Lower Manhattan skyline

Lower Manhattan (seen here from the Staten Island Ferry) is the southernmost part of the island of Manhattan, the main island and center of business and government of the City of New York. Lower Manhattan includes City Hall, the Municipal Building, the Financial District and the site of the World Trade Center. This area is also the earliest settled (by Europeans) area, and is one of the few areas of Manhattan that does not have its streets arranged in a strict grid pattern.