New York History
Travel Guides > North America > United States > New York > New York History
Till the 15th century Lenape Native Americans lived in New York City. Before Europeans came in this area it was also inhabited by the nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. Then, in 1524 Giovanni da Verrazzano stumbled upon the place.
In 1625 it became a Dutch settlement and in 1626, the Dutch purchased the island of Manhattan. In the following years, the English conquered it and renamed the city as New York. York was the name of English Duke of Albany.
During the British rule, New York City grew in importance and major developments took place in this period. In the American revolutionary war, the city saw major battles known as New York Campaigns. In 1789, George Washington was elected as the first president of the United States of America.
New York City was the Capital of the United States until 1790 and all the major government offices were headquartered in New York. In the 19th century, the city witnessed major transformations brought by the immigrants as a large number of the immigrants came to make the city their home.
In the 18th century, the city continued to expand and major universities were established here. In 1898, the city consolidated Brooklyn, Manhattan and the neighboring islands. In the 1920s, New York City became a major destination for the African Americans. The city saw a major economic boom and tall skyscrapers were constructed in the 1900s.
After World War II, the Europeans created and economic boom in this city. The presence of the United Nations headquarters proved the political importance of this city. With so much economical developments, the New York emerged as the leading city of the world. The wave of immigrants continued to rise from Europe, Asia and Africa and the city continued to grow as America’s financial, economical, political and cultural center.
New York City witnessed a cutting edge agricultural revolution, an economical and industrial revolution. It became the place where people from different places of world lived and worked together and contributed to the major developments in this city. This city is also the birthplace of many cultural and revolutionary movements. Soon New York emerged as the largest city in the United States.
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Statue of liberty & Ellis Island >> added on August 6, 2010, by MadSuh
Everybody knows these two very important American landmarks. While the statue of liberty may be the more spectacular one, I wrongly recommend spending more time at Ellis Island. In fact if you want to take pictures, just don't get off the boat at the statue but go straight to Ellis Island, you'll save a ton of time due to the long lines. Also, make sure you start your day early, keep in mind that lines can be really long and the wait can easily be 1 hr or more.
Ellis island depicts the story of many American immigrants that were coming to America for reasons of hope for a better life and most importantly liberty. The stories are very touching and you should definitely get the audio guide to listen to some of the personal stories told by real people entering the United States here at Ellis Island.
Website: www.nps.gov/elis/
Broadway >> added on June 29, 2010, by Sayuri87
There is glamor in the air all the time. Broadway is so buzzing that you cannot just sit there and watch people walking, you feel that you have to do something.
There are about 30 productions running at the same time, you can't miss to go to one, if you are on the Broadway. Although you have to buy a ticket months in advance for some of the more popular ones.
You can even meet some stars while wondering on the bright lights. It's amazing!
Fifth Avenue >> added on January 20, 2010, by MadSuh
What Rodeo Drive is to LA, Fifth Ave is to new York, except that it's 100 times bigger. This is really the prime real estate and more or less the center of the city with expensive shops, malls, restaurants. Fifth Ave is also the home of all major New York street parades (Steuben Parade, St Patrick's Day Parade). Fifth Avenue stretches through the entire city, starting from Washington Square all the way up to Harlem. In the past Fifth Ave was home to the town houses of the rich while today you mainly have really expensive shops there (Tiffany, Cartier). If you have some time, walk down on Fifth Avenue, you will enjoy it as it will lead you past Rockefeller Center, the Empire State Building, the Museum of Modern Art, Trump Tower, Central Park, as well as the Museum Mile, but there is much more to see. If you are not so much of a heavy walker just walk down Fifth Avenue between 34th and 59th Street.
Empire State Building >> added on January 20, 2010, by MadSuh
This is New York's symbol. It was New York's symbol before until it was replaced by the Twin Towers. Since September 11, the Empire State Building is the undisputed King of New York's skyline. It was built in the 1930ies and is 381m/1250ft or 443m/1454ft with the antenna. Besides the fact that this was one of the first huge sky scrapers in the World, the building boasts an interesting Art Deco style, which is very typical for the time, just that today's sky scrapers are really just glass, steel, and concrete, this one actually has some decorative details to it. 30,000 people live and work at Empire State Building, which is a myriad of shops, offices, restaurants, and basically everything a regular city would have. In any case, it's a must see when you go to New York. Unfortunately, since the fall of the Twin Towers, this is the only real good place to get a view over the city and the wait is long and can take up to 2 hours on busy days.
Ellis Island >> added on January 20, 2010, by MadSuh
Ellis Island is the Island where immigrants landed first when coming to the US and home to the Statue of Liberty. Immigrants had to go through physical checkups before they were allowed to enter the country. But not only unhealthy people but also politically dangerous people were sorted out and refused entry in some cases. About 17 Million people came through Ellis Island between the 1890s and the first World War. After World War I, Ellis Island was mainly a camp for deported and political enemies. Today, you can visit the Immigration Museum and feel the difficulties that many million immigrants had to endure.
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