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Great Fire of New York destroys the Exchange

When
1835
Where
25 Merchant Street (now Beaver Street), at Hanover Street and Wall Street, Lower Manhattan
Episodes
1

The Great Fire of New York occurred on December 16, 1835, destroying hundreds of buildings including the New York Stock Exchange. The conflagration covered 17 city blocks, resulting in two deaths and an estimated $20 million in property damage. Firefighting efforts were severely hampered by the lack of a reliable water source, forcing crews to drill through ice to access water.

Episodes

  1. 16 December 1835 · 25 Merchant Street (now Beaver Street), at Hanover Street and Wall Street, Lower ManhattanGreat Fire of New York

    The Great Fire of New York began on December 16, 1835, in a warehouse at 25 Merchant Street, destroying hundreds of buildings including the New York Stock Exchange.

Background and detail

Background. By 1835, New York City was the premier American city, surpassing Philadelphia and Boston in financial prowess. The fire occurred during an economic boom, covering 17 city blocks. A significant impediment to firefighting was the lack of a reliable water source, as little had been done by 1835 to solve the city's water problem.

Firefighting Challenges. Throughout the summer and fall of 1835, the fire department fought numerous fires. On December 14, the entire department spent a freezing evening fighting two large fires. During the main conflagration, firefighters were forced to drill holes through ice to access water, which later refroze around the hoses and pipes.

Damage and Losses. The fire destroyed between 530 and 700 buildings, including the New York Stock Exchange, the Post Office, and numerous stores. Contemporary reports varied, with one citing 674 tenements destroyed and another citing 600 buildings. The estimated property damage was $20 million, equivalent to $640 million in 2025.

People involved

Sources

  1. Great Fire of New York Wikipedia, revision of 2026-03-13

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.