32. Oversized 1767 Map on the Sidewalk at 85 Broad Street

At 85 Broad Street, a building full of historical secrets if you know where to look, has installed an impressive piece of artwork on the sidewalks encircling the building in Lower Manhattan. It’s inspired by the 1767 map, “The Plan of the City of New York in North America” made by British military officer Bernard Ratzer from 1766 to 1767. Under this map, our readers may recall, there’s a yellow brick outline that marks the walls of Stadt Huys, the original city hall, one of many signs of Dutch New Amsterdam that still remain.

The map, designed by FXCollaborative, made by Jessup Manufacturing Company and printed by National Marker is made of a foil-backed proprietary material called Asphalt Art, and laid down piece by piece. Fun things of note on the map besides Stadt Huys and Lovelace Tavern, where you can still see the archaeological excavation of the tavern through glass, are the now-lost Princess Streetthe old synagogue (original the old mill of Dutch New Amsterdam, home to the congregation of the Sephardic Jews who arrived in 1654 from Spain and Portugal), and the old slips of Lower Manhattan.

You can discover this and more on our tour of the Remnants of Dutch New Amsterdam!

Tour of The Remnants of Dutch New Amsterdam