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New York City was founded by the Dutch in 1624 asNew Amsterdam, the capital of New Netherland. The New Amsterdam History Center is devoted to documenting and mapping New Amsterdam, its diverse people, landscapes, institutions and global legacy today.

We’ve presented several versions of the Castello Plan and theDutch Grants Map here. You can see the settlement of houses, farms, taverns and workshops, surrounded by walls. Over the three centuries that followed, the area became the Financial District. The east wall was torn down and named Wall Street. The canals were paved over and turned into streets and in between developed skysrapers, and the island was expanded with infill. Above ground, almost nothing remains of New Amsterdam except the original street pattern. Underground, archeologists have found evidence of the plots of houses and gardens, Amsterdam yellow brick, and pollen samples of plants.

You can swipe the map to compare the Castello Plan in 1660 to the present, and explore each lot, where it shows what was there and who lived there. Our next steps are to expand through the full history of New Amsterdam with a timeline from 1624 to 1664, when it was taken over by the English.

We need your help to make this work happen. Donate now to develop the map and expand the research.