Wall Street Triangle

New York NY

The Wall Street Triangle, a component of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation’s Nine Parks Project, was the site of the Wall Street, or Coffee House, Slip. Created in the mid- 18th century through wharf construction and landfill techniques, the slip, which was episodically built and then filled over time, was eradicated by 1827. When large, squared and notched timbers were extracted during the park’s recent construction, Joan H. Geismar, Ph.D., LLC, the project’s archaeological consultant, was called in and identified them as wharf components. However, rather than newly-disturbed wharfage, their condition, their shallow location, and the lack of evidence for an extensive cribbing network, suggested they were instead examples of wharf debris. That is, previously disturbed remnants of the wharves and piers introduced by 18th-century water lot grantees to fulfill their grant obligations.

A memo report was produced and accepted by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.