Coenties Slip (Manhattan)

Coenties Slip (Manhattan)
Stereoscopic view of the Slip in 1876.

Coordinates: 40°42′13″N 74°00′38″W / 40.70366°N 74.01063°W / 40.70366; -74.01063

Coenties Slip, originally an artificial inlet in the East River for the loading and unloading of ships that was land-filled in 1835, is a historic pedestrian walkway in Lower Manhattan, New York City, in the heart of the Financial District. It is perpendicular to Pearl Street and originally extended east to South Street, a distance of three blocks (585.6 Feet). New York's first City Hall once stood at Coenties Alley and Pearl Street, just to the north of Coenties Slip.[1] Although surrounded by skyscrapers, a row of buildings from the 19th century are still standing and in active use by small businesses.

The construction of these high rise buildings resulted in the removal of the blocks between Water Street and Front Street, and between Front Street and South Street. Part of 55 Water Street and part of the New York Vietnam Veterans Memorial are built on land that was once part of Coenties Slip. Both Coenties Slip and Coenties Alley are named after Conraet Ten Eyck and his wife Antje.[2]

Pronunciation

In 2003, Gerard Wolfe reported the pronunciation of Coenties to be /ˈkoʊ.əntiːz/ koh-ən-teez.[3] Earlier reports include kwin-seez (/ˈkwɪnsiːz/) (1896),[4] kwen-chiz (/ˈkwɛntʃɨz/) (1917),[5] and kwin-cheez (/ˈkwɪntʃiːz/) (1908).[6]

References

  1. ^ "Quality of Life Improvements". Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center. http://www.lowermanhattan.info/future/looking_ahead/24_7/downtown_parks.aspx. Retrieved 2010-05-29. 
  2. ^ "The Alleys of Lower Manhattan". Forgotten NY. http://www.forgotten-ny.com/Alleys/LOWER%20MANHATTAN/lower.html. Retrieved 2010-05-29. 
  3. ^ Wolfe, Gerard R. New York, 15 walking tours: an architectural guide to the metropolis (2003), p. 60.
  4. ^ Earle, Alice Morse, "The Stadt Huys of New Amsterdam," Half Moon Series, Vol 1, No 1 (1896), p. 4.
  5. ^ Miller, Alice Duer, "The Happiest Time of Their Lives," The Century [Magazine], Vol. 95, No. 1, November 1917, p. 23.
  6. ^ Phyfe, William Henry Pinkney, Twelve thousand words often mispronounced (1908), p. 562.