In addition to the practical information that drives the Guide, this year’s edition features six narratives by historian John Simko about the people, architecture, and history that helped shape Downtown. Learn how New York’s first ticker-tape parade (pg. 48) erupted spontaneously from bad weather and an over-zealous stockbroker. Locate the subway’s Jewel in the Crown (pg. 20) and Cass Gilbert’s lesser-known precursors to his world-famous Woolworth Building (pg. 53). Celebrate colonial New Yorkers’ jury nullification (pg. 31) that helped ensure our First Amendment rights and see the brokers who conducted their business on the outdoor stoops of Broad Street (pg.38) in the rain and the snow. Finally, discover Collect Pond, (pg. 13) Manhattan’s largest supply of fresh water—until it was polluted out of existence. Here and There, Then and Now Collect Pond Ticker Tape First Subway Zenger Curb Market Cass Gilbert’s Broadway-Chambers Building Woolworth Building 90 West Street