South Street Seaport

South Street Seaport is a five-block district of brick commercial buildings on the East River in Lower Manhattan, together with two piers where historic ships are moored. Most buildings are four or five stories, built flush to the street, with shops below and storage or living quarters above. Details include granite or cast iron storefront piers, splayed stone lintels, and terra cotta reliefs, such as the fish carved on the window arches of 142 Beekman Street, designed by George B. Post in 1885. The area was created by landfill between the late seventeenth century and 1804. From the late eighteenth century to the mid-nineteenth, it was the heart of New York's port, home to packet lines, clipper ships, and the Fulton Market. Its warehouses and counting houses recall the trade that built the city's commercial power. The district survived the fires of 1835 and 1845 and later redevelopment, and plans called for converting its buildings into a maritime museum and compatible commercial uses.