Seaport in Manhattan in New York County, New York — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

South Street Seaport

Exploring Downtown

Photographed By Bill Coughlin, March 26, 2011

1. South Street Seaport Marker

Inscription.
The South Street Seaport, a group of rare 18th- and early 19th-century buildings from New York’s golden age of shipping, has been strikingly restored and revitalized as a huge marketplace of shops and restaurants created by The Rouse Company. Included within its borders are the English style “counting houses” that make up Fulton Street’s Schermerhorn Row, built 1811-12 by a family shipping business on South Street dating from 1728. The South Street Seaport Museum operates galleries and exhibitions, and maintains one of the world’s largest fleets of historic ships. The 1911 Peking, a German-built four-masted bark, and the Wavertree, an 1885 iron full-rigged ship, are both open to visitors.

Erected by The Alliance for Downtown New York, Inc.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Waterways & Vessels. A significant historical year for this entry is 1728.

Location. 40° 42.436′ N, 74° 0.239′ W. Marker is in Manhattan, New York, in New York County. It is in Seaport. Marker is at the intersection of Water Street and Fulton Street, on the right when traveling north on Water Street. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: New York NY 10038, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Titanic Memorial Lighthouse (a few steps from

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this marker); Hip Hop at 50 (within shouting distance of this marker); Bowne & Co. (within shouting distance of this marker); 207 - 211 Water Street (within shouting distance of this marker); a different marker also named Hip Hop at 50 (within shouting distance of this marker); 203 Front Street (within shouting distance of this marker); Bowne & Company (within shouting distance of this marker); 206 Front Street (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 photo of “Schermerhorn Row in 1978.” Below this is a photo of a seaman onboard a ship with a caption of “Dangerous working conditions, brutal treatment, low and uncertain wages, and isolation from the rest of society defined the life led by 19th-century seamen. Perhaps the surest indication of the hardships they faced is the number of charities established for their benefit. New York alone saw the establishment of Sailors Snug Harbor for retired sailors; the Seaman’s Retreat hospital

Photographed By Bill Coughlin, March 26, 2011

2. South Street Seaport Marker

for their medical needs; churches catering exclusively to seamen; the American Seamen’s Friend Society providing boarding houses, banks and employment offices; and the Mariner’s Family Industrial Society of the Port of New York, caring for their destitute wives and daughters. Another clue may be the laws needed to outlaw such practices as flogging and shanghaiing. The bottom of the marker features a picture of how the seaport looked in the 19th-century. It has a caption of “An English visitor to South Street in 1878 described the chaotic scene: ‘The port was filled with shipping, and the wharfs were crowded with commodities of every description. Bales of cotton, wool, and merchandise; barrels of potash, rice, flour, and salt provisions; hogsheads of sugar, chests of tea, puncheons of rum, and pipes of wine . . . .’ ”

Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. Take a tour of the markers in lower Manhattan erected by the Alliance for Downtown New York, Inc.

Also see . . .
1. South Street Seaport Museum website. (Submitted on March 27, 2011, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey.)
2. U.S. Lightship LV-87. National Historic Landmark (Submitted on October 4, 2012, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland.)

Marker on Water Street image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Bill Coughlin, March 26, 2011

3. Marker on Water Street

The Titanic Memorial Lighthouse image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Bill Coughlin, March 26, 2011

4. The Titanic Memorial Lighthouse

This Lighthouse Memorial is located near the South Street Seaport marker. It honors the passengers, officers and crew who died as heroes when the steamship Titanic sank after collision with an iceberg.

Pier 16 at South Street Seaport with the museum's 1907, ex-Coast Guard Lightship image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Richard E. Miller, September 15, 2012

5. Pier 16 at South Street Seaport with the museum's 1907, ex-Coast Guard Lightship

Ambrose (LV-87) on display, lower-middle.

The historic windjammer <i>Peking</i> on display at the South Street Seaport Museum image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Richard E. Miller, September 15, 2012

6. The historic windjammer Peking on display at the South Street Seaport Museum

- against the lower Manhattan skyline.

The Brooklyn Bridge image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Richard E. Miller, September 15, 2012

7. The Brooklyn Bridge

- viewed from near the South Street Seaport's mall complex at Pier 17 on the East River.

South Street Seaport Marker, 1999 image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Larry Gertner, 1999

8. South Street Seaport Marker, 1999

The original "Heritage Trails" version.

South Street Seaport Marker, 2018 image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Larry Gertner, December 31, 2018

9. South Street Seaport Marker, 2018

The current "Exploring Lower Manhattan" marker. The text no longer mentions "Peking", as she was sold to new German owners.

Credits. This page was last revised on January 31, 2023. It was originally submitted on March 27, 2011, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. This page has been viewed 855 times since then and 24 times this year. Last updated on October 4, 2012, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on March 27, 2011, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. 5, 6, 7. submitted on October 3, 2012, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. 8, 9. submitted on December 31, 2018, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.