The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-02-01
CHANGES IN NASSAU STREET
NEW YORK'S BUSY THOROUGH
 FARE.

itery, Political, Social and Liter
 ary.
 The changes taking place in Nassau street give promise of removing, within q comparatively brief span, every sug- gestion of the past in that thoroughfare, and of quite obliterating the unique character which the street has main tained so long. There are 3S old build ings still remaining. Fourteen of these may be found distributed on both sides of the way from Liberty to John street; 12 on the next block reaching to Fulton street; II between that street and Beck man; and one at the farthest extremity, the old building which was formerly Tammany Hall.
 During the rapid transition from the <old to the modern, Nassau street has continued, at least very recently, to be :. the most thoroughly identified with the city of a third genration removed of any street in the down town district. It is, in fact one of the oldest streets in New York; and 30 years ago it had ripened an appearance which had some resem- blance to the quaintness of an old world street. Even as it now exists, especially in that quarter nearest Maiden Lane, 1t has an aspect likely to attract the mo- tice of any one who has an eye for dis tinctive features in a city.
 For more than half a century Mas sau street has been a region of banks and brokers, of small shops and minia- ture bazars; the quarter of print shops and old booksellers; a street where fab ricators in gold and diamond cutters work; the chosen place for business of the haberdasher, the tailor, the tobac- conist, and the sidewalk merchant. Narrow, crooked and hilly, it has serv- ed in the past as a street of the beau monde, of large commerce, and small traffic; and many generations have jos tied and crowded in the width of it's IF yards and the length of its 10 blocks in the 212 years since the news came to New York that William of Nassau. prince of Orange, had suppanted James II in England. Before that event, which caused much rejoicing in the Dutch English town, this thoroughfare had been known as Kip street But it was rechristened to remind loyal sub- jects of the new sovereign. It was about the same time, also, that the name of the parallel street on the east was changed from Smith to William. I Because it has the prestige of so many years, made interesting by numerous historical associations Nassau street ' should scarcely be permitted, perhaps, to complete in it's turn the metamor- phosis overriding old New York with out at least passing hail and farewell to it's venerable character.
 When Washington came to New York in 17S9 to be inaugurated the street had already accumulated a hundred years since it became known by the designa- tion of Nassau. Down at the lower end in those days stood the old city hall, facing on Wall street, where the presi- dent took the oath of office and, with the officials of the new government transacted business. The street was one of private residences, occupied by many of the wealthest and most dis tinguished families. It shared with Pine street the repute of being the select quarter of the people of quality" Here resided the Jays, Waddingtons, Rad cliffes and Brinkerhoffs. The old pnints, the newspaper of the period the pub lished annals make it sufficiently easy to recreate the time and the appearance of the street. Several of the houses, square, substantial brick structures of two stories and dormer windows, stood in the midst of ample grounds The front doors were surmounted by DOT ticoes that were lighted at night. One of these stately houses remained at the corner of Pine street till 1925.
 All the block on the east, between Cedar and Liberty streets, was occupied by the Middle Dutch church and it's do- main, dedicated in 1732. Directly oppo- site was building, erected in 1783, and occupied by the society library, which was then considered one of the finest specimens of architecture in New York. During the occupancy of the city by Howe and his army, while the Revolu- ton was in progress, the British had made free with the church. That build ing was used as prison for 5000 Amer jeans and, it was said, the "dead cart came evry morning. The rews were torn out and used as fuel. Later the English cavalry practised riding there. But at the time Washington came, and a new order of things was established the old church had obtained a new set of pews and the congregation was agian assembled.
 New York possessed about 23 GOO in habitants in those days The houses had recently been given numbers, and a couple of years later the first sidewalks were laid-narrow brick pavements. Small cobblestones were used for the additional payments, with the gutter in the middle of the street. Residences along Nassau street were numerous as far as Fulton street-then called Fair street--and few for the remainder of the distance to the common, the grounds eventually of the city hall AL together, it must have presented the as pect of a snug and prosperous street, having the shade of many trees, in a comfortable village. The old family coaches did not perhaps venture often over it's narrow length. It was given over to the peace and quiet in keeping with the dignity of the inhabitants, And when the shadow of the night set | tied, there might have been observed by the pedestrian the glimmer of the | lanterns hung out at the doors by all | householders up and down the way.