New York – Help relive the Great Crash of 1929 on the 20th annual guided walking tour of Lower Manhattan sponsored by the Museum of American Finance on Saturday, October 25th at 1:00 pm. This unique tour, which is the only regularly scheduled event that commemorates the Great Crash of 1929, the Panic of 1907 and the 1987 stock market collapse, as well as delves into the political, financial, real estate and architectural history of Wall Street and New York City. The tour shows that despite such adversities as the Great Fires of 1776 and 1835, financial panics of the 19th century, the 1920 Wall Street explosion, the Crash of 1929, the stock market collapse of 1987, the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001 and the mortgage crisis of 2008, New York and Wall Street have always recovered their position as the world’s financial capital.
The three-hour tour, which starts at the Museum, located at the historic 48 Wall Street (northeast corner of William Street), tells the story of such notable financiers and entrepreneurs as Alexander Hamilton, Michael Milken, J.P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller and Cornelius Vanderbilt.
Find out about the parallels between such events as Alexander Hamilton’s successful rescue of the nascent American securities market in the panic of 1791, and the collapse of Bear Stearns and J.P. Morgan’s rescue of the banking system and the stock exchange in 1907. Also, learn about the sea change in Wall Street’s real estate: why new office buildings are being built for the first time in two decades; why so many of the Wall Street citadels of finance are being converted into apartments; and how foreign capital has shaped and continues to reshape Wall Street real estate.
Discover little-known facts about the area’s rich history, such as the story of how the Collector of the Port of New York, fired for incompetence and graft, only six years later became President of the United States; the tragic tale of the model for “America” at the old Customs House; and the failed Wall Street lawyer who became President and led the country out of the Depression
James S. Kaplan, an attorney and political historian, and Richard M. Warshauer, a commercial real estate executive and Wall Street aficionado, will conduct the tour under the auspices of the Museum of American Finance. Messrs. Kaplan and Warshauer have presented this walking tour since 1988.
Tickets are $15 each ($10 for seniors and students) payable at the start of the tour. For advance tickets or information, please contact Lindsay Seeger at the Museum of American Finance at lseeger@financialhistory.org or 212-908-4110. # # #