William Street (Manhattan)

It was originally called King Street, but was later renamed William after Willem Beekman who arrived in New Amsterdam in 1647 as a fellow passenger of Peter Stuyvesant.

Beekman got his start as a Dutch West India Company clerk and later served nine terms as mayor of the young port city.

[1] The buildings on South William Street 13-23 were reconstructed in the Dutch revival style by architect C. P. H. Gilbert and later Edward L. Tilton in the early 1900s, evoking New Amsterdam with the use of red brick as building material and the features of stepped gables.

[2] These buildings are part of the Stone Street Historic District, designated in 1996 by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.

[3] The buildings on William Street tend to cater to the financial underpinnings of the area and include luxury condominiums, offices, and at least one conference center.

William Street, looking south from below Cedar Street
View of the northeast corner of William and Wall streets. The house to the far right became City Bank of New York 's first home at 38 Wall Street, later re-numbered as №52. (Painting by Archibald Robertson , c. 1798)
13-15 South William Street, constructed in the Dutch Colonial Revival architecture