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113-542: The Park Avenue Viaduct , also known as the Pershing Square Viaduct , is a roadway in Manhattan , New York City. It carries vehicular traffic on Park Avenue from 40th to 46th Streets. The viaduct is composed of two sections: a steel viaduct with two roadways from 40th to 42nd Streets, as well as a pair of roadways between 42nd and 46th Streets. The section from 40th to 42nd Streets was designated
226-630: A New York City landmark in 1980 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The street-level service roads of Park Avenue, which flank the viaduct between 40th and 42nd Streets, are called Pershing Square . The section of the viaduct between 42nd and 46th Streets travels around Grand Central Terminal and the MetLife Building , then through the Helmsley Building ; all three buildings lie across
339-595: A 1981 article in Rolling Stone magazine calling the stretch of West 42nd Street between 7th and 8th Avenues the "sleaziest block in America". By the late 1990s, led by efforts by the city and the Walt Disney Company , the area had been revived as a center of tourism to the point where it was described by The New York Times as "arguably the most sought-after 13 acres of commercial property in
452-669: A city of tenements packed with poorly paid laborers from dozens of nations, the city became a hotbed of revolution (including anarchists and communists among others), syndicalism , racketeering , and unionization . In 1883, the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge across the East River established a road connection to Brooklyn and the rest of Long Island . In 1898, New York City consolidated with three neighboring counties to form "the City of Greater New York ", and Manhattan
565-626: A growing number of Indian restaurants and spice shops along a stretch of Lexington Avenue between 25th and 30th Streets which has become known as Curry Hill . Washington Heights in Uptown Manhattan is home to the largest Dominican immigrant community in the United States. Harlem , also in Upper Manhattan, is the historical epicenter of African American culture. Since 2010, a Little Australia has emerged and
678-930: A language other than English at home. Points of interest on Manhattan Island include the American Museum of Natural History ; the Battery ; Broadway and the Theater District ; Bryant Park ; Central Park , Chinatown ; the Chrysler Building ; The Cloisters ; Columbia University ; Curry Hill ; the Empire State Building ; Flatiron Building ; the Financial District (including the New York Stock Exchange Building ; Wall Street ; and
791-515: A multibillion-dollar rebuilding plan was unveiled to restore the historic grandeur of Penn Station, in the process of upgrading the landmark's status as a critical transportation hub . The 700,000 sq ft (65,000 m ) Moynihan Train Hall , developed as a $ 1.6 billion renovation and expansion of Penn Station into the James A. Farley Building , the city's former main post office building,
904-493: A restaurant space . The arches were included because of "aesthetic considerations", but are actually cantilever beams, because true arches would have required excessively large abutments. The girders over each pier are each 136 feet (41 m) long by 12 feet (3.7 m) deep, weighing 73 short tons (65 long tons; 66 t) each. They were made in New Jersey and shipped from Delaware to New York, then pulled by 52 horses from
1017-494: A result of Alexander Hamilton 's policies and practices as the first Secretary of the Treasury to expand the city's role as a center of commerce and industry. By 1810, New York City, then confined to Manhattan, had surpassed Philadelphia as the most populous city in the United States. The Commissioners' Plan of 1811 laid out the island of Manhattan in its familiar grid plan . The city's role as an economic center grew with
1130-535: A roadway running above 45th Street's southern sidewalk, connecting the two directions of traffic, as well as the extension of Vanderbilt Avenue north to 47th Street and the widening of Park Avenue. Initial plans called for the viaduct to run across 46th Street so that viaduct traffic did not interfere with traffic on 45th and 46th Streets. This was later changed to allow the viaduct's roadways to descend to street level between 45th and 46th Streets. The roadways were placed on S-curves supported by stanchions that did not touch
1243-596: A section south of 42nd Street and another north of 45th Street. The southern section of Park Avenue was a quiet road running through the upscale enclave of Murray Hill , while the northern section contained an open cut (later covered over), which carried the Park Avenue main line. Further, the northern end of the Park Avenue Tunnel rose to ground level between 40th and 42nd Streets, splitting 41st Street into two sections at Park Avenue. Depew Place ran along
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#17327729606421356-535: A series of spontaneous, violent protests by members of the gay community against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan. They are widely considered to constitute the single most important event leading to the gay liberation movement and the modern fight for LGBT rights . In
1469-522: A series of trails. The primary trail on the island, which would later become Broadway , ran from what is now Inwood in the north to Battery Park in the south. There were various sites for fishing and planting established by the Lenape throughout Manhattan. The name Manhattan originated from the Lenape 's language, Munsee , manaháhtaan (where manah- means "gather", -aht- means " bow ", and -aan
1582-417: A tense relationship. Over Wilgus's objections, Warren and Wetmore modified Reed and Stem's plan, eliminating a proposed 12-story tower and vehicular viaducts. The elevated viaducts were restored, as were several of Reed and Stem's other design elements, as part of an agreement between the two firms in 1909. The railroad also bought Depew Place, over which the eastern leg of the viaduct would run. Two years later,
1695-467: A wildlife sanctuary, and several lawns and sporting areas, as well as 21 playgrounds, and a 6-mile (9.7 km) road from which automobile traffic has been banned since 2018. While much of the park looks natural, it is almost entirely landscaped; the construction of Central Park in the 1850s was one of the era's most massive public works projects, with some 20,000 workers moving 5 million cubic yards (3.8 million cubic meters) of material to shape
1808-562: A year. In 1961, the struggling Pennsylvania Railroad unveiled plans to tear down the old Penn Station and replace it with a new Madison Square Garden and office building complex. Organized protests were aimed at preserving the McKim, Mead & White -designed structure completed in 1910, widely considered a masterpiece of the Beaux-Arts style and one of the architectural jewels of New York City. Despite these efforts, demolition of
1921-598: Is a name from the Dutch colonial era after Haarlem , a city in the Netherlands. Some have simple folkloric names, such as Hell's Kitchen , alongside their more official but lesser used title (in this case, Clinton). Some neighborhoods, such as SoHo , which is mixed use, are known for upscale shopping as well as residential use. Others, such as Greenwich Village , the Lower East Side , Alphabet City and
2034-506: Is an abstract element used to form verb stems ). The Lenape word has been translated as "the place where we get bows" or "place for gathering the (wood to make) bows". According to a Munsee tradition recorded by Albert Seqaqkind Anthony in the 19th century, the island was named so for a grove of hickory trees at its southern end that was considered ideal for the making of bows. In April 1524, Florentine explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano , sailing in service of Francis I of France , became
2147-704: Is bounded by the Hudson River to the west and the East River to the east. To the north, the Harlem River divides Manhattan Island from the Bronx and the mainland United States. Early in the 19th century, land reclamation was used to expand Lower Manhattan from the natural Hudson shoreline at Greenwich Street to West Street . When building the World Trade Center in 1968, 1.2 million cubic yards (920,000 m ) of material excavated from
2260-508: Is growing in Nolita, Lower Manhattan. Manhattan has two central business districts, the Financial District at the southern tip of the island, and Midtown Manhattan . The term uptown also refers to the northern part of Manhattan above 72nd Street and downtown to the southern portion below 14th Street , with Midtown covering the area in between, though definitions can be fluid. Fifth Avenue roughly bisects Manhattan Island and acts as
2373-558: Is land and 10.8 square miles (28 km ) (32%) is water. The northern segment of Upper Manhattan represents a geographic panhandle . Manhattan Island is 22.7 square miles (59 km ) in area, 13.4 miles (21.6 km) long and 2.3 miles (3.7 km) wide, at its widest point, near 14th Street . The borough consists primarily of Manhattan Island, along with the Marble Hill neighborhood and several small islands, including Randalls Island and Wards Island and Roosevelt Island in
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#17327729606422486-495: Is located on Vanderbilt Avenue, at the intersection of East 44th Street, as is the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research , and One Vanderbilt supertall skyscraper . When the avenue was originally designed, it ran from 42nd Street to 49th Street. However, in the 1960s the portion between 47th Street and 49th Street was closed permanently, as it became part of 270 Park Avenue and 280 Park Avenue. More recently,
2599-618: Is named after General John J. Pershing . Consequently, the southern portion of the viaduct between 40th and 42nd Streets is also known as the Pershing Square Viaduct. The New York Central Railroad built the Grand Central Depot in 1869 as the southern terminus of the Park Avenue main line . The depot was located along the axis of Fourth Avenue (later Park Avenue), splitting the avenue into two parts:
2712-534: Is on Bay Street ( 40°37′20″N 74°4′23″W / 40.62222°N 74.07306°W / 40.62222; -74.07306 ), west of Clifton of the Staten Island Railway and east of Bayley Seton Hospital . Along with most of Richmond Road and all of Amboy Road , Vanderbilt Avenue forms the first leg of Staten Island's colonial-era eastern corridor that predates the newer, straighter, and wider Hylan Boulevard . The three roads that make up
2825-411: Is one of the most densely populated locations in the world, with a 2020 census population of 1,694,250 living in a land area of 22.66 square miles (58.69 km ), or 72,918 residents per square mile (28,154 residents/km ), and coextensive with New York County, its residential property has the highest sale price per square foot in the United States. Manhattan is home to Wall Street as well as
2938-658: Is relatively evenly spread throughout the year. Average winter snowfall between 1981 and 2010 has been 25.8 inches (66 cm); this varies considerably from year to year. Manhattan's many neighborhoods are not named according to any particular convention, nor do they have official boundaries. Some are geographical (the Upper East Side ), or ethnically descriptive ( Little Italy ). Others are acronyms , such as TriBeCa (for "TRIangle BElow CAnal Street") or SoHo ("SOuth of HOuston"), NoLIta ("NOrth of Little ITAly"), and NoMad ("NOrth of MADison Square Park"). Harlem
3051-913: Is the world's seventh-tallest building (as of 2023) . The Occupy Wall Street protests in Zuccotti Park in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan began on September 17, 2011, receiving global attention and spawning the Occupy movement against social and economic inequality worldwide. On October 29 and 30, 2012, Hurricane Sandy caused extensive destruction in the borough, ravaging portions of Lower Manhattan with record-high storm surge from New York Harbor, severe flooding, and high winds, causing power outages for hundreds of thousands of city residents and leading to gasoline shortages and disruption of mass transit systems. The storm and its profound impacts have prompted discussion of constructing seawalls and other coastal barriers around
3164-471: Is the economic engine of New York City , with its 2.45 million workers drawn from the entire New York metropolitan area accounting for almost more than half of all jobs in New York City. Manhattan's workforce is overwhelmingly focused on white collar professions. In 2010, Manhattan's daytime population was swelling to 3.94 million, with commuters adding a net 1.48 million people to
3277-708: Is well suited for the foundations of Manhattan's skyscrapers . It is part of the Manhattan Prong physiographic region. Under the Köppen climate classification , New York City features both a humid subtropical climate ( Cfa ) and a humid continental climate ( Dfa ); it is the northernmost major city on the North American continent with a humid subtropical climate. The city averages 234 days with at least some sunshine annually. Winters are cold and damp, and prevailing wind patterns that blow offshore temper
3390-494: The BMT Myrtle Avenue Line and BMT Fulton Street Line built here. Vanderbilt Avenue in Manhattan runs from 43rd Street to 47th Street between Park Avenue and Madison Avenue . It was built in the late 1860s as the result of the construction of Grand Central Depot . The southbound Park Avenue Viaduct around Grand Central Terminal runs above the street's eastern side. The Yale Club of New York City
3503-591: The East River . The deck of the viaduct, above the steel arches, contains railings with plain and foliate panels, as well as lampposts atop each granite pier. The deck is 60 feet (18 m) wide. The arches of the Pershing Square Viaduct are based on the Pont Alexandre III in Paris, and contain plaques with the words "Pershing Square" at their centers. At the T-intersection north of 42nd Street,
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3616-564: The East Village , have long been associated with the Bohemian subculture. Chelsea is one of several Manhattan neighborhoods with large gay populations and has become a center of both the international art industry and New York's nightlife. Chinatown has the highest concentration of people of Chinese descent outside of Asia . Koreatown is roughly centered on 32nd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. Rose Hill features
3729-753: The Empire State Building , Chrysler Building , and One World Trade Center . It is also home to the National Basketball Association 's New York Knicks and the National Hockey League 's New York Rangers . Manhattan was historically part of the Lenapehoking territory inhabited by the Munsee , Lenape , and Wappinger tribes . There were several Lenape settlements in the area including Sapohanikan , Nechtanc , and Konaande Kongh , which were interconnected by
3842-908: The FBI as "something of a deadly dress rehearsal for 9/11", was a terrorist attack in which six people were killed when a van bomb filled with explosives was detonated in a parking lot below the North Tower of the World Trade Center complex . On September 11, 2001, the Twin Towers of the original World Trade Center were struck by hijacked aircraft and collapsed in the September 11 attacks launched by al-Qaeda terrorists. The collapse caused extensive damage to surrounding buildings and skyscrapers in Lower Manhattan, and resulted in
3955-585: The Harlem and Hudson rivers, separated it from the remainder of Manhattan. Before World War I, the section of the original Harlem River channel separating Marble Hill from the Bronx was filled in, and Marble Hill became part of the mainland. After a May 1984 court ruling that Marble Hill was simultaneously part of the Borough of Manhattan (not the Borough of the Bronx) and part of Bronx County (not New York County),
4068-602: The Hearst Tower , the rebuilt 7 World Trade Center , and the Bank of America Tower —the first skyscraper designed to attain a Platinum LEED Certification. The skyscraper , which has shaped Manhattan's distinctive skyline , has been closely associated with New York City's identity since the end of the 19th century. Structures such as the Equitable Building of 1915, which rises vertically forty stories from
4181-547: The New York City Board of Estimate approved New York Central's plans for a viaduct carrying Park Avenue over 42nd Street. The present plans for the Park Avenue Viaduct were devised in 1912 by Warren and Wetmore. The terminal's construction already provided for roadways to either side of the terminal building, in preparation for the viaduct's eventual completion. The terminal was opened in 1913, but
4294-586: The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission wrote that the viaduct "is an integral part of the complex circulation system of Grand Central Terminal". The viaduct was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, technically as a "boundary increase" to the Grand Central Terminal's listing, but carrying a separate reference number. Both designations apply only to the section of
4407-694: The South Street Seaport ); Grand Central Terminal ; Greenwich Village (including New York University ; Washington Square Arch ; and Stonewall Inn ); Harlem and Spanish Harlem ; the High Line ; Koreatown ; Lincoln Center ; Little Australia ; Little Italy ; Madison Square Garden ; Museum Mile on Fifth Avenue (including the Metropolitan Museum of Art ); Penn Station , Port Authority Bus Terminal ; Rockefeller Center (including Radio City Music Hall ); Times Square ; and
4520-895: The Third Anglo-Dutch War . Manhattan was at the heart of the New York Campaign , a series of major battles in the early stages of the American Revolutionary War . The Continental Army was forced to abandon Manhattan after the Battle of Fort Washington on November 16, 1776. The city, greatly damaged by the Great Fire of New York during the campaign, became the British military and political center of operations in North America for
4633-548: The U.S. state of New York . Located almost entirely on Manhattan Island near the southern tip of the state, Manhattan constitutes the center of the Northeast megalopolis and the urban core of the New York metropolitan area . Manhattan serves as New York City's economic and administrative center and has been described as the cultural, financial, media , and entertainment capital of the world. Present-day Manhattan
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4746-522: The World Trade Center (including the National September 11 Museum and One World Trade Center ). There are also numerous iconic bridges across rivers that connect to Manhattan Island, as well as an emerging number of supertall skyscrapers . The Statue of Liberty rests on Liberty Island , an exclave of Manhattan, and part of Ellis Island is also an exclave of Manhattan. The borough has many energy-efficient office buildings, such as
4859-545: The capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790. The Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor greeted millions of arriving immigrants in the late 19th century and is a world symbol of the United States and its ideals. Manhattan became a borough during the consolidation of New York City in 1898 , and houses New York City Hall , the seat of the city's government . Harlem in Upper Manhattan became
4972-478: The deaths of 2,606 of the 17,400 who had been in the buildings when the planes hit, in addition to those on the planes. Since 2001, most of Lower Manhattan has been restored, although there has been controversy surrounding the rebuilding. In 2014, the new One World Trade Center , at 1,776 feet (541 m) measured to the top of its spire, became the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere and
5085-681: The topography and create the English-style pastoral landscape that Olmsted and Vaux sought. The remaining 70% of Manhattan's parkland includes 204 playgrounds, 251 Greenstreets, 371 basketball courts , and many other amenities. The next-largest park in Manhattan, the Hudson River Park , stretches 4.5 miles (7.2 km) along the Hudson River and comprises 550 acres (220 ha). Other major parks include: Manhattan
5198-447: The world's tallest building . Manhattan's majority white ethnic group declined from 98.7% in 1900 to 58.3% by 1990. On March 25, 1911, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in Greenwich Village killed 146 garment workers , leading to overhauls of the city's fire department, building codes , and workplace safety regulations. In 1912, about 20,000 workers, a quarter of them women, marched upon Washington Square Park to commemorate
5311-686: The 1,537,195 counted in the 2000 census . In 2010, the largest organized religious group in Manhattan was the Archdiocese of New York , with 323,325 Catholics worshiping at 109 parishes, followed by 64,000 Orthodox Jews with 77 congregations, an estimated 42,545 Muslims with 21 congregations, 42,502 non-denominational adherents with 54 congregations, 26,178 TEC Episcopalians with 46 congregations, 25,048 ABC-USA Baptists with 41 congregations, 24,536 Reform Jews with 10 congregations, 23,982 Mahayana Buddhists with 35 congregations, 10,503 PC-USA Presbyterians with 30 congregations, and 10,268 RCA Presbyterians with 10 congregations. Altogether, 44.0% of
5424-452: The 1920s, Manhattan experienced large arrivals of African-Americans as part of the Great Migration from the southern United States, and the Harlem Renaissance , part of a larger boom time in the Prohibition era that included new skyscrapers competing for the skyline, with the Woolworth Building (1913), 40 Wall Street (1930), Chrysler Building (1930) and the Empire State Building (1931) leapfrogging each other to take their place as
5537-440: The 1970s, job losses due to industrial restructuring caused New York City, including Manhattan, to suffer from economic problems and rising crime rates. While a resurgence in the financial industry greatly improved the city's economic health in the 1980s, New York's crime rate continued to increase through the decade and into the beginning of the 1990s. The 1980s saw a rebirth of Wall Street , and Manhattan reclaimed its role as
5650-448: The East River; and Governors Island and Liberty Island to the south in New York Harbor . The Island is about 13.4 miles (21.6 km) from north to south, and at its widest, 2.3 miles (3.7 km). Manhattan Island is loosely divided into Downtown ( Lower Manhattan ), Midtown ( Midtown Manhattan ), and Uptown ( Upper Manhattan ), with Fifth Avenue dividing Manhattan lengthwise into its East Side and West Side . Manhattan Island
5763-411: The Grand Central Partnership unveiled plans to restore the space under the viaduct at a cost of $ 2 million, then lease it as a restaurant. The restaurant space would be located in the former site of the World's Fair information center. The Pershing Square Cafe signed a lease at the space in 1997. The owner of the renovated space, Michael O'Keeffe, placed so much attention to the renovation of the space that
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#17327729606425876-419: The New York Central Building's frame. In April 1924, the revised plan was sent to the Board of Estimate, which approved the project. Work could start upon the approval of Charles L. Craig , the city controller . However, Craig initially refused to certify the plan, stating that the city had paid much more for Depew Place than the land was worth. After more than a year of re-negotiations, Craig finally certified
5989-402: The Park Avenue Tunnel's portals. When it opened, only automobiles and taxicabs used the Park Avenue Viaduct. The original viaduct took two-way traffic from Park Avenue at 40th Street and carried it around the west side of Grand Central Terminal, terminating at the T-intersection of 45th Street and Vanderbilt Avenue. An elevated service driveway ran to the east of the terminal, above Depew Place; it
6102-405: The Vanderbilt statue was installed at the T-intersection above 42nd Street. The space under the viaduct between 41st and 42nd Streets was originally used as a trolley barn. In 1938, the city announced that it would build a tourist information center within that space in advance of the 1939 New York World's Fair . The city subsequently built a steel and glass-brick structure under the center arch of
6215-492: The builder of Grand Central Terminal in Midtown Manhattan . Vanderbilt Avenue in Brooklyn carries traffic north and south between Grand Army Plaza ( 40°40′30″N 73°58′11″W / 40.67500°N 73.96972°W / 40.67500; -73.96972 ) and Flushing Avenue at the Vanderbilt Avenue gate of the Brooklyn Navy Yard ( 40°41′52″N 73°58′14.5″W / 40.69778°N 73.970694°W / 40.69778; -73.970694 ). This avenue serves
6328-440: The center of the island, Central Park , which opened its first portions to the public in 1858, became the first landscaped public park in an American city. New York City played a complex role in the American Civil War . The city had strong commercial ties to the South , but anger around conscription , resentment against Lincoln's war policies and paranoia about free Blacks taking the jobs of poor immigrants culminated in
6441-457: The center of what is now known as the cultural Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s. The Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village , part of the Stonewall National Monument , is considered the birthplace in 1969 of the modern gay rights movement , cementing Manhattan's central role in LGBT culture . Manhattan was the site of the original World Trade Center , which was destroyed during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks . Situated on one of
6554-424: The city by 1924, which gave the railroad the right to erect a building over Park Avenue. As part of the project, the section of Park Avenue between 45th and 46th Streets would be closed, the eastern leg of the viaduct would be completed, and traffic would be carried around both sides of the terminal and through the New York Central Building before being deposited at Park Avenue and 46th Street. The plans also called for
6667-437: The city's skyline, most notably the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, and 30 Rockefeller Plaza . A postwar economic boom led to the development of huge housing developments targeted at returning veterans, the largest being Stuyvesant Town–Peter Cooper Village , which opened in 1947. The United Nations relocated to a new headquarters that was completed in 1952 along the East River. The Stonewall riots were
6780-952: The coldest winter month. Spring and autumn are unpredictable and can range from chilly to warm, although they are usually mild with low humidity. Summers are typically warm to hot and humid, with a daily mean temperature of 76.5 °F (24.7 °C) in July. Nighttime conditions are often exacerbated by the urban heat island phenomenon, which causes heat absorbed during the day to be radiated back at night, raising temperatures by as much as 7 °F (4 °C) when winds are slow. Daytime temperatures exceed 90 °F (32 °C) on average of 17 days each summer and in some years exceed 100 °F (38 °C). Extreme temperatures have ranged from −15 °F (−26 °C), recorded on February 9, 1934, up to 106 °F (41 °C) on July 9, 1936. Manhattan lies in USDA plant hardiness zone 7b (5 to 10 °F/-15 to -12.2 °C). Manhattan receives 49.9 inches (1,270 mm) of precipitation annually, which
6893-434: The colony. New Amsterdam was formally incorporated as a city on February 2, 1653. In 1664, English forces conquered New Netherland and renamed it "New York" after the English Duke of York and Albany , the future King James II. In August 1673, the Dutch reconquered the colony, renaming it "New Orange", but permanently relinquished it back to England the following year under the terms of the Treaty of Westminster that ended
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#17327729606427006-674: The corridor share a common numbering system; i.e. Richmond Road's numbers start where Vanderbilt Avenue's leave off, ( 40°36′48″N 74°5′13.4″W / 40.61333°N 74.087056°W / 40.61333; -74.087056 ) and Amboy Road's numbers start where Amboy Road forks away from Richmond Road. This numbering format encompasses the numerically highest of street addresses in New York City, and spans 15 miles combined, approximately 1 mile longer than Hylan Boulevard. Other roads that fork off of this corridor are: St. Paul's Avenue , Van Duzer Street, Targee Street, Rockland Avenue , Bloomingdale Road , and Richmond Valley Road . This street
7119-472: The decade to 1,694,250, representing 19.2% of New York City's population of 8,804,194 and 8.4% of New York State's population of 20,201,230. The population density of New York County was 70,450.8 inhabitants per square mile (27,201.2/km ) in 2022, the highest population density of any county in the United States and higher than the density of any individual U.S. city . At the 2010 census , there were 1,585,873 people living in Manhattan, an increase of 3.2% from
7232-407: The demarcation line for east/west designations. South of Waverly Place , Fifth Avenue terminates and Broadway becomes the east/west demarcation line. In Manhattan, uptown means north and downtown means south. This usage differs from that of most American cities, where downtown refers to the central business district. As of the 2020 census , Manhattan's population had increased by 6.8% over
7345-498: The east had been occupied by Grand Union Hotel, which was condemned via eminent domain in 1914 and subsequently demolished. That space was proposed for use as an open plaza with a three-story memorial called "Victory Hall". In July 1920, a realty consortium headed by investor Henry Mandel bought the site. Mandel gave the Bowery Savings Bank the eastern portion of the site, which would be developed into an office building at 110 East 42nd Street , completed in 1923. The western portion of
7458-587: The eastern leg of the viaduct to be opened to public use. The city started negotiating with New York Central to open the eastern leg of the viaduct, although the railroad was holding out unless it was granted property on Park Avenue. The city proposed building a ramp from the viaduct that would descend to ground level at 46th Street, while keeping Park Avenue open to traffic between 45th and 46th Streets; however, New York Central's proposal would altogether close off that block of Park Avenue. The Manhattan borough president , Julius Miller , proposed giving New York Central
7571-547: The eastern side of the depot, while Vanderbilt Avenue ran along the western side. The Park Avenue Viaduct was first proposed by New York Central president William J. Wilgus in 1900, when he suggested replacing Grand Central Depot with Grand Central Terminal. During a design competition for the terminal in 1903, Reed and Stem proposed vehicular viaducts around the terminal building. New York Central ultimately selected Reed and Stem, as well as Warren and Wetmore , to construct Grand Central Terminal. The two architectural firms had
7684-440: The elder sister of the king. Manhattan was first mapped during a 1609 voyage of Henry Hudson . Hudson came across Manhattan Island and the native people living there, and continued up the river that would later bear his name, the Hudson River . Manhattan was first recorded in writing as Manna-hata , in the logbook of Robert Juet, an officer on the voyage. A permanent European presence in New Netherland began in 1624, with
7797-445: The fire. Many of the women wore fitted tucked-front blouses like those manufactured by the company, a clothing style that became the working woman's uniform and a symbol of women's liberation , reflecting the alliance of the labor and suffrage movements. Despite the Great Depression , some of the world's tallest skyscrapers were completed in Manhattan during the 1930s, including numerous Art Deco masterpieces that are still part of
7910-440: The first documented European to visit the area that would become New York City. Verrazzano entered the tidal strait now known as The Narrows and named the land around Upper New York Harbor New Angoulême , in reference to the family name of King Francis I; he sailed far enough into the harbor to sight the Hudson River , and he named the Bay of Santa Margarita – what is now Upper New York Bay – after Marguerite de Navarre ,
8023-412: The founding of a Dutch fur trading settlement on Governors Island . In 1625, construction was started on the citadel of Fort Amsterdam on Manhattan Island, later called New Amsterdam ( Nieuw Amsterdam ), in what is now Lower Manhattan. The establishment of Fort Amsterdam is recognized as the birth of New York City. In 1647, Peter Stuyvesant was appointed as the last Dutch Director-General of
8136-563: The matter was definitively settled later that year when the New York Legislature overwhelmingly passed legislation declaring the neighborhood part of both New York County and the Borough of Manhattan. Within New York Harbor , there are three smaller islands: Other smaller islands, in the East River , include (from north to south): The bedrock underlying much of Manhattan consists of three rock formations: Inwood marble , Fordham gneiss , and Manhattan schist , and
8249-692: The moderating effects of the Atlantic Ocean , yet the Atlantic and the partial shielding from colder air by the Appalachians keep the city warmer in the winter than inland North American cities at similar or lesser latitudes. The daily mean temperature in January, the area's coldest month, is 32.6 °F (0.3 °C); temperatures usually drop to 10 °F (−12 °C) several times per winter, and reach 60 °F (16 °C) several days in
8362-531: The neighborhoods of Fort Greene and Prospect Heights . Landmarks include the old Public School 9 and Public School 9 Annex buildings at the corner of Sterling Place , and Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School at Greene Avenue . The B69 bus, which replaced a streetcar line in 1950, runs on the entire avenue, with Kensington service heading north on Flatbush Avenue from the southern end. There were also two now-demolished subway stations on
8475-430: The north–south axis of the avenue. The viaduct was first proposed by New York Central Railroad president William J. Wilgus in 1900 as part of the construction of Grand Central Terminal . Construction on the viaduct's western leg began in 1917, after the terminal had opened, and was completed in 1919. The western leg initially carried two-way traffic, so the eastern leg was completed for northbound traffic in 1928, and
8588-611: The opening of the Erie Canal in 1825, cutting transportation costs by 90% compared to road transport and connecting the Atlantic port to the vast agricultural markets of the Midwestern United States and Canada . Tammany Hall , a Democratic Party political machine , began to grow in influence with the support of many of the immigrant Irish , culminating in the election of the first Tammany mayor, Fernando Wood , in 1854. Covering 840 acres (340 ha) in
8701-673: The plan in December 1925. The next year, work on the New York Central Building's foundations commenced, and the block of Park Avenue between 45th and 46th Streets was closed. The eastern leg along Depew Place was opened in February 1928, and northbound traffic was diverted there. Construction was complete by September of that year, with the completion of the western leg, which had been extended to Park Avenue and 46th Street with an overpass over 45th Street. In November 1928,
8814-848: The population was claimed as members by religious congregations, although members of historically African-American denominations were underrepresented due to incomplete information. In 2014, Manhattan had 703 religious organizations, the seventeenth most out of all US counties. There is a large Buddhist temple in Manhattan located at the foot of the Manhattan Bridge in Chinatown . As of 2015, 60.0% (927,650) of Manhattan residents, aged five and older, spoke only English at home, while 22.63% (350,112) spoke Spanish, 5.37% (83,013) Chinese, 2.21% (34,246) French, 0.85% (13,138) Korean, 0.72% (11,135) Russian, and 0.70% (10,766) Japanese. In total, 40.0% of Manhattan's population, aged five and older, spoke
8927-417: The population, along with visitors, tourists, and commuting students. The commuter influx of 1.61 million workers coming into Manhattan was the largest of any county or city in the country. Vanderbilt Avenue Vanderbilt Avenue is the name of three thoroughfares in the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn , Manhattan , and Staten Island . They were named after Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794–1877),
9040-483: The project's costs increased to $ 5 million, and the cafe's opening date was pushed back by several months. When the Park Avenue Viaduct opened, it was praised as a solution to the traffic congestion around Grand Central Terminal. In 1922, the New-York Tribune called it one of several works of "engineering magic". Christopher Gray , architecture critic at The New York Times , wrote that "the completion of
9153-589: The remainder of the war. British occupation lasted until November 25, 1783, when George Washington returned to Manhattan, a day celebrated as Evacuation Day , marking when the last British forces left the city. From January 11, 1785, until 1789, New York City was the fifth of five capitals of the United States under the Articles of Confederation , with the Continental Congress meeting at New York City Hall (then at Fraunces Tavern ). New York
9266-531: The right to erect a building over Park Avenue, in exchange for the railroad giving Depew Place back to the city so that the eastern leg of the viaduct could be built. By November 1922, Miller and the New York Central reached an agreement to submit a proposal for the viaduct to city authorities, and the Board of Estimate approved the proposal in January 1923. New York Central had made a revised agreement by
9379-589: The shorelines of the borough and the metropolitan area to minimize the risk of destructive consequences from another such event in the future. On October 31, 2017 , a terrorist drove a truck down a bike path alongside the West Side Highway in Lower Manhattan, killing eight. According to the United States Census Bureau , New York County has a total area of 33.6 square miles (87 km ), of which 22.8 square miles (59 km )
9492-432: The sidewalk, prompted the passage of the 1916 Zoning Resolution , requiring new buildings to contain setbacks withdrawing progressively at a defined angle from the street as they rose, in order to preserve a view of the sky at street level. Manhattan's skyline includes several buildings that are symbolic of New York, in particular the Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building , which sees about 4 million visitors
9605-548: The site was used to expand the Manhattan shoreline across West Street, creating Battery Park City . Constructed on piers at a cost of $ 260 million, Little Island opened on the Hudson River in May 2021, connected to the western termini of 13th and 14th Streets by footbridges . Marble Hill was part of the northern tip of Manhattan Island, but the Harlem River Ship Canal , dug in 1895 to better connect
9718-519: The site became the Pershing Square Building , also completed in 1923. The "Pershing Square" name subsequently applied to the service roads of the Park Avenue Viaduct between 40th and 42nd Streets. Soon after the viaduct's opening, traffic at 45th Street and Vanderbilt Avenue started to accumulate, causing gridlock at that intersection, since thirteen lanes of traffic converged there. By 1920, business associations were advocating for
9831-513: The south of 40th Street is the portal of the Park Avenue Tunnel , which carries northbound traffic from 33rd Street directly onto the viaduct. The posted weight limit for the viaduct is 15 short tons (13 long tons; 14 t), and commercial traffic is prohibited. Pedestrian and bicycle traffic is generally also prohibited, except during " Summer Streets ", when Park Avenue is closed to vehicular traffic on selected summer weekends. From
9944-546: The south, and by mid-1917, subway construction had progressed to the extent that work on the viaduct could commence. Bidding for the viaduct's construction was opened in August 1917. At that time, Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue (which ran parallel to Park Avenue) were heavily congested, and the viaduct was expected to alleviate some of that traffic. Construction on the viaduct began in November 1917. However, further progress
10057-497: The south, traffic from Park Avenue, 40th Street, or the Park Avenue Tunnel enters the steel viaduct. The viaduct rises to a T-intersection just north of 42nd Street , over the street-level entrance to Grand Central Terminal below. This segment of the viaduct is 600 feet (180 m) long and consists of a granite approach ramp with stone balustrades , as well as three steel arches, which are separated by granite piers with foliate friezes . The central arch has been infilled to create
10170-472: The southern end of the avenue, between 42nd Street and 43rd Street was converted into a pedestrian plaza that connects Grand Central Terminal with the One Vanderbilt skyscraper. Vanderbilt Avenue runs northeast-southwest through East Shore . It is approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) long and serves the neighborhoods of Clifton , Stapleton Heights , Concord , and Grymes Hill . The northeast end
10283-535: The structure began in October 1963. The loss of Penn Station led directly to the enactment in 1965 of a local law establishing the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission , which is responsible for preserving the "city's historic, aesthetic, and cultural heritage ". The historic preservation movement triggered by Penn Station's demise has been credited with the retention of some one million structures nationwide, including over 1,000 in New York City. In 2017,
10396-577: The three-day-long New York Draft Riots of July 1863, among the worst incidents of civil disorder in American history. The rate of immigration from Europe grew steeply after the Civil War, and Manhattan became the first stop for millions seeking a new life in the United States, a role acknowledged by the dedication of the Statue of Liberty in 1886. This immigration brought further social upheaval. In
10509-695: The two legs, is 40 feet (12 m) wide. The portion of the viaduct immediately surrounding the terminal's building has a masonry balustrade with an additional metal guardrail. There is a cast-iron eagle atop the balustrade where the western leg curves onto the connecting roadway above 42nd Street. A sidewalk, accessible from the Grand Hyatt hotel, runs along the section of the viaduct that is parallel to 42nd Street. The street-level service roads of Park Avenue between 40th and 42nd Streets are called Pershing Square . The service roads between 41st and 42nd Streets are open only to bicycles and pedestrians. The square
10622-411: The viaduct between 40th and 42nd Streets. Informational notes Citations Sources Manhattan Manhattan ( / m æ n ˈ h æ t ən , m ə n -/ man- HAT -ən, mən- ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City . Coextensive with New York County , Manhattan is the smallest county by geographical area in
10735-579: The viaduct could not be built yet because the Interborough Rapid Transit Company , one of the operators of the city's subway system , had not even decided whether to build the Grand Central–42nd Street station under the viaduct's site. The IRT ultimately decided to build the station diagonally under 42nd Street, connecting its new Lexington Avenue Line to the north with the existing subway under Park Avenue to
10848-453: The viaduct splits into two legs. A statue of Cornelius Vanderbilt , longtime owner of New York Central, is at the T-intersection. The legs of the viaduct surround the terminal building and the MetLife Building to the north before passing through a pair of portals under the Helmsley Building between 45th and 46th Streets. Northbound traffic uses the eastern leg, which runs above a private road called Depew Place, while southbound traffic uses
10961-465: The viaduct suddenly changed Park Avenue from an inconvenient local street to the most modern highway in New York." The building's design in relation to Grand Central Terminal was also lauded. Architecture magazine said that the design "has produced a beautiful and satisfying work of truly monumental character." The Park Avenue Viaduct was designated a New York City landmark in 1980. In its report,
11074-522: The viaduct was announced, which involved repairing trusses as well as installing drainage and a nonskid deck. The former tourist-information center had become an unemployment office by the 1980s. The viaduct had also become dilapidated, with potholes, leaks, and rusted steel supports, so the city government undertook the first major renovations in the viaduct's history. The southbound roadway was closed in July 1984, reopening that November. The northbound roadway
11187-479: The viaduct. The structure, located at 90 East 42nd Street, opened in December 1939 and was initially used to provide tourist information. During World War II , the space was used by United Service Organizations , and after the war, became an outpost of the New York Convention and Visitors Bureau. By 1960, leaks from the viaduct had damaged the information center. That year, a reconstruction project for
11300-446: The western leg was reconfigured to carry southbound traffic only. An information booth was established in 1939 beneath the viaduct, and the city renovated the viaduct in the early 1990s. The viaduct is used by automobile traffic between 40th Street to the south and 46th Street to the north. It is composed of two sections: the steel viaduct between 40th and 42nd Streets, and the pair of roadways between 42nd and 46th Streets. Immediately to
11413-565: The western leg, which runs above the eastern sidewalk of Vanderbilt Avenue . Both roadways pass above 45th Street without intersection. The roadways then take sharp S-curves into the Helmsley Building, where they descend into triple-story arches that exit onto 46th Street. The western leg is 35 feet (11 m) wide; the eastern leg is 33 feet (10 m) wide between 42nd and 44th Streets, widening to 53 feet (16 m) north of 44th Street. The roadway above 42nd Street, which connects
11526-473: The world's financial center , with Wall Street employment doubling from 1977 to 1987. The 1980s also saw Manhattan at the heart of the AIDS crisis , with Greenwich Village at its epicenter. In the 1970s, Times Square and 42nd Street – with its sex shops , peep shows , and adult theaters, along with its sex trade , street crime, and public drug use – became emblematic of the city's decline, with
11639-531: The world's largest natural harbors , the borough is bounded by the Hudson , East , and Harlem rivers and includes several small adjacent islands , including Roosevelt , U Thant , and Randalls and Wards Islands . It also includes the small neighborhood of Marble Hill now on the U.S. mainland . Manhattan Island is divided into three informally bounded components, each cutting across the borough's long axis: Lower Manhattan, Midtown , and Upper Manhattan. Manhattan
11752-513: The world's top 10 most-visited tourist attractions: Times Square , Central Park , and Grand Central Terminal . Penn Station is the busiest transportation hub in the Western Hemisphere . Chinatown incorporates the highest concentration of Chinese people in the Western Hemisphere. Fifth Avenue is the most expensive shopping street in the world. The borough hosts many prominent bridges , tunnels , and skyscrapers including
11865-614: The world's two largest stock exchanges by total market capitalization , the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq . Many multinational media conglomerates are based in Manhattan, as are numerous colleges and universities, such as Columbia University and New York University . The headquarters of the United Nations is located in the Turtle Bay neighborhood of Midtown Manhattan. Manhattan hosts three of
11978-537: The world." By the 1990s, crime rates began to drop dramatically and the city once again became the destination of immigrants from around the world, joining with low interest rates and Wall Street bonus payments to fuel the growth of the real estate market. Important new sectors, such as Silicon Alley , emerged in the Flatiron District , cementing technology as a key component of Manhattan's economy. The 1993 World Trade Center bombing , described by
12091-646: Was established as one of the five boroughs of New York City . The Bronx remained part of New York County until 1914, when Bronx County was established. The construction of the New York City Subway , which opened in 1904, helped bind the new city together, as did the completion of the Williamsburg Bridge (1903) and Manhattan Bridge (1909) connecting to Brooklyn and the Queensboro Bridge (1909) connecting to Queens. In
12204-399: Was hindered due to the difficulty in securing ornamental steel during World War I . Work resumed in July 1918 when an order for the necessary steel was placed, and builders began erecting the masonry foundation and wall. The viaduct opened on April 16, 1919; the project had cost $ 768,032, including related infrastructure projects, such as the opening of 41st Street and the relocation of both of
12317-439: Was opened in January 2021. Parkland covers a total of 2,659 acres (10.76 km ), accounting for 18.2% of the borough's land area; the 840-acre (3.4 km ) Central Park is the borough's largest park, comprising 31.6% of Manhattan's parkland. Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux , the park is anchored by the 12-acre (4.9 ha) Great Lawn and offers extensive walking tracks , two ice-skating rinks,
12430-511: Was originally part of Lenape territory. European settlement began with the establishment of a trading post by Dutch colonists in 1624 on southern Manhattan Island; the post was named New Amsterdam in 1626. The territory and its surroundings came under English control in 1664 and were renamed New York after King Charles II of England granted the lands to his brother, the Duke of York . New York, based in present-day Lower Manhattan , served as
12543-721: Was the first capital under the newly enacted Constitution of the United States , from March 4, 1789, to August 12, 1790, at Federal Hall . Federal Hall was where the United States Supreme Court met for the first time, the United States Bill of Rights were drafted and ratified, and where the Northwest Ordinance was adopted, establishing measures for admission to the Union of new states. New York grew as an economic center, first as
12656-478: Was then closed from May 1985 to September 1985. The viaduct's original lamps were removed in a 1986 repaving project. An $ 8 million restoration of the viaduct was announced three years later. As part of the renovation, the Grand Central Partnership would turn the space between 41st and 42nd Streets into a restaurant. Seven of the original lamps were also restored in 1992. In 1995, the city and
12769-565: Was used by baggage and mail vans, and provided parking space and an entrance to the Commodore Hotel. The driveway served the Grand Central post office at 450 Lexington Avenue , as well as a since-demolished baggage building north of the terminal. Shortly after the viaduct's opening, the area at the bottom of the viaduct was renamed Pershing Square in 1919 to honor World War I General John J. Pershing . The lot immediately to
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