The New York Stock Exchange began with the signing of the Buttonwood Agreement at 68 Wall Street under a Buttonwood tree.

The agreement, which established the rules for buying and selling bonds and shares of companies, was only two sentences long, and was basically a promise to only trade with each other and abide by a .25% commission. The tree, which is commonly known as an American Sycamore, was located outside a popular coffee house where businessmen at the time met. The street was named after the old wall built by Dutch settlers; and the area was a bustling commercial thoroughfare. In June 1865 the famous Buttonwood tree was felled during a storm.

The New York Stock and Exchange Board’s constitution was signed on March 8, 1817. This constitution allowed the organization to be recognized in the state of New York. In 1863, the organization condensed its name to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

The NYSE main building is located at 18 Broad Street, on the corner of Wall Street. This building was built in the early 1900s and opened on April 22, 1903. George B. Post was the architect that constructed this neoclassic building. It was named a National Historic Landmark in 1978. The NYSE trading floor is located at 11 Wall Street. An additional trading floor was opened at 30 Broad Street in 2000, but closed in 2006 due to an increase in electronic trading.

One of the most familiar features of the New York Stock Exchange is the Trading Floor bell. The Opening bell signals the beginning of trading each business day and the Closing bell signals the ending of trading each business day. Originally, a Chinese Gong was used, but brass bells have been used since the Exchange moved to its current location in 1903.

Today, 3,000 companies are members of the NYSE. It is the second biggest stock exchange in the world. Until April 2006, the NYSE was a membership-only organization. This change from a membership-only organization to a more lenient system of joining was due to the switch to an electronic and publicly-traded organization. There are 1,366 seats in the NYSE which are purchased by companies for millions of dollars.

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