In a city like New York, governed by a spirit of tearing down and
rebuilding at short intervals of time, it is not surprising that
landmarks have been destroyed and that old places have been in danger of
losing their historical associations. Fortunately, of late, through the
worthy efforts of certain patriotic societies, many of the more
important historic sites have been determined and marked by suitably
inscribed tablets. These memorials serve the double purpose of awakening
attention and of investing with an air of reality the events they
perpetuate. They are, however, but isolated mementos, bearing a
suggestive phrase or two that have meaning only to the student who has
delved into the city's past. To make clear the full significance of
these tablet-marked sites, to visit them in their chronological order,
together with other landmarks worthy of consideration, and to weave
around these rlics and reminders of other days an interesting, graphic,
and precise story, has been the object of this little work.