and tried to imagine back to the my first time standing in the same place, seeing Federal Hall and the Stock Exchange opposite each other. George Washington stands tall over the scene as if to survey all that has followed in his wake. What he sees is a gigantic flag draped NYSE. Broad stripes and bright stars seem to be shrouding or protecting the building that represents, probably more than any other since 9/11, the fact that New York is the capital of the U.S. economy. There is something a bit cartoonish, however, about the flag wrapped edifice. Maybe it's just all that color.
As my peaceful stroll through the narrow warrens of the Financial District brought me to this intersection, I decided to join in the silent mass-photographing underway and grab these two images for the scrapbook.