By MIA RUPANI | (Originally posted June 30, 2015) For the first time in nearly 40 years, Downtown Manhattan will host an Independence Day Parade that will cover some of the most historic streets in Lower Manhattan.
Historian and tour guide James Kaplan helped organize the event, which is run by the Lower Manhattan Historical Society, which he co-founded last year.
He said the parade will honor the arrival of the French ship Hermione and its crew at South Street Seaport, as well as help revive the Fourth of July tradition.
“July 4th has become about backyard barbeques, trips to the beach and visiting relatives,” Kaplan said in a phone interview. “It used to be a major celebration in the city but the actual purpose of the day has since been lost.”
On the federal holiday, July 3, at 11 a.m., the parade will start at Pier 15 near John St. St., and travel the length of Wall St. to the historic Trinity Church where it will turn left on Broadway and end at Bowling Green, the city’s oldest park. Marchers will stay on the sidewalk so there’ll be no street closures.
It will be led by the New York Veteran Corps of Artillery color guard, the oldest military organization in New York founded in 1790. The New York Sons of The Revolution color guard will also be walking in the parade. Though it is yet to be confirmed, Kaplan said they hope to have local Boy Scout troops and sailors from L’Hermione participating as well.
The Hermione is integral to the history of the American Revolution and will be celebrated throughout the week. Today it is an authentic reconstruction of the original, which brought a young Marquis de Lafayette to America with the news of France’s alliance to the American patriots in 1780.
The South Street Seaport Museum is hosting the vessel and visitors can tour the Hermione and learn from its crew July 1-4 at Pier 15 south of Fulton St. On July 4th, L’Hermione will lead a parade of nearly 100 ships past the Statue of Liberty in a salute to the holiday.
Not to be forgotten, the 39th annual Macy’s Fourth of July fireworks display will be fired from a barge south of the Brooklyn Bridge and from four positioned between E. 23rd and 37th Sts. starting at 9:20 p.m. on July 4.
For best viewing Downtown, the F.D.R. Drive will be accessible via Dover St. and limited viewing areas include Fulton St. and Peck Slip.
The Fraunces Tavern Museum, 54 Pearl St., site of Gen. George Washington’s farewell to his troops, will be charging $1 admission for the Fourth of July weekend. On July 3 from 1 p.m.-5 p.m., actor William Daniels will be speaking at the museum about his experience playing John Adams in the film, “1776. “ The event is free with museum admission and reservations are not required.
On July 3, Fraunces Museum will also offer a walking tour of the Financial District from 8 p.m.-10:30 p.m. where participants can learn more about the city’s Revolutionary War history. Tickets are $25 and include a pint of Samuel Fraunces Ale at Fraunces Tavern before the tour begins.
From 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on July 3, the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Battery Park City will exhibit “Voices of Liberty,” a soundscape that combines the voices of Holocaust survivors, refugees and others who chose to make America their home. Tickets to the exhibition cost $12.
On July 3rd and 4th, a George Washington re-enactor will be speaking about the American Revolution and France’s role in the war on the front steps of Federal Hall, Wall and Broad Sts.
From 3 a.m.-7 a.m. the Fraunces Tavern’s annual Fourth of July Revolutionary War nighttime walking tour will be led by Kaplan and include watching the sun rise from Trinity Church, where many Revolutionary War heroes are buried.
Following the tour at 7 a.m., a wreath laying ceremony will take place at Trinity Church to honor General Horatio Gates, Alexander Hamilton and Marinus Willett.
The El Galeon, an authentic replica of the original ship that was part of Spain’s West Indies fleet in the 16th century will be docking at Pier 15 in South Street Seaport on the Fourth of July for one week. Visitors will have a chance to relive the experiences of explorer Ponce De Leon through tours of the ship and exhibitions.
At 3:15 p.m. a reading of George Washington’s 1790 Newport Letter will take place in front of the Fraunces Tavern Museum, followed by a reading of the Declaration of Independence at noon on the front steps of Federal Hall.
The South Street Seaport’s Festival of Independence will take place on the Fourth of July starting at 1 p.m. Live music performances will be happening throughout the day on three separate stages in the Seaport District – one on Fulton St. at the corner of Fulton and Water Sts., the second at Peck Slip at the corner of Peck Slip and Front St. and the third at 207A Front St.
A few of the bands set to perform include Elk City, Doll Parts and The Blue Vipers. Food and drinks can also be purchased from vendors during the event, which ends with Macy’s Fourth of July fireworks display.
