The Empire State Building has more than a fair share of earth-shattering records: it was the tallest in the world for astounding 41 years and was built with the lightening speed of 410 days. Yet it has another lesser known but no less astonishing record: it was the location of the longest survived elevator fall…
Category: NYC Landmarks
Integrity Presiding over the New York Stock Exchange
The group within the pediment over the New York Stock Exchange is entitled “Integrity Protecting the Works of Man,” which makes it fair to assume that the central female figure in the sculpture is Integrity herself. She is tasked with “Protecting the Works of Man”—with Industry on one side and Agriculture on the other. The…
Trinity Church — on Wall Street since 17th century
The present day Trinity Church—a glorious Neo-Gothic edifice—is the third church built on the same exact spot. The original Trinity Church, built in 1698, was the first Anglican Church in the city. His majesty King William III granted Trinity a royal charter at the cost of 1 peppercorn a year, allowing it to function as…
From Colonial City Hall to National Memorial—Federal Hall’s Journey through History
The present-day Federal Hall building—an imposing Greek Revival structure located at 26 Wall Street—now stands as a national memorial. It was built in the mid-19th century as a customs house on the same spot that was previously occupied by two consecutive structures: the colonial city hall, followed by America’s first capitol building. The first building…
Federal Hall—over 300 years of American History
Imagine visiting the locations where America’s freedom of the press was born, the slogan that started American revolution—”no taxation without representation”—was declared, the Bill of Rights was penned, and George Washington took the oath of office to become the first president of the United States. But you don’t have to visit different places: all of…
Books About New York
Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898 (The History of NYC Series), Edwin G. Burrows, Mike Wallace The Island at the Center of the World, Russell Shorto Inside the Apple: A Streetwise History of New York City, Michelle Nevius, James Nevius Footprints in New York: Tracing the Lives of Four Centuries of New…
Dakota—the Most Famous Apartment Building in New York City
The venerable Dakota is one of the first luxury apartment buildings in New York and certainly the most famous. Designed to resemble a Renaissance chateaux and styled as a fortress surrounded by a moat, the Dakota has a romantic feel and an air of the unattainable. Built in 1884, it was the first building to…
The Municipal Building – a Beaux-Arts Skyscraper
In 1898, when Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island, and the Bronx were consolidated into the 5 million-strong metropolis of Greater New York , the old City Hall proved no longer sufficient to house city government. The Municipal Building was subsequently erected to fulfill this need and still stands as one of the largest government office…
Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree
The Rockefeller Christmas tree is indisputably one of the world’s most recognizable sites. Its lighting ceremony in early December marks the beginning of New York’s holiday season and its sparkling presence throughout the holidays makes the city magical. In 1931, construction workers building the Rockefeller Center pooled together some money for a Christmas tree. It…
The Amazing Brooklyn Bridge
This wondrous bridge was the first to span the East River and connect Manhattan and Brooklyn. Upon completion it was the longest suspension bridge in the world, with its towers standing taller than the rest of the country’s man-made structures! Designed by bridge-builder genius John Augustus Roebling, the Brooklyn Bridge was an astonishing feat of…
Charging Bull – One Giant Christmas Present
The Charging Bull, representing a rising market, is one of the most easily recognizable symbols of Wall Street. The Charging Bull was created by sculptor Arturo Di Modica in his Soho studio on Crosby Street. Conceived by the sculptor as an antidote for the sour mood caused by the 1987 stock market crash known as…
Central Park — the First Landscaped Public Park in the Nation
Central Park, the green wonder of New York, is the first designed urban park in the United States. It’s not the largest park in New York, falling in size behind Pelham Bay and Van Cortlandt Parks in Bronx, Greenbelt Park in Staten Island, and Flushing Meadows/Corona Park in Queens. Nevertheless, at 843 acres it is…
