Nassau Street (Manhattan)


Nassau Street is a street in the Financial District, within the borough of Manhattan in New York City. Nassau Street's southern end is at the intersection with Broad Street and Wall Street, and its northern end is at Spruce Street, at Pace University near the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge. Nassau Street runs one block east of Broadway and east of Park Row.

History

Nassau Street was originally called Kip Street — after an early Dutch settler family — but was subsequently named in honor of the royal family of the Netherlands, the House of Orange-Nassau. It was named some time before William of Nassau, the Dutch prince who became King William III of England, so that is not the origin of the name, despite how easily it could be mistaken as such. Nassau Street once housed many of the city's newspapers. Late in the 20th century Nassau Street was closed to motor traffic during certain hours, in order to promote shopping.
Nassau Street borders on the Fulton-Nassau Historic District, which is bounded by Broadway and Park Row, Nassau, Dutch and William Sts, Ann and Spruce Sts. and Liberty St. The original headquarters of The New York Times — then the New-York Daily Times — was located at 113 Nassau Street. In 1854, the paper moved to 138 Nassau Street, and in 1858 it moved to Park Row, making it the first newspaper in New York City to have entire building solely for its own work force.

Stamp collecting

As early as 1915, Mekeel's Weekly Stamp News contained many advertisements for stamp dealers in Nassau Street. In the 1930s, stamp collecting became very popular and Nassau Street was the center of New York City's "Stamp District", called its "Street of Stamps", with dozens of stamp and coin dealers along its short length. While the stock market did poorly during the Great Depression, stamps kept their value and were "negotiable assets." The Stamp Center Building was located at 116 Nassau Street, and the Subway Stamp Shop was located at 87 Nassau Street. With the dispersal of most dealers in the 1970s, a process that accelerated with internet trading, the street no longer has this character.
Nassau Street was also the title of a book written in the 1960s by Herman Herst Jr. that described the "golden age" of the stamp collecting industry.

Notable buildings