Beekman Tower gets a star

Well, not really. But so shiny nonetheless. Looking at the 7,000 story Beekman Tower going up down in the Financial District.

Front and Maiden back to being Front and Maiden

An intersection in the Financial District became 54th Street and Third Avenue...

Yesterday!



Now!



Oh, well. I was with Goggla, who left a comment yesterday saying:

Ha, I hope they leave the street signs up! I'd love to see lost tourists milling around, looking at their maps and saying, "Whaa?"

Previously on EV Grieve:
Financial District becomes Midtown for "The Other Guys"

Financial District becomes Midtown for "The Other Guys"

There are gawkers galore now down in the Financial District next to the Seaport, according to a source standing right in the middle of it. People are lined up to see the likes of Will Ferrell, The Rock and Mark Wahlberg film "The Other Guys."

Anyway. Midtown must not have that Midtown feel these days...which may explain why the corner of Maiden Lane and Front Street is standing in as 54th Street and Third Avenue.

R-Pattz films a scene at the Pearl Diner

Just a little bit ago...



Later, a group of teens were excited to photograph the QM-11 to Forest Hills.



OK, OK...R-Pattz was headed back to his town car.

Pearl Street Diner closed, but just for today because of R-Pattz

I really hate going up to my favorite places and seeing a sign tacked to the door. I always fear the worst. Like when I went up to the Pearl Street Diner in the Financial District yesterday for lunch.



OK, I can live with this for one day. And filming for the new R-Pattz film "Remember Me" takes place here today. Remember to leave your screaming teens at home.



[Top Pearl Street Diner photo via]

The road to Wall Street and the Stock Exchange is getting...Eurocobble?

On Nassau Street yesterday...





...and the street will now feature Italy's finest Eurocobble.



Can't wait to see when the Eurotrash takes a walk on the Eurocobble.

(And the crowd boos!)

Things that you can do with your real estate promissory note

And why the random quotation marks? On Fulton Street in the Financial District.

Is the recession over? Tiffany & Co. is advertising on bus shelters

On Water and Fulton in the Financial District.

One of those days

On Fulton Street near Water Street.

No-frills copy shop opens in the Financial District

Spotted near Williams Street.

Into the danger zone

Not sure exactly what was happening yesterday at the 20 Pine condoplex in the Financial District...but it involved plastic...



...some scaffolding...




...and some DANGER signs!

Falafels for lunch today...? Oh, on second thought...

Great ad placement.

Steamed hot dogs?

Near the New York Stock Exchange.

Why getting around the Financial District is so fun!

Need to get somewhere in a jiffy? You'll be better off, oh, crawling.

Pearl Street!



Liberty Street!



Maiden Lane!



Wall Street!



Fulton Street! (Still!)



Fulton Street is really ugly



Broad Street!



And last summer, Beekman was torn up...back to normal now...

Taking another look at Pearl Street (and did Madonna and Britney ever get that wood?)

We've been watching the drama unfold on Pearl Street in the Financial District for years now...back to the days in 2003 when preservationists worked to rescue 211 Pearl St. from demolition by Rockrose Development Corp. Well. You know how this story ends. At least they were able to save the façade...

In case you don't know all the back story, here's a quickie from Downtown Express in 2003:

One of only a handful of existing Greek revival buildings that survived the great fire of 1835, 211 Pearl St. was constructed in the early 1830s by William Colgate, the founder of Colgate-Palmolive. Colgate used the building as a warehouse at a time when Pearl St. bustled as a hub for trading in dry goods.

The building's current owner, Rockrose Development Corporation, received demolition permits for 211 Pearl from the city's Buildings Department on Dec. 13, 2002, a Buildings spokesperson said. Rockrose is considering plans to demolish the building to make way for a rear entrance for a new, 650-unit residential development the company is constructing west of Pearl St., near Maiden Lane, Platt and Gold Sts.

"It's kind of ironic that, after having endured the tragedy of 9/11, we're talking about destroying a building that symbolizes the strength and endurance of New York," said Councilmember Alan Gerson.

Curbed ran an update on 211 Pearl yesterday...I don't have much to add to their recap from what I had ready to go...except...the What's Going on Here? sign for the project gives a finish date of Dec. 31, 2008. Definitely by Dec. 31, 2009!



And it's probably a good thing the northern side of the building is windowless...Someday they'll likely be a hotel next door...



Meanwhile, there's just that empty lot...




Complete with a handy place to sneak in...looks like a nice spot for some tags.



By the way! Before 211 Pearl St. was demolished, M. Fine Lumber Co., Inc. in Greenpoint bought all of the building’s pine ceiling beams -- roughly 350 in total. According to an article from the Oct. 7, 2003, Downtown Express:

At 211 Pearl St., only a silver remains of the historic Greek revival building that had stood there since the early 1830s. But elsewhere in the city, parts of the demolished interior have found new life, in a restaurant on the Upper West Side, in a tree guard on E. Fourth St., and possibly even on a music video set for Madonna and Britney Spears.

See if you can spot any pine ceiling beams:



Here's a post I did on the space for Curbed:
Development Plans on Pearl Street Now Short Term

I'm rarely suspicious when a jewelry store has a "must raise cash" sign on its front window

Name aside, there's some kind of Vegas feel to this glittery jewelry store on Nassau Street near John Street in the Financial District.



Of course.

Somebody is seeing pink hippos on Wall Street!

And what is "seeing pink hippos" a euphemism for...?

Oh, and this photo was taken before the tree went up in front of the NYSE yesterday. Esquared has a nice shot of that.

What bozo approved this...

Oh, oops. On Nassau Street near Fulton in the Financial District.

Stop me if you've heard this one before...

At Fulton and Nassau in the Financial District. By my count, this is the 11th Starbucks from Chambers Street on the east side to Wall Street.



Previously on EV Grieve:
Soon we'll be saying, "At least it's not a Starbucks AND a bank"