New York City was founded by the Dutch in 1624 as
New Amsterdam,
the capital of New Netherland. The New Amsterdam History Center
is devoted to documenting and mapping New Amsterdam, its
diverse people, landscapes, institutions and global legacy today.
We’ve presented several versions of the Castello Plan and the
Dutch Grants Map here.
You can see the settlement of houses, farms,
taverns and workshops, surrounded by walls. Over the three
centuries that followed, the area became the Financial District.
The east wall was torn down and named Wall Street. The canals
were paved over and turned into streets and in between developed
skysrapers, and the island was expanded with infill.
Above ground, almost nothing remains of New Amsterdam except the
original street pattern. Underground, archeologists have found
evidence of the plots of houses and gardens, Amsterdam yellow
brick, and pollen samples of plants.
You can swipe the map to compare the Castello Plan in 1660
to the present,
and explore each lot, where it shows what was there and who lived
there. Our next steps are to expand through the full history
of New Amsterdam with a timeline from 1624 to 1664, when it
was taken over
by the English.
We need your help to make this work happen. Donate now to
develop the map and expand the research.
