Fulton Fish Market, ca. 1935.
The origins of the market that would become the well-known Fulton Fish Market date to 1807, when the market opened on land that was donated to the city. In 1822 a new market building was constructed and opened on South Street between Fulton and Beekman Streets, selling fish and other goods. In its first decades the market largely sold to individual retail shoppers. After 1850 the enterprise become a majority wholesale market. In 1924, 25% of all seafood sold in the United States passed through the Fulton Fish Market. The market occupied two open-air structures, including the 1907 Tin Building. In 1936 the original 19th century market building slid into the river after its pilings failed. Mayor LaGuardia advocated for and opened the "New Building" in 1939. Still the largest consortium of seafood wholesalers in the country, the Fulton Fish Market left its lower Manhattan home of 180 years in 2005 when it was relocated to the Bronx.