NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE

On May 17, 1792, the New York Stock Exchange was founded by a small group of 24 merchants and auctioneers who met under a buttonwood tree at 68 Wall Street to create the Buttonwood Agreement, rules on governing securities trading.  The exchange was first located at 22 Wall Street and moved to Tontine Coffee House in 1793.  Archibald Gracie  became the New York Stock Exchange's first president in 1793.   Gracie is better known as the owner of a  mansion on the Upper East Side that has been the official residence of New York City Mayors for many years.

The current Stock Exchange is at 8 Broad Street (between Wall Street and Exchange Place) in lower Manhattan’s financial district.  The building is a beautiful neo-classic structure, designed in 1903 by George B. Post, with Corinthian columns and a marble facade sculpture entitled “Integrity Producing the Works of Man.” 

Alexander Hamilton, the country first Treasury Secretary, lived at a house at 57 Wall Street and is largely responsible for setting up the country's first bank, the First Bank of the United States.  The bank's stock is the oldest stock traded on the New York Stock Exchange.