Lower (Downtown) Manhattan.

The first Europeans to settle in Manhattan were the Dutch. To protect themselves from possible attacks, they built a strong wooden wall. This wall, which is now destroyed, gave its name to a street in Lower Manhattan, and the street, in its turn, became a synonym of American capitalism. Of course, this street is Wall Street.

It is easy to see why Wall Street is a synonym of capitalism. Both the New York Stock Exchangeandthe American Stock Exchangeare located in the Wall Street area, as well as many banks and offices of many large corporations. The twin towers of the World Trade Centre, which rose up to 1,350 feet above the city, were also here. They were destroyed by two airplanes piloted by terrorists on the 11^th of September 2001.

Originally, the Lower east Side was an elegant district. When New York was the capital of the United States, President George Washington lived in the Lower East Side.

By the mid-1800s the Lower East Side had greatly changed. It had become an area in which immigrants settled. First there were many Irish, then came many Jews from Eastern Europe. In recent years many Jews have moved to other places, and a new immigrant group has settled here – Puerto Ricans and other Hispanics.

Near the Lower East Side there is another area that also attracted immigrants. It is Little Italy, which is famous for its food. Italians settled Little Italy at the same time that Jews settled the Lower East Side. Like the Jews, many Italians have now moved to other places. Little Italy has become smaller. But the Italian restaurants and cafes remain popular with tourists and Italians alike.

Close to Little Italy yet another immigrant area is situated – Chinatown. Today Chinatown is the only immigrant community in Manhattan that is still growing. Chinatown has seven newspapers of its own. Its 200 restaurants serve traditional Chinese food.

Greenwich Village, an area situated in Lower West Side, is mostly a residential area. Its elegant-looking houses in narrow tree-lined streets look very picturesque and charming. In the early 1900s this charm attracted bohemians – writers and artists. The rents were cheap, and for many years Greenwich Village was a place for people with different and creative ideas. It had an active nightlife with plenty of bars, restaurants and clubs. The artists, writers and political radicals spent hours and hours in the cafes.

Today rents in Greenwich Village are far from cheap, and not many artists can afford them. Greenwich Village is visited by many tourists, and some New Yorkers complain that Greenwich Village is no longer “authentic”. But in fact, the Village has preserved many of its authentic elements: in Washington Square, its centre, you can see street performers, jazz bands, police, drug dealers, joggers, and roller skaters.

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