Editing Lower Manhattan (section)

====Construction boom====
Lower Manhattan retains the most irregular street [[grid plan]]s in the borough. Throughout the early decades of the 1900s, the area experienced a construction boom, with major towers such as [[40 Wall Street]], the [[American International Building]], [[Woolworth Building]], and [[20 Exchange Place]] being erected. Many new water crossings into Lower Manhattan were built at this time, including the [[Williamsburg Bridge]] in 1903<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 20, 1903 |title=New Bridge in a Glory of Fire; Wind-Up of Opening Ceremonies a Brilliant Scene |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1903/12/20/archives/new-bridge-in-a-glory-of-fire-windup-of-opening-ceremonies-a.html |access-date=January 10, 2023 |issn=0362-4331 }}</ref> and the [[Manhattan Bridge]] in 1909.<ref>{{Cite news |date=January 1, 1910 |title=Manhattan Bridge Opened to Traffic – Mayor McClellan's Last Act in Public Was to Lead a Procession on Wheels Across – Brooklyn Men Celebrate – New Structure Has the Largest Carrying Capacity of Any Crossing the River – The Span Is 1,470 Feet |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1910/01/01/104915453.pdf |access-date=December 24, 2017 }}</ref> The [[Holland Tunnel]] to New Jersey opened in 1927,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1927/11/13/archives/great-crowd-treks-into-holland-tubes-after-gala-opening-thousands.html |title=Great Crowd Treks Into Holland Tubes After Gala Opening |date=November 13, 1927 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |access-date=May 9, 2018 }}</ref> while the [[Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel]] to [[Brooklyn]] opened in 1950 and was the last major fixed crossing to be built to Lower Manhattan.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1950/05/26/archives/brooklyn-tunnel-costing-80000000-opened-by-mayor-marking-opening-of.html |title=Brooklyn Tunnel Costing $80,000,000 Opened By Mayor |last=Ingraham |first=Joseph C. |date=May 26, 1950 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=March 6, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170902153332/http://www.nytimes.com/1950/05/26/archives/brooklyn-tunnel-costing-80000000-opened-by-mayor-marking-opening-of.html |archive-date=September 2, 2017 }}</ref>

Despite these road connections opening, the economic center of New York City began to shift from Lower Manhattan to [[Midtown Manhattan|Midtown]] with the opening of many commuter rail terminals at the turn of the 20th century. The original [[Pennsylvania Station (1910–1963)|Penn Station]] opened in 1910,<ref>{{Cite news |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1910/11/27/archives/pennsylvania-opens-its-great-station-first-regular-train-sent.html |title=Pennsylvania Opens Its Great Station; First Regular Train Sent Through the Hudson River Tunnel at Midnight |date=November 27, 1910 |work=The New York Times |access-date=May 23, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180411111506/https://www.nytimes.com/1910/11/27/archives/pennsylvania-opens-its-great-station-first-regular-train-sent.html |archive-date=April 11, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> the [[Hudson and Manhattan Railroad]] (now PATH) extension to [[33rd Street station (PATH)|33rd Street]] was completed in 1910,<ref>{{cite news |date=November 3, 1910 |title=M'Adoo Tubes Now Reach 33rd Street; First Through Train from the Downtown Terminal to New One in the Shopping Belt |language=en-US |page=11 |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive/pdf?res=950CEFDF1339E433A25750C0A9679D946196D6CF |access-date=August 16, 2009 |issn=0362-4331 }}</ref> and [[Grand Central Terminal]] opened in 1913.<ref>{{cite magazine |magazine=Railway Age |page=78 |title=Grand Central Terminal opens |date=September 2006 |issn=0033-8826 }}</ref>

On March 25, 1911, the [[Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire]] in [[Greenwich Village]] took the lives of 146 garment workers, which would eventually lead to great advancements in the city's fire department, building codes, and workplace regulations.

Throughout the first half of the 20th century, New York became a world center for industry, commerce, and [[Media in New York City|communication]]. [[Interborough Rapid Transit Company|Interborough Rapid Transit]], the first [[New York City Subway]] company, began operating in 1904. The area's demographics stabilized, labor unionization brought new protections and affluence to the working class, the city's government and infrastructure underwent a dramatic overhaul under [[Fiorello La Guardia]], and his controversial parks commissioner, [[Robert Moses]], ended the 'blight' of many tenement areas, by demolishing slums, factories, and working-class neighborhoods through public works such as the [[High Line#History|High line]], the [[West Side Elevated Highway|West Side Highway]] and [[FDR Drive]], built housing projects, expanded new parks, rebuilt streets, and [[Zoning in the United States|zoning controls]], especially in Lower Manhattan. The zoning changes were intended to displace the industrial workforce by removing zoning protection for industrial space and incentivizing upscale residential and clerical redevelopment. The port of New York, despite its physical suitability for berthing and its close proximity to Europe, began to deteriorate due to the city's unwillingness to invest or modernise the port and the deindustrialization zoning policy. However a large number of small scale, dynamic, and highly specialized industries persisted despite the city's efforts such as the garment industry which was closely tied to the fashion industry in Midtown, or the printing industry; linked with the publishing industry.

In the 1950s, a few new buildings were constructed in Lower Manhattan, including an 11-story building at 156 William Street in 1955.<ref name="nyt-12251960">{{cite news |title=Building Activity Soars Downtown |last=Bartnett |first=Edmond J. |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=December 25, 1960 }}</ref> A 27-story office building at 20 Broad Street, a 12-story building at 80 Pine Street, a 26-story building at 123 William Street, and a few others were built in 1957.<ref name="nyt-12251960"/> By the end of the decade, Lower Manhattan had become economically depressed, in comparison with [[Midtown Manhattan]], which was booming with the continued [[march uptown]]. [[David Rockefeller]] spearheaded widespread [[urban renewal]] efforts in Lower Manhattan, beginning with constructing [[One Chase Manhattan Plaza]], the new headquarters for his bank. He established the Downtown-Lower Manhattan Association (DLMA) which drew up plans for broader revitalization of Lower Manhattan, with the development of a [[worldwide world trade center|world trade center]] at the heart of these plans. The original DLMA plans called for the "world trade center" to be built along the [[East River]], between Old Slip and [[Fulton Street (Manhattan)|Fulton Street]]. After negotiations with [[New Jersey]] Governor [[Richard J. Hughes]], the [[Port Authority of New York and New Jersey|Port Authority]] decided to build the [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|World Trade Center]] on a site along the [[Hudson River]] and the [[West Side Highway]], rather than the East River site.{{citation needed|date=November 2009}}
[[File:Aerial view of East River, Lower Manhattan, New York Harbor, 1981.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.25|View from an airplane in 1981 prior to the [[September 11 attacks]] when the Lower Manhattan skyline was dominated by the [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|Twin Towers of the former World Trade Center]]]]
When [[Building of the World Trade Center|building]] the [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|World Trade Center]], 1.2&nbsp;million cubic yards (917,000&nbsp;m<sup>3</sup>) of material was excavated from the site.<ref name="gillespie-p71">{{cite book |last=Gillespie |first=Angus K. |year=1999 |title=Twin Towers: The Life of New York City's World Trade Center |url=https://archive.org/details/twintowerslifeof00gill |url-access=registration |publisher=[[Rutgers University Press]] |page=[https://archive.org/details/twintowerslifeof00gill/page/71 71] |isbn=0-7838-9785-5 }}</ref> Rather than dumping the spoil at sea or in landfills, the fill material was used to expand the Manhattan shoreline across West Street, creating [[Battery Park City, Manhattan|Battery Park City]].<ref name="iglauer">{{cite magazine |title=The Biggest Foundation |last=Iglauer |first=Edith |date=November 4, 1972 |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] }}</ref> The result was a 700-foot (210-m) extension into the river, running six blocks or {{convert|1,484|ft|m}}, covering {{convert|92|acre|ha}}, providing a {{convert|1.2|mi|km|adj=on}} riverfront esplanade and over {{convert|30|acre|ha}} of parks.<ref>[https://archive.today/20120720031543/http://www.asla.org/awards/2003/battery_park_city.htm ASLA 2003 The Landmark Award], [[American Society of Landscape Architects]]. Accessed May 17, 2007.</ref>

Through much of its history, the area south of Chambers Street was mainly a commercial district, with a small population of residents—in 1960, it was home to about 4,000.<ref name="nyt-01311960">{{cite news |title='Downtown' Enters a New Era |last=Brown |first=Charles H. |date=January 31, 1960 |work=[[The New York Times]] }}</ref> Construction of [[Battery Park City]], on landfill from construction of the World Trade Center, brought many new residents to the area. Gateway Plaza, the first Battery Park City development, was finished in 1983. The project's centerpiece, the [[Brookfield Place (New York City)|World Financial Center]], consists of four luxury highrise towers. By the turn of the century, Battery Park City was mostly completed, with the exception of some ongoing construction on West Street. Around this time, Lower Manhattan reached its highest population of business tenants and full-time residents.{{citation needed|date=November 2009}} These developments struggled to become fully occupied at desirable rents, with relatively high vacancy rates.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/01/31/realestate/city-s-office-market-stabilizes-after-post-recession-surge.html |title=City's Office Market Stabilizes After Post-Recession Surge |work=The New York Times |date=January 31, 1982 |last1=Henry |first1=Diane }}</ref>

In 1993, the Downtown Lower Manhattan Association contributed to a city plan calling for the revitalization of Lower Manhattan. The plan included recommended zoning changes, tax incentives to encourage new tenants, and the conversion of commercial buildings into apartments. It also called for the creation of a business improvement district, called The Alliance for Downtown New York, to help spur the area's renewal. Between 1995 and 2014, 15.8 million square feet of office space was converted to residential or hotel use. As a result, Lower Manhattan's residential population rose from 14,000 to 60,000.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Downtown Alliance |title=Lower Manhattan Real Estate Year In Review 2014 |url=http://www.downtownny.com/reports/lower-manhattan-real-estate-year-in-review-2014 |year=2014 |access-date=August 25, 2017 |archive-date=August 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170825191307/http://www.downtownny.com/reports/lower-manhattan-real-estate-year-in-review-2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>