Article « Taking a walk : Adult Ed Tours Lesson In History » By Fran Evans, p29

Anne Fauvell didn't need a time capsule to take her back in time. She got there by way of the Smithtown Adult Education Department. The Smithtown resident, a self- proclaimed history buff and English Literature maven recently took two tours offered by Adult Ed which provided her with history of the New York City Canal Street area and South Street Seaport as well as a look into the past. (...)

The tours which covered TRIBECA, the TRiangle BElow CAnal Street and the South StreetSeaport on foot, focused on life as it existed in the 1700s and 1800s. Mrs. Fauvell explained that the TRIBECA section of the city was originally developed with wooden houses and structures but that time and decay in addition to water damage and fire destroyed most of it. In the 1850's the buildings, one a department store emporium which once contained cloth and tools in its heyday, were reconstructed with cast iron framework.