New York
New York is the biggest city of USA. Together with suburbs it has over 17 million people. New York is a conurbation of five parts: Richmond (it’s called Staten Island), Brooklyn, Queen’s, Bronx, and Manhattan.
Manhattan is the smallest, but the most important. It is an island surrounded by Hudson River in the west, New York Bay in the south, the East River in the east and Harlem River in the north.
History of Manhattan: In the past there used to live the Indian tribe of Manhattans. They lived especially in the southern tip of Manhattan. At the very beginning of 17th century there came the Dutch settlers and they bought the territory from the Indians for 24 dollars. They established a little village, which they called New Amsterdam. In the second half of 17th century there came the British. They gained this territory and they remained it as New York (it was called after the Duke of York – he is always the second heir to the British throne).
New York is built on the ground plan of streets and avenues. Streets go from the west to the east; avenues go from the north to the south. The vast majority of streets and avenues are numbered, but there are some exceptions to this rule. Broadway is an original Indian path and it goes diagonally in Lower Manhattan and it leads as far as the very north of Manhattan. Another exception is the southern tip of Manhattan. It is the oldest part of New York, the streets zigzag and they have their names. The best-known street here is the Wall Street. Wall Street is situated on the place of a former wall, which was built by the settlers as the protection from the Indians. The wall doesn’t exist anymore. Today Wall Street is a centre of banks and finance; there is the famous Stock exchange. Opposite the Stock exchange there is the Federal Hall built in colonial style and there took his oath the first American president George Washington.
The most important avenue is the 5th Avenue. This avenue divides Manhattan into two halves – the East Side and the West Side. 5th Avenue is the most expensive and the most luxury. There are the most expensive flats, hotels and shops. Along Central Park in the 5th Avenue there are famous museums, for example: Metropolitan Museum of Art, Guggenheim Museum (there is a very rich picture collection, this museum was founded by a Swiss Jew Solomon Guggenheim – he came from Europe to America), Museum of the City of New York.
Another avenue, which is important, is 6th Avenue – it has its name – The American Avenue or Avenue of the Americas.
42nd Street – it is a luxurious street in the East Side. On the bank of the east River there are the buildings of the U.N.O. (United Nations Organization). In the West Side it is a red light district. This district starts from the junction of 42nd street and Broadway. Here is Times Square.
Manhattan is famous for its skyscrapers. The best known is Empire State Building (5th Avenue). Today it’s the second highest skyscraper. The tallest one is the World Trade Center – it is a twin tower in Wall Street area (!!! 12.9.2001). Another skyscraper complex is the Rockefeller Center. In Rockefeller Plaza there is a famous statue of Prometheus. In summer there is a garden restaurant, but in winter there is the ice-ring. Chrysler Building is a very important skyscraper, too.
The most important church is on 5th Avenue and it is called St. Patrick Church. St. Patrick is the patron of the Irish and in New York there live many Irish emigrants (17th March is St. Patrick’s Day – 5th Avenue is covered in green colours and there are big processions of the people who like Irish and Irish themselves).
The second one is in the south of Harlem – Cathedral of St. John the Divine. It is built in pseudo-Gothic style and it is one of the biggest churches in the world (it is not finished, yet).
New York is a melting pot of ethnic minorities and races. The most famous is Chinatown, which is situated, in the southern tip between the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan Bridge. Next to it there is Little Italy, Greenwich Village is a little northern. In the past there used to live bohemians, artists, especially painters. Today there lives a gay community.
In the other side in Lower Manhattan there is Lincoln Center with the metropolitan opera. Carnegie Hall is devoted to singers of all possible kinds. Only the best singers have a chance to perform there. Madison Square Garden is a centre of all kinds of sports – box, tennis, basketball, golf and many others. In the middle of the island there is Central Park, which is very popular with New Yorkers – many people can do sports there.
The north of Manhattan is called Harlem. In this part there live especially afro-Americans (black people) and Puerto Ricans. Harlem is a very dangerous part with high crime. It is deteriorated (dilapidated) and people there are very poor. Many of them move from Harlem to Bronx, which has gradually become second Harlem.
In Manhattan there is one of four best famous universities in the east – Columbia University. The 2nd one is the University of New York.
In the New York Bay there is Liberty Island with the Statue of Liberty. It is also called the Lady. It is a gift of the French at the end of 19th century to America as the recognitions of friendship between those two countries. Its sculptor is Frederick Bartholdi and partly Eiffel. A replica of this statue can be seen in Paris. The Lady is holding a torch and in the other hand the Declaration of Independent. This statue is a symbol of freedom because it was very often the first thing the emigrants from all over the world could see.
Next to the Liberty Island there is Ellis Island where there were immigration offices. Today there is a museum.
The nickname of New York is the Big Apple.
New York airports: One of the biggest in the world is J. F. Kennedy International. For internal flights it is a La Guardia Airport.
Very famous is also a holiday resort Coney Island. It’s famous for its beaches.