South Street Seaport, Historic harbor district on the East River in Manhattan, United States

South Street Seaport is a historic harbor district on the East River in lower Manhattan with restored 19th-century buildings and shops along the waterfront. The cobblestone streets wind between old warehouses toward the piers, where restaurants, boutiques and galleries now occupy former trading offices.

The Dutch West India Company built the first pier here in 1625, which later grew into the East Coast's busiest harbor for sailing ships. By the 1960s the buildings had fallen into decay until citizen groups began restoration work in the 1980s and revived the district as a cultural zone.

The district's name comes from South Street, the 19th-century waterfront where ship chandlers, boarding houses and saloons served the port. The South Street Seaport Museum, founded in 1967 by Peter and Norma Stanford, keeps a working 19th-century printing press and the largest fleet of historic ships in private ownership in the United States. Annual events include the Seaport Music Festival and the River to River Festival from June to September.

The district sits about a ten-minute walk from Wall Street and connects to several subway lines at Fulton Street station. Weekends draw larger crowds than weekdays, so visiting in the early morning offers a quieter stroll through the shops and along the docks.

The rooftop of Pier 17 includes an observation deck that turns into a concert venue in the evenings with views of the Brooklyn Bridge. On clear days locals sit on the wooden benches and watch ships pass under the bridge into the harbor.