The tomb of George Frederick Cooke, the tragedian, is conspicuous in the centre of the yard, facing the main door of the church. Cooke was born in England in 1756, and died in New York in 1812. Early in life he was a printer's apprentice. By 1800 he had taken high rank among tragic actors.
The grave of George L. Eacker, who killed the eldest son of Alexander Hamilton in a duel, is near the Vesey Street railing.
Astor House
The Astor House, occupying the Broadway block between Vesey and Barclay Streets, was opened in 1836 by Boyden, a hotel keeper of Boston. This site had been part of the Church Farm, and as early as 1729, when there were only a few scattered farm houses on the island above what is now Liberty Street, there was a farm house on the Astor House site; and from there extended, on the Broadway line, a rope-walk. Prior to the erection of the hotel in 1830, the site for the most part had been occupied by the homes of John Jacob Astor, John G. Coster and David Lydig. On a part of the site, at 221 Broadway, in 1817, M. Paff, popularly known as "Old Paff," kept a bric-à-brac store. He dealt especially in paintings, having the reputation of buying worthless and old ones and "restoring" them into masterpieces. His was the noted curiosity-shop of the period.
A House of Other Days
Where Vesey and Greenwich Streets and West Broadway come together is a low, rough-hewn rock house. It has been used as a shoe store since the early part of the century. On its roof is a monster boot bearing the date of 1832, which took part in the Croton water parade and a dozen other celebrations. In pre-revolutionary days, when the ground where the building stands was all Hudson River, and the water extended as far as the present Greenwich Street, according to tradition, this was a lighthouse. There have been many changes in the outward appearance, but the foundation of solid rock is the same as when the waters swept around it.
The Road To Greenwich
Greenwich Street follows the line of a road which led from the city to Greenwich Village. This road was on the waterside. It was called Greenwich Road. South of Canal Street, west of Broadway, was a marshy tract known as Lispenard's Meadows. Over this swamp Greenwich Road crossed on a raised causeway. When the weather was bad for any length of time, the road became heavy and in places was covered by the strong tide from the river. At such times travel took an inland route, along the Post Road (now the Bowery) and by Obelisk Lane (now Astor Place and Greenwich Avenue).