American Stock Exchange

American Stock Exchange. Exploring Lower Manhattan. , The American Stock Exchange traced its roots to the late 1790s. Throughout the 1800s, ambitious businessmen gathered on the curb at Wall and Broad streets to trade securities issued by the U.S. Government, as well as by the railroad, shipping and mining companies that financed the westward expansion of the young and growing country., The New York Curb, as it was initially known, specialized in securities of these growth-oriented, entrepreneurial companies – much as the American Stock Exchange does today. Hardy brokers stood out on The Curb in all kinds of weather, while their clerks balanced precariously in the windows of the office buildings above them. Since they could scarcely be heard over the surrounding din, brokers and their clerks developed a system of hand signals to communicate orders back and forth, and brokers wore brightly colored jackets and unusual hats so their clerks could easily locate them in the busy trading crowds., In 1921, the members of the New York Curb marched indoors to their facility at 86 Trinity Place to the strains of “The Star-Spangled Banner” – and a new era of securities trading, technological development and service to public investors began. In 1953, the Curb Market became the American Stock Exchange., The exchange was acquired by NYSE Euronext in 2008, and the trading floor at 86 Trinity Place was closed.