In 1773, the city passed an anti-graffiti and anti-desecration law to counter vandalism against the monument, and a protective cast-iron fence was built along the perimeter of the park costing 800 pou; the fence is still extant, making it the city's oldest fence. This fence is an example of pre-Revolutionary War ironworks.

 On July 9, 1776, after the Declaration of Independence was read to Washington's troops at the current site of City Hall, local Sons of Liberty rushed down Broadway to Bowling Green to topple the statue of King George III; in the process, the finials of the fence were sawn off.  

On August 21, 1770, the British government erected a 4,000-pound (1,800 kg) gilded lead equestrian statue of King George III in Bowling Green.

'Erected by the commons council in 1771, this fence surrounds New York's earliest park. The park was leased in 1733 for use as a Bowling Green at a rental of one peppercorn a year. Patriots who in 1776 destroyed an equestrian statue of George in which stood here are said to have removed the crowns which carried the fence posts by the fence itself remains.Plaque erected 1994 byThe New York Community Trust'

In 1773, the city passed an anti-graffiti&amp;nbsp;and anti-desecration&amp;nbsp;law to counter vandalism against the King George III monument

by Sculptor Joseph Wilton in Roman Garb victory celebration after the Seven Years War amid a lot of protests.&nbsp;In 1773, the city passed an anti-graffiti&nbsp;and anti-desecration&nbsp;law to counter vandalism against the monument, and a protective cast-iron fence was built along the perimeter of the park; the fence is still extant, making it the city's oldest fence.

Bowling Green Park Fence

The Assembly first met under Thomas Dongan. &nbsp;It's first act was to pass ‘The Charter of Liberties and Privileges’ which authorized the election of an assembly. &nbsp;

 At Bowling Green, Kaplan talks about Evacuation Day, the departure of the British from New York City, and Charging Bull, a popular statue representing the spirit of Wall Street and American capitalism. 

 Historian and lawyer James Kaplan details the life of Mordecai Noah, one of the first Jewish Americans to serve in the US government. In the 1820s, Noah one of the leaders of Tammany Hall, which was once located on Park Row, then called Chatham Street. 

The Tammany Society, which was a precursor to the Democratic Party, used to meet on Park Row near Pace University. The Tammany Society was pro-immigration and many of its members fought anti-Semitism.&nbsp;At this stop, James Kaplan also discusses important Jewish female writers like Emma Lazarus and Wendy Wasserstein, as well as immigration's influence on the evolution of the Jewish faith.

 Historian and lawyer James Kaplan explains the Jewish-founded financial group Goldman Sachs's contributions to the US government. The US Secretary of the Treasury for President Bill Clinton and President George W. Bush were both former Chairmen of Goldman Sachs. 

The Jewish Arrival tour ends at the Shearith Israel Graveyard. While some Jewish communities in New York considered America their new religious home, others wanted to form a Jewish base in Israel. James Kaplan discusses the founding the State of Israel and its roots with the first Jewish immigrants to New York City. 

 The sixth stop on the Great Crash of 1929: Tour of the Financial District is in front of the former Goldman-Sachs building and near Millennium High School. Millennium High School was the first high school built south of Fulton Street in decades, and its presence reflects the neighborhood's evolution from strictly business to more residential. At this stop, the tour guides delve into the question "Why does the market crash always seem to happen in the fall?" 

James Kaplan explains former Governor Al Smith's contributions to the New Deal. Smith was raised in the Lower East Side and attended St. James School. 

Christina Lanzl from UrbanArts discusses Jackie Ferrara's "Alex's Place" as a roof garden to memorialize the donor's son.

 Curator Dorothea Basile talks about the collaboration between Scott Burton (site furniture), Cesar Pelli (Architect) and M Paul Friedberg (landscape) and Siah Armanjani (artist). It was one of the earliest recent examples in New York City of Artists being involved in the design of of an urban plaza from the beginning. 

Historian and lawyer James Kaplan asks listeners to use their imaginations as he describes the site of Shearith Israel Synagogue that once stood near 22 William Street. The first synagogue in North America, it was built in 1730. As the surrounding neighborhood - which would become the Financial District - became more industrial, congregants left the site to build synagogues in Greenwich Village and Upper West Side.

 At the statue of Nathan Hale in City Hall Park, Kaplan discusses Hale's life and significance, and the history of City Hall. 

Architectural historian Gail Cornell talks about the history of Foley Square and the African Burial Ground.

Bowling Green Park Fence

Images

Images

1776 - Partially Destroyed

1776 - Partially Destroyed - Drawings and documents

1771 - Erected

1771 - Erected - Drawings and documents