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Financial District in Manhattan in New York County, New York — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
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New York Unearthed / The Shrine of Elizabeth Ann Seton

Exploring Downtown

 
 
New York Unearthed / The Shrine of Elizabeth Ann Seton Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, November 5, 2008
1. New York Unearthed / The Shrine of Elizabeth Ann Seton Marker
Inscription.
New York Unearthed
The underground chambers of “New York Unearthed,” a museum operated by the South Street Seaport Museum, display the remarkable extent of archaeological finds in New York. These range from the surprisingly old-3,000-year-old pottery shards-to the rather new-1950s lunch counter artifacts. In between sit the castoffs of three centuries of city dwellers: Delft tiles and clay pipes from the Dutch, tenement medicine bottles from 19th-century immigrants, and children’s dolls from the early 20th-century African-American community of Weeksville in Brooklyn.

Exhibits on the museum’s lower levels graphically depict the potential finds, layer by layer, beneath a typical Wall Street building. The “Unearthing New York Systems Elevator” simulates a ride from street level down to the lowest levels of a typical “dig.” And visitors can watch archaeologists work behind glass walls, cataloguing and conserving real finds.

The Shrine of Elizabeth Ann Seton
New York is a city of straight lines – it’s the very rare building that curves. The rectory of the Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton occupies one of them: the elegant house built in 1793 for one James Watson, with an 1806 addition whose portico curves along State Street.

At the time, the entire area was a posh residential district lined with
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fine brick town houses; today the Watson House is the sole survivor, one of the few Downtown buildings that survived the Great Fire of 1835. The double-story wooden columns of the extension’s upper floors are said to be made from old shipmasts.
 
Erected by The Alliance for Downtown New York, Inc.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: ArchitectureChurches & ReligionWomen. A significant historical year for this entry is 1793.
 
Location. Marker has been permanently removed. It was located near 40° 42.152′ N, 74° 0.83′ W. Marker was in Manhattan, New York, in New York County. It was in the Financial District. Marker was at the intersection of State Street and Adm George Dewey Street, on the right when traveling west on State Street. Marker is located across the street from Battery Park and the Whitehall Ferry Terminal. Touch for map. Marker was in this post office area: New York NY 10004, United States of America.

We have been informed that this sign or monument is no longer there and will not be replaced. This page is an archival view of what was.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this location. Watson House / Our Lady of the Rosary Church and the National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Anne Seton
Marker in Downtown New York image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, November 5, 2008
2. Marker in Downtown New York
(here, next to this marker); Home of Elizabeth Ann Seton (a few steps from this marker); Watson House (a few steps from this marker); John Wolfe Ambrose (a few steps from this marker); John Ambrose Statue (a few steps from this marker); New Amsterdam Plein: Nine (within shouting distance of this marker); New Amsterdam Plein: Eight (within shouting distance of this marker); New Amsterdam Plein: One (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Manhattan.
 
More about this marker. The top of the marker contains a mid-20th century photograph of “The Rectory of the Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.” Below this is a picture of Mother Seton, courtesy of the Library of Congress. It has a caption of “St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, also known as Mother Seton, founded the Sisters of Charity, America’s first order of nuns. In 1975 she became the first native-born American (and New Yorker) to be named a saint by the Catholic Church. Inside, the shrine is a handsome and peaceful sanctuary.” The bottom left of the marker contains pictures artifacts
New York Unearthed display at 17 State Street image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Larry Gertner, 1997
3. New York Unearthed display at 17 State Street
To the left is a commemoration of Herman Melville's birthplace
recovered in the area by archaeologists, with a caption of “Fragments of clay pipes and ceramic dishes conjure up tavern life in colonial Nieuw Amsterdam.”
 
Regarding New York Unearthed / The Shrine of Elizabeth Ann Seton. Established as a temporary exhibition and conservation facility for artifacts excavated in the city, New York Unearthed was open for 15 years. It had closed to the general public in 2004 though it was still open by reservation to small groups.
This is the second iteration of the wayside at this location and is included for historical purposes. Like the previous entry, the wayside is for “The Shrine of Elizabeth Ann Seton”; as the text points out, 7 State Street is actually the shrine’s rectory, with the shrine next door at 8 State Street.
 
Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. View the other three wayside ieterations at this site.
 
Also see . . .
1. Biography of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. Emmitsburg Area Historical Society. (Submitted on June 6, 2009, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey.) 

2. Shrine of St. Elizabeth Seton, New York City. "Sacred Destinations" entry. (Submitted on February 22, 2020, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York.) 
 
New York Unearthed former location image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Larry Gertner, August 14, 2017
4. New York Unearthed former location
Any trace of it has been completely removed, including the Melville niche.
The Shrine of Elizabeth Ann Seton (left); the Rectory (right) image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, November 5, 2008
5. The Shrine of Elizabeth Ann Seton (left); the Rectory (right)
The curving portico and the double-story wooden columns mentioned in the marker can be seen in this photo.
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on March 12, 2024. It was originally submitted on June 6, 2009, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. This page has been viewed 2,202 times since then and 41 times this year. Photos:   1, 2. submitted on June 6, 2009, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey.   3. submitted on March 7, 2024, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York.   4. submitted on March 9, 2024, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York.   5. submitted on June 6, 2009, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey.

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Mar. 18, 2024