Broadway was originally called the Wickquasgeck trail by the Lenape Indians. It ran 14 miles, the entire length of Manhattan, following an original ridge of land. It became one of the two main streets formed during the settlement of the Dutch West India Company. Known at the time as de Heere Straat, or “Gentlemen`s Street,” (The original Dutch name) Broadway originated at Fort Amsterdam and followed a natural ridge of land that led northwards through the fields and farms of New Amsterdam. De Heere Straat extended to the wall that protected the Dutch colonists from English encroachment along present-day Wall Street. There were only two entry gates, with one situated on de Heere Straat opposite Trinity Church. In 1658 Broadway was widened and paved by Stuyvesant to improve the wagon road linking New Haarlem to New Amsterdam, between Vesey and Murray.
