The celebration of Independence Day has been a long standing tradition in Lower Manhattan from the very first days of the Revolution, and especially following the British military’s evacuation in 1783. As the celebration of this most important of American patriotic holidays gravitated uptown to other neighborhoods this and other Lower Manhattan historical traditions gradually faded into relative obscurity and finally ceased to be active by the mid-1970s. Understanding only too well how Lower Manhattan holds a place second to none among the cities and States leading the revolutionary cause for independence and appreciating the wealth of historical monuments and American patriot gravesites concentrated in what is often called the “tip of Manhattan” several of the oldest and most respected historical and military organizations with deep ties to the neighborhood formed the Lower Manhattan Historical Association in 2014 for the purpose of reviving the patriotic traditions so closely associated with our beloved city, offer the multiplicity of our communities as well as our many visitors the opportunity to participate and enhance the sentiments of coexisting plurality and unity that define the ideals of great nation. Accordingly, on July 3 2015, the Association and its friends organized and lead its first Lower Manhattan Independence Day Parade revival.

The success of this parade, along with other patriotic events such the Evacuation Day commemoration and the Revolutionary War battles of Saratoga and Yorktown joint celebration, has inspired the Association’s Constituent Organizations as well as the growing members of the Community to apply greater resources in the revival of these traditions in a spirit of friendship and inclusiveness that so well defines the very best of New York City and the United States of America.