5. Stone Street
The cobblestones of Stone Street date back to around 1655, when the road became the first in the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam to be paved. Legend says a wealthy brewer’s wife who lived on the street was fed up with dust from the street being kicked up by horses and ruining her drapes, and got Peter Stuyvesant to pave the street. The street has gone by many names throughout its history based on whoever owned it.
Known to the Dutch as Hoogh Straet or High Street and later Brewer Street, the English renamed it Duke Street. In the midst of anti-English sentiment that followed the American Revolution, many English street names were replaced. Duke Street became Stone Street in honor of its status as the first paved road, which you can still walk on today. Discover the hidden meaning being more New York City street names here.
