New York City Facts

New York City: photo from governor.ny.gov

Definition and Summary of New York City
Summary and Definition: New York City, nicknamed "The Big Apple" is composed of five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and the Bronx with a population of over 8 million people.  New York City was originally inhabited by the Mohican and Pequot tribes until the 1500-1600's when the lands were explored by Europeans and Manhattan Island was established first as part of New Sweden, then as part of the New Netherlands and finally by the British who renamed the colony as New York, who the city is named for. New York city prospered and the building of the Erie canal and the the railroads
saw New York City become the center of trade and finance in the United States.

New York City is also a great tourist magnet, some of the most popular New York City Attractions, apart from the shopping, are Central Park, Chinatown, The Met, Broadway, Times Square, Brooklyn Bridge, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Coney Island and Carnegie Hall. The list of New York City Attractions also includes Grant's Tomb, Bronx Zoo, the Empire State Building, the Rockefeller Center, the Soldiers' and Sailors' Arch, the 9/11 memorial and the One World Trade Center.

     
   

New York City Facts for kids: New York City Attractions
The "Big Apple" attracts over 55 million visitors per year. The visitors and tourists are eager to enjoy shopping, the theater and visit the many New York City Attractions. Some of  are as follows:

New York City Attractions

Central Park ● Battery Park ● Chinatown ● New York Stock Exchange ● The Met ● Times Square ● Brooklyn Bridge ● Statue of Liberty ● The Tenement Museum ● Broadway ● Ellis Island ● Coney Island ● Carnegie Hall ● Grand Central Terminal ● Grant's Tomb ● Bronx Zoo ● Flatiron Building ● The Yankee Stadium ● Madison Square Garden ● Wall Street ● Chrysler Building ● Empire State Building ● The Rockefeller Center ● Radio City Music Hall ● One World Trade Center ● 9/11 memorial ● Soldiers' and Sailors' Arch ● Soldiers' and Sailors' Memorial Monument ●

New York City Attractions

New York City Facts for kids
The following fact sheet contains interesting facts and information on New York City Facts.

New York City Facts for kids

New York City Facts - 1: The Pequot and Mohican (Mohegan) Native American tribes originally inhabited the upper Hudson River Valley in present-day New York.

New York City Facts - 2: The New York Colony was founded in 1626 by Peter Minuit (1580-1638) on Manhattan Island and a large settlement was established as part of New Sweden. Peter Minuit bought Manhattan from the Native American Indians for various trinkets and goods, worth about $24.

New York City Facts - 3: In 1655 the Dutch colonists defeated the Swedes and Peter Stuyvesant (1602-1672) became Dutch Governor of the New Netherlands and Manhattan was named New Amsterdam.

New York City Facts - 4: In 1664 the Dutch lost New Amsterdam to the British which was re-named as New York,  after the Duke of York, the brother of King Charles II of England.

New York City Facts - 5: The New York colonists prospered, the population reached 18,000, and industries sprang up included the production of iron ore, lumber, textiles, furs and shipbuilding. The War of Independence (1775-1783) resulted in the separation from British rule and the New York Colony was the 11th of the original 13 colonies to become a state on July 26, 1788.

New York City Facts - 6: New York City served as the capital of the newly formed United States of America from 1785 to 1790.

New York City Facts - 7: The First Bank of the United States opened a branch in New York in 1792 and started the banking and financial traditions that famously continue ib New York City to the modern day.

New York City Facts - 8: The Park Theatre, originally known as the New Theatre, was the first playhouse in New York City and opened in January 1798.

New York City Facts - 9: New York City became the most import port in the United States and the gateway to European trade. In the 1800's Steamboats revolutionized river travel and river trade and residents of New York City began to discuss the possibility of building a canal that linked the Atlantic coast and New York City to the Great Lakes.

New York City Facts - 10: On August 17, 1807 John Fitch launched a steamboat called the 'Clermont' which carried passengers from New York City 150 miles to Albany.

New York City Facts - 11: New Yorkers began to consider the advantages of connecting routes on the Hudson River with other routes on the Great Lakes via a canal and construction on the Erie Canal started  in 1817 and this great feat of engineering was opened on October 26, 1825. The 363-mile Erie Canal was the reason that New York City became the center of trade and finance in the United States.

New York City Facts - 12: The original design plan for the streets of Manhattan was established by the Commissioners Plan of 1811 who put in place the grid plan for Manhattan. In 1800 the population was 79,215, in 1810 it was 119,734 and by 1820 the population had grown to 152,056.

New York City Facts - 13: New York Stock Exchange: The New York Stock Exchange was established on March 8, 1817 and became the leading US money center for international financial activities.

New York City Facts - 14: The American railroad era exploded when the Railroads in the 1800s were established. The Erie Railroad and the Albany & New York Central connected New York City with the Great Lakes. Prior to the railroads, stage coaches were the only way to travel overland. Railroads cut travel time by 90% and would eventually link New York City to all the major cities in the United States.

New York City Facts - 15: The omnibus appeared in New York City in the 1820's but the New York and Harlem Railroad company wanted to introduce a street carriage on rails (pulled by horses) to New York City. Banker John Mason gave an order to John G. Stephenson to build the first Horse Car as an early form of public transport and a horse car route opened on 26 November 1832 from Fourth Avenue and the Bowery north in Lower Manhattan to the Harlem River.

New York City Facts - 16: The population of New York City began to grow. In 1800 the population was 79,215, in 1810 it was 119,734, in 1820 it was 152,056, in 1830 the population grew to 242,278, in 1840 it was 391,114 and in 1850 the population was 696,115.

New York City Facts - 17: Central Park: In the early 1850's  the idea of a central park was conceived by the high society of New York city, promoted by Anna Minturn. Central Park was built on 778 acres of land and construction work began in 1857, it was the first landscaped public park in the United States.

New York City Facts - 18: Battery Park: Battery Park a 25-acre public park located at the southern tip of Manhattan Island in New York City, facing New York Harbor was opened in 1855. The name derives from the 1700's when an artillery battery was located in the area to protect the seaward approaches to the town.

New York City Facts - 19: Chinatown: Chinatown, Manhattan, a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City on the Lower East Side, was established by Chinese workers after many moved to the city after the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869 that joined the Atlantic coast to the Pacific coast.

New York City Facts - 20: The Met: Metropolitan Museum of Art, "the Met" was established April 13, 1870 and became the largest art museum in the United States.

New York City Facts - 21: Broadway: After the Civil War (1861 - 1865), the center of New York City theater moved from Downtown to Midtown Manhattan because of their cheaper rates on NY real estate and Broadway was born. At this time entertainment in New York City was divided along class lines. Opera was mainly for the upper classes, melodramas and minstrel shows were  for the middle class and variety shows were for the working class.  Broadway is now famous for spectacular Broadway musicals.

New York City Facts - 22: In the late 1800's Urbanization in America was fueled by the Industrial Revolution and Industrialization and the massive influx of immigrants to the cities. The population of New York city rocketed from 1,478,103 in 1870 to 3,437,202 by 1900. A new form of cheap tenement housing developed that were typically 4 - 6 stories high and divided into small apartments where a whole family might live in one small room in unsanitary conditions..

New York City Facts - 23: The Tenement Museum: Tenement Museum New York City preserves the history of Urbanization. The tenement building brings Lower East Side immigrant stories to life.

New York City Facts - 24: Grand Central Terminal: Grand Central Terminal was opened in 1871 and became the busiest train station in the country.

New York City Facts - 25: Times Square: By 1872 Times Square, located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City had become the center of New York's carriage industry. Times Square is now famous for its many Broadway theatres, cinemas and electronic billboards.

New York City Facts for kids

Facts about the New York City Facts for kids
The following fact sheet continues with facts about New York City Facts.

New York City Facts for kids

New York City Facts - 26: Madison Square Garden: Madison Square Garden, a multi-purpose indoor arena for sports and entertainment, in the New York City borough of Manhattan, New York city had different locations in 1879, 1890, 1925. It is now located in Midtown Manhattan between 7th and 8th Avenues from 31st to 33rd Streets

New York City Facts - 27: Brooklyn Bridge: In 1883 the Brooklyn Bridge was opened that connected the cities of New York (Manhattan) and Brooklyn.

New York City Facts - 28: Statue of Liberty: The iconic landmark of New York City is the Statue of Liberty, located on Liberty Island in New York Harbor. It was built by France to celebrate America's first 100 years as a nation and the tablet held by Lady Liberty is inscribed with the date of American Independence. The massive statue, with its distinctive green patina, soars above 300 feet. The dedication of monument took place October 28, 1886

New York City Facts - 29: Ellis Island: In the 1880's immigration to the United States reached a staggering 5.2 million and in 1890 Congress made the decision to build the first Federal immigration station on Ellis Island and the Ellis Island Immigrant Center was opened on January 1, 1892. The Statue of Liberty - Ellis Island Foundation completed a major restoration program and in September 1990 an immigration museum was opened and now receives almost two million visitors a year.

New York City Facts - 30: Coney Island: Coney Island, the home of a beach, amusement parks and a seaside resortin the southwestern part of the borough of Brooklyn, New York City, began attracting visitors in 1880. The current amusement park rides include three rides, Wonder Wheel, the Cyclone and the , Parachute Jump that are designated as New York City landmarks and are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

New York City Facts - 31: Carnegie Hall: Carnegie Hall, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, opened in April 1891 as a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City.

New York City Facts - 32: The Soldiers' and Sailors' Arch in Brooklyn, New York was dedicated "To the Defenders of the Union, 1861-1865" on October 21, 1892.

New York City Facts - 33: Grant's Tomb:  The General Grant National Memorial, Grant's Tomb, was completed in 1897 and is the final resting place of President Ulysses S. Grant and his wife, Julia Dent Grant (1826–1902). Grant's Tomb is located on Morningside Heights on the banks of the Hudson River in Upper Manhattan, New York City, was undertaken in 1897 upon the completion of Grant's Tomb.

New York City Facts - 34: Bronx Zoo: The Bronx Zoo was opened on November 8, 1899 featuring 843 animals in 22 exhibits and is now one of the largest city zoos in the world.

New York City Facts - 35: Skyscrapers: Skyscrapers revolutionized architecture and the age of steel enabled the massive buildings to be built. The first skyscraper in New York City was the Tacoma Building on lower Broadway that was built in 1899 by George Fuller.

New York City Facts - 36: The Soldiers' and Sailors' Memorial Monument was dedicated on Memorial Day, 1902 commemorating Union Army soldiers and sailors who served in the American Civil War. It is located at 89th Street and Riverside Drive in the Upper West Side and was dedicated on Memorial Day, 1902 with President Theodore Roosevelt

New York City Facts - 37: Flatiron Building: The Flatiron Building, originally the Fuller Building, opened in June 1902. The triangular 22-story steel-framed building a groundbreaking skyscraper and is located at 175 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan, New York City

New York City Facts - 38: The Subway: The opening of the subway in 1904 helped to unite the new city even further to become a world center for industry, commerce, and communication.

New York City Facts - 39: The Yankee Stadium: The Yankee Stadium located in The Bronx, New York City is the home of baseball's New York Yankees and Babe Ruth. The Yankee Stadium was built in 1927 which accommodated the growing demand for spectator Sports in the 1920's and the massive sports stadiums to host the events.

New York City Facts - 40: Charles Lindbergh completed the first nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean, from New York City to Paris, in May 1927 in the Spirit of St. Louis. New York now has three main airports, John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and La Guardia Airport (LGA), through which millions of people pass each year.

New York City Facts - 41: Wall Street: The 1929 Wall Street Crash occurred on Tuesday, October 29, 1929 (nicknamed Black Tuesday) during which a massive 16,410,030 shares were traded on the New York Stock Exchange and between $10-$15 billion was lost in a single day

New York City Facts - 42: Chrysler Building: The Chrysler Building was opened in 1930. It is a Shimmering Art Deco style skyscraper located on the East Side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City.

New York City Facts - 43: Empire State Building: The 102-story skyscraper, the Empire State Building was opened on May 1, 1931 in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on Fifth Avenue

New York City Facts - 44: The Rockefeller Center: The Rockefeller Center, a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering 22 acres, located between 48th and 51st Streets in New York City. Construction started in 1930 and completed in 1939,

New York City Facts - 45: Radio City Music Hall: Radio City Music Hall, the “Showplace of the Nation,” and the largest indoor theatre in the world, opened on December 27, 1932 located in Rockefeller Center in New York City.

New York City Facts - 46: The original Twin Towers World Trade Center in New York City were opened on April 4, 1973 and survived the 1993 World Trade Center Bombing but just a few years later were totally destroyed on Tuesday September 11, 2001 by the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks.

New York City Facts - 47: 9/11 memorial: The 9/11 memorial (National September 11 Memorial & Museum), was opened on September 11, 2011 to commemorate the September 11, 2001 terror attacks and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

New York City Facts - 48: One World Trade Center: Once known as the Freedom Tower, the One World Trade Center (1WTC) was opened on November 3, 2014. The One World Trade Center, is symbolic of the nation's commitment to rise above the 9/11 terror attacks and established a new architectural landmark and icon for New York city.

New York City Facts for kids

New York City Facts

● Interesting Facts about New York City Facts for kids and schools
● Summary of the New York City Facts and US history
● New York City Facts - important, key events
● Interesting facts about New York City Facts
● Fast, fun facts about the New York City Facts
● New York City Facts and attractions
● New York City Facts for schools, homework, kids and children

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