Ann Street (Manhattan)

In 1809, John Scudder, a former seaman, had taken over Edward Savage's "Columbian Gallery of Painting and City Museum" on Water Street, and added additional curiosities.

The line in the Charles Ives song, Barnum's Mob, Ann Street, refers to the crowds drawn to see the curiosities at this museum.

[3] The city tugboat strike in 1979 compounded the problem as heaps of garbage collected on Ann Street and in the abandoned lot causing the rat population to explode.

The rat attack incident prompted Mayor Ed Koch to order city pest control personnel to take immediate action on the problem.

It helped to add to negative impressions of the city for years, but it also prompted people to act to improve downtown.

[4] The recent addition of condominiums to the upper floors of the some of older buildings has added more life to the area.

Ann Street was gutted and repaved in 2006, as part of a city water main replacement project, greatly reducing the rat problems and further beautifying the area.

The corner of Ann and Vesey Streets, Park Row, and Broadway is still as busy as it was in Barnum's day, shoppers and tourists frequent J&R Computer World, one of the largest electronics stores in the nation.

Ann Street is the title and subject of a song by the early 20th century experimental classical composer Charles Ives with lyrics based on a poem written by Maurice Morris in 1921: [Shout.]

At the intersection one can see a view deep into the heart of the Financial District and the facade of the New York Stock Exchange Building (NYSE) six blocks away.