Wall Street

Compared to what it looks like and implies today, Wall Street had relatively humble beginnings. Its towering skyscrapers and art Deco architecture, its digital tickers and wireless waves resemble little the original New Amsterdam road. Named after an actual mud -- and timber wall built by original Dutch inhabitants of Manhattan Island, Wall Street has morphed beyond its geographic location, and has come to symbolize American corporate culture in general. Films like Oliver Stone's Wall Street promote its image as a bastion of greed and financial prowess, of investment genius and corporate corruption. Wall Street therefore signifies more than just the New York Stock Exchange that started there over two hundred years ago. In fact, most major New York-based investment firms no longer maintain headquarters on Wall Street. In spite of its many transformations, Wall Street retains an aura of mystique and intrigue that is unrivaled by any...
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