan which comprises the offices and headquarters of many of the city's major financial institutions, including the New York Stock Exchange and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The World Trade Center existed in the neighborhood until the September 11 attacks and is currently being rebuilt. The neighborhood roughly overlaps the boundaries of the New Amsterdam settlement in the late 17th century and has a residential population of about 56,000.Toy, Vivian S. " The Financial District Attracts Families", The New York Times, February 20, 2009. Accessed March 1, 2009. "The overall population downtown has more than doubled since 2001, from 22,961 to 56,354 in the third quarter of 2008." During the day, the population swells to about 300,000.

As a district, it encompasses roughly the area south of City Hall Park but excluding Battery Park and Battery Park City. The heart of the Financial District is often considered to be the corner of Wall Street and Broad Street, both of which are contained entirely within the district.

Federal Hall National Memorial, on the site of the first US Capitol and the inauguration of George Washington as the first President of the United States, is located at the corner of Wall Street and Nassau Street.

Previously, the neighborhood was considered to be primarily a destination for daytime traders and office workers from around New York City and the surrounding areas. The neighborhood now has a growing number of full-time residents, with estimates made in 2008 showing that there were approximately 56,000 people living in the area, a jump from the 15 to 20 thousand living there before September 11, with many buildings being converted from office space to apartments and condominiums during the 1990s and 2000s.

It also has a growing number of tourist attractions such as the adjacent South Street Seaport Historic District, New York City Police Museum, and Museum of American Finance. Bowling Green is the starting point of traditional ticker-tape parades on Broadway, where here it is also known as the Canyon of Heroes. The Museum of Jewish Heritage and the Skyscraper Museum are both in adjacent Battery Park City which is also home to the World Financial Center.

Although the term is sometimes used as a synonym for "Wall Street", the latter term is often applied metonymously to the financial markets as a whole, whereas "the Financial District" implies an actual geographical location. According to City of New York official data, the neighborhood is named Wall Street.

Source

 * The Financial District Attracts Families by Vivian S. Toy, The New York Times, February 20, 2009