Early history 17th and 18th centuries The first pier in the area appeared in 1625, when the
Dutch West India Company founded an outpost there. With the influx of the first settlers, the area was quickly developed. One of the first and busiest streets in the area was today's
Pearl Street, so named for a variety of coastal pearl shells. Due to its location, Pearl Street quickly gained popularity among traders. The East River was eventually narrowed. By the second half of the 17th century, the pier was extended to Water Street, then to
Front Street, and by the beginning of the 19th century, to
South Street. In 1728, the Schermerhorn family established trade with the city of
Charleston, South Carolina. Subsequently,
rice and
indigo came from Charleston. At the time, the port was also the focal point of delivery of goods from
England. In 1776, during the
American Revolutionary War, the British occupied the port, adversely affecting port trade for eight years. In 1783, many traders returned to England, and most port enterprises collapsed. bringing along, in its cargo,
green and
black teas,
porcelain, and other goods. This operation marked the beginning of trade relations between the newly formed United States and the
Qing Empire.
Early and mid-19th century On January 5, 1818, the 424-ton transatlantic packet
James Monroe sailed from
Liverpool, opening the first regular trans-Atlantic voyage route, the Black Ball Line. Shipping on this route continued until 1878. Commercially successful transatlantic traffic has led to the creation of many competing companies, including the
Red Star Line in 1822. Transportation significantly contributed to the establishment New York as one of the centers of world trade. The Tin Building opened within the market in 1907; it is one of two remaining structures from the market and the only one that is officially designated as a landmark. In 2005, the market moved to
Hunts Point, Bronx. In November 1825, the
Erie Canal, located upstate, was opened. The canal, connecting New York to the
western United States, facilitated the economic development of the city. However, for this reason, along with the beginning of the shipping era, there was a need to lengthen the piers and deepen the port. On the night of December 17, 1835, a large fire in New York City destroyed 17 blocks, and many buildings in the South Street Seaport burned to the ground. Nevertheless, by the 1840s, the port recovered, and by 1850, it reached its heyday:
Late-20th century redevelopment Creation of Seaport Museum Peter Stanford and his wife Norma cofounded the Friends of South Street in 1966. The next year, Peter began advocating for the creation of a museum around South and Fulton streets. The museum was tentatively planned to include a rigger docked permanently at Pier 16, as well as a series of buildings in a three-block area around South, Fulton, Front, and Beekman streets. At the time, the
New York State Legislature had already passed legislation to permit a museum on
Schermerhorn Row, near South and Fulton streets. The
Titanic Memorial, formerly mounted atop the
Seamen's Church Institute building near
Coenties Slip, was gifted to the museum in 1968, though the memorial would not be dedicated for another eight years. Meanwhile, the museum's supporters bought up property surrounding Schermerhorn Row and the Fulton Fish Market. By 1968, Stanford and his associates had discovered that real-estate developers were buying up some of the property that the museum wanted to acquire, with the intent of demolishing these buildings. The museum also began obtaining vessels with the acquisition of the
Lightship Ambrose, the fishing schooner
Caviar, and the iron-hulled ship
Wavertree. The restoration was planned to cost $20 million by 1969, at which point the museum was to cover . After the
New York City Planning Commission approved the South Street Seaport Museum's plans for the site the same month, the museum's sponsors acquired two blocks of Schermerhorn Row that July. Atlas-McGrath, which had wanted to redevelop Schermerhorn Row, eventually agreed to give the buildings to the museum in exchange for the sites'
air rights. However, the museum had to spend millions of dollars in legal fees related to Schermerhorn Row. By the early 1970s, the Seaport Museum operated an exhibit hall, a bookstore–art gallery, piers 15 and 16, and six ships. including
sea shanty songs and miniature
folk festivals. The museum had a half-million annual visitors, and Friends of the South Street Seaport had grown to include 17,000 members. There were plans for the Seaport to include several additional museums, stores, hotels, and a functional shipyard. and voted to create a special planning district for the Seaport the next month. Despite the approvals, the Manhattan Landing project had stalled by 1975. The city acquired four blocks of the Seaport area in July 1973, while the Seaport Museum continued to operate these sites under a
leaseback arrangement. This enabled the city to sell the blocks' air rights to the
New York Telephone Company, which was erecting a skyscraper nearby. That October, the museum announced that it would renovate three blocks of the Seaport; this was part of a restoration that was planned in advance of the
United States Bicentennial. Stanford left the Seaport Museum in 1976. decided to seek a commercial partner to help them redevelop the South Street Seaport. The city government, which had recently recovered from
a fiscal crisis, would not be eligible for loans from many banks, requiring the involvement of a private developer.
1980s commercial redevelopment }} }} The
South Street Seaport Festival Marketplace is a downtown
festival marketplace at the South Street Seaport, and it once consisted of three
shopping malls: the
Pier 17 Pavilion which also included an office building (closed in September 2013 for redevelopment), the renovated
Tin Building (relocated and rebuilt since September 2022), and the fourth
Fulton Market Building. As of January 2026, the Fulton Market is the only Rouse structure still in operation at the area, as Pier 17 was razed and the Tin Building was dismantled and reconstructed.
1979–1985: Development and opening In September 1979, The Rouse Company, the
New York State Urban Development Corporation, the
New York City government, and the South Street Seaport Museum tentatively agreed on a plan to redevelop the South Street Seaport. The project was likened to
Harborplace in Baltimore which was currently under construction at the time, and
Faneuil Hall Marketplace in Boston, which Rouse had previously completed in 1976. Subsequently, in June 1980, the
New York City Board of Estimate gave city officials permission to request a $28 million federal grant for the redevelopment. The Board of Estimate approved the commercial-district plan that November, despite concerns over substantial rent increases and a lack of public access. At the time, it was expected to cost about $203 million Though some local business owners had concerns that they would be forced out due to rent increases, Developers began converting two buildings in the Seaport district into residential structures in 1981, and the Board of Estimate gave final approval to the project that October. By that year, the Seaport Museum had spent $9 million on ship restoration in the preceding twelve years. Seaport Museum subsidiary South Street Seaport Corporation took a 99-year lease on the site in 1982 and became the Fulton Market's landlord. Also in 1982, the museum acquired 285 mid-20th-century Van Ryper
ship models and archival materials from
Charles King Van Riper's son, Anthony K. Van Riper. For the redevelopment into a
festival marketplace, The Rouse Company formed the subsidiary
Seaport Marketplace, Inc. The first phase of the South Street Seaport redevelopment was completed on July 28, 1983, covering four blocks of the South Street Seaport U.S. historic district. This project included construction of the fourth Fulton Market Building, a three-story building designed by
Benjamin C. Thompson, The project also included a renovation of 14 buildings in the South Street Seaport Museum and 12 buildings in Schermerhorn Row. The second phase was to include another structure on Pier 17 with . the original Pier 17 Pavilion included an
office building and a three-story,
Victorian-style red shopping mall, a structure that combined Piers 17 and 18, housing approximately 120–150 shops and restaurants. The Pier 17 Pavilion was also designed by Benjamin Thompson and developed by The Rouse Company, and its design is comparable to Harborplace,
Jacksonville Landing in
Jacksonville, and
Bayside Marketplace in
Miami. The Pier 17 Pavilion was also referred to as
Pier 17 Mall or
The Mall at South Street Seaport.
Late 1980s–1990s: Decline After the Pier 17 Pavilion was completed, it initially suffered from low patronage, The city government also allocated $500,000 for repairs to Pier 15 to make it suitable for commercial ferry service. By the late 1980s, a
Gallup poll had found that the South Street Seaport was the tourist attraction that New York City residents favored the most. Nonetheless, visitation continued to be lower than expected, and The Rouse Company announced plans in 1988 to rebuild some of the retail space. By March 1989, only seven of the original 22 food vendors were still operating on Pier 17's second-floor
food court. In 1989, the New York City government made an agreement with developers Metropolis Group and N. M. Palermo Inc. to redevelop a block on Front Street. A 4-to-6-story hotel on Front Street was approved later that year. Milstein Properties, which also wanted to develop a high-rise building at
250 Water Street near the Seaport, repeatedly submitted plans for that site in the late 20th century without success. The Seaport Museum ceded the Fulton Market to the city government in 1993, citing difficulties in collecting rent, The Tin Building was severely damaged in a 1995 fire. The Fulton Market building was almost entirely vacant by the late 1990s. In addition, the South Street Seaport Museum built its first permanent-exhibition space, which was part of a $21 million renovation of Schermerhorn Row. In 2004,
Chicago-based
General Growth Properties (GGP) acquired The Rouse Company, as well as all of its assets, including the South Street Seaport. The Fulton Fish Market moved from the Seaport to
The Bronx in 2005, at which point the neighborhood was being redeveloped as a residential area.
Redevelopment proposals By 2007, GGP wanted to redevelop South Street Seaport as an upscale shopping area to cater to the growing local population. GGP proposed a mixed-use tower and a community center on the Fulton Market site, but it withdrew these plans in early 2008 following community objections. In June 2008, GGP proposed replacing the Pier 17 Pavilion with a 42-story tower, several two-story store buildings, and a 4-to-6-story hotel designed by
SHoP Architects. To make room for the tower, the Tin Building would have been relocated. and the
New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, which had to approve changes to the Tin Building and other landmarked structures on the site, rejected the plans in November. GGP placed the South Street Seaport for sale in late 2008, although it is unclear whether the company actually intended to sell the complex. GGP filed for bankruptcy in 2009, and the next year, it agreed to transfer South Street Seaport and other properties to a subsidiary. The Seaport was thus taken over by the
Howard Hughes Corporation, which paid $305 million to lease the site. having owed $3 million and being 10 years behind on rent payments. After the
Lower Manhattan Development Corporation gave the museum $2 million, it reopened in January 2012 following a three-month renovation. In July 2012, it was confirmed that the promenade the Pier 17 Pavilion sits contained highly flammable construction. While the mall did have a
fire sprinkler system, the pier was built primarily in wood. Specifically, on July 14, 2012, a three-alarm fire broke out due to an electrical failure underneath the pier from faulty wiring, sending plumes of smoke over Lower Manhattan and up to the Pier 17 Pavilion, highlighting the mall's vulnerability. The Pier 17 Pavilion was also crowded with shoppers when the fire began, and staff members did not pull fire alarms, instead yelling "Fire!" to shoppers, causing immediate panic. The pier itself has also been neglected; it was reported to be sinking into the East River, making continued use of the Pier 17 Pavilion and the pier unsafe. Rebuilding the pier alone would cost over $120 million. The
Museum of the City of New York (MCNY) also agreed to operate the Seaport Museum. and it also exercised an option to redevelop the Tin Building and Fulton Market Building. Howard Hughes' Pier 17 redevelopment was part of a broader $785 million plan for the Seaport, which was to include seven commercial and entertainment buildings. During
Hurricane Sandy in late October 2012, many of the businesses closed, and the remaining businesses suffered from a severe drop in business after the storm. The Seaport Museum reopened in December 2012, but the museum's galleries on Fulton Street were forced to close in 2013. The Pier 17 Pavilion was heavily damaged with electrical failures and structural problems, though the pier itself was found to be in decent condition. The plans to merge MCNY and the Seaport Museum were also canceled. In November 2012, the Pier 17 Pavilion was cited as a "
dead mall", as while some businesses did reopen after Hurricane Sandy, the majority of them never reopened due to major damage.
The New York Times described the mall as a "dated festival marketplace" in late December 2012. The Pier 17 Pavilion was also described as a
tourist trap. The Pier 17 Pavilion was fully vacated, permanently closed its doors at 9:00 p.m. EDT on September 9, 2013, and was demolished starting in early 2014 and being completed by late 2014 following issues regarding final tenant Simply Seafood not wanting to leave. Long-time tenants like
Uno Pizzeria & Grill were also forced out to allow for construction.
The New York Times described the permanent closure of Pier 17, the "mall at South Street Seaport", as sad. Redevelopment of Pier 17 broke ground in October 2013. That November, SHoP Architects announced plans for a 50-story tower on Pier 17. The proposed tower was downsized following community opposition, and continued opposition to the tower caused the Seaport's redevelopment to be stalled. The
Federal Emergency Management Agency gave the Seaport $10.4 million in 2015 to repair damage caused by Hurricane Sandy. That December, the Seaport tower was canceled due to continued community opposition. As a result of the development plans, the
National Trust for Historic Preservation placed the Seaport on its 2015 list of
America's Most Endangered Places. }}The iPic theater opened within the Fulton Building in 2016, becoming the first long-term tenant to move in after the Seaport's redevelopment. the Pier 17 project had cost $425 million. At the time, Howard Hughes wanted to redevelop the Seaport into a tourist destination, with attractions such as a food market, movie theater and rooftop concert venue and event space. Howard Hughes partnered with
Live Nation Entertainment for the development of the new mall, including the rooftop concert venue. In 2018, the city government approved the demolition of a vacant Fulton Market building, which had been built in 1939 and was extremely decrepit. In addition, the Tin Building was dismantled and relocated slightly,
2020s–present performs at the Rooftop at Pier 17 in September 2025, with the
Empire State Building visible in the background. The Tin Building's food hall, operated by
Jean-Georges Vongerichten, opened in late September 2022 at a total cost of $200 million. The new building was raised in response to damage to the original structure by Hurricane Sandy. Howard Hughes proposed transferring the South Street Seaport's operations to a new subsidiary, Seaport Entertainment Group, the same year; the split was approved in July 2024. Marvel Architects and
Beyer Blinder Belle redesigned the A. A. Thomson & Co. Warehouse at 213–215 Water Street, renovating it for the South Street Seaport Museum in 2025. By the same year, many of the shops in the Tin Building's food hall had closed; in addition, the 250 Water Street development had been placed on hold. The surrounding area had also become more residential. but plans for the canopy were later canceled. The Tin Building's food hall closed in February 2026 to make way for a balloon museum. == Ownership and management ==