Great Cities of the United States. Stephen Elliott Kramer
the Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776, George Washington and his army were in New York, guarding the city from the English. But before the close of the year he was forced to retreat, and the English took possession. By the close of the Revolution, in 1783, the English had robbed the city of much of its wealth and had ruined its business.
THE FIRST TRAIN IN NEW YORK STATE
After the war the thirteen states who had won their freedom from England joined together, drew up a constitution for their common government, and chose their first president. Then came the thirtieth of April, 1789. The streets were crowded, and a great throng packed the space before New York's Federal Hall. This was Inauguration Day, and on the balcony stood General Washington taking the oath of office. It was a solemn moment. The ceremony over, a mighty shout arose—“Long live George Washington, president of the United States.” Cheers filled the air, bells pealed, and cannons roared. The new government had begun, and, for a time, New York was the capital city.
Already New York was recovering from the effects of the war. Her trade with European ports had begun again, and it was no uncommon sight to see over one hundred vessels loading or unloading in her harbor at one time.
New York harbor is one of the largest and best in the world. Add to this the city's central location on the Atlantic seaboard, and it is no wonder that a vast coasting trade grew up with Eastern and Southern ports.
Without doubt, however, the greatest business event in the history of New York City was the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825. The canal joined the Great Lakes with the Hudson River, making a water route from the rich Northwest to the Atlantic, with New York as the natural terminus. So with nearly all of the trade of the lake region at her command, New York soon became a great commercial center, outstripping both Boston and Philadelphia, which up to this time had ranked ahead of New York.
A few years later the building of railroads began. The first railway from New York was begun in 1831, and it was not long before the city was the terminus of several lines and the chief railroad center of the Atlantic coast. As the railroads did more and more of the carrying, and the Erie Canal lost its former importance, New York did not suffer from the change, but still controlled much of the trade between the Northwest and European nations. Besides, as time went on, she built up an immense traffic with all parts of the continent, being easily reached by rail from the north, east, south, and west.
THE BOROUGHS OF NEW YORK—ENTRANCES TO HER HARBOR
The first half of the nineteenth century saw the arrival of many thousand immigrants from Europe. These, with the thousands of people who came from other parts of America, attracted by the city's growing industries, made more and more room necessary. First, about 13,000 acres across the Harlem River were added to the city. Then, in 1895, the city limits were extended to the borders of Yonkers and Mt. Vernon. And finally, in 1898, New York, Brooklyn, Long Island City, and some other near-by towns were united under one government, forming together Greater New York, the largest American city and the second largest city in the world.
New York to-day covers about 360 square miles, its greatest length from north to south being 32 miles, its greatest width about 16. The city is divided into five boroughs: Manhattan, The Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Richmond. The Borough of Manhattan, on the long narrow island of that name, lies between the Hudson and the East River. North and east of Manhattan, on the mainland, lies the Borough of The Bronx. Just across the narrow East River, on Long Island, are the boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn; while Staten Island is known as the Borough of Richmond.
NEW YORK SKYSCRAPERS
HOW A SKYSCRAPER IS MADE
As more and more people came to the city the business area on Manhattan proved too small, and with water to the east, to the west, and to the south, there was no possibility of spreading out in these directions. Yet business kept increasing, and the cry for added room became more and more urgent. Finally, the building of the ten-story Tower Building in 1889 solved the difficulty. It showed that, though hemmed in on all sides, there was still one direction in which the business section could grow—upwards. And upwards it has grown. To-day lower Manhattan fairly bristles with huge steel-framed skyscrapers which furnish miles and miles of office space, twenty, thirty, forty, in one case even fifty-five, stories above the street level. The supplying of office and factory space is not the only use that has been made of these steel buildings. Great apartment houses from twelve to fifteen stories high provide homes for thousands. Mammoth hotels covering entire city blocks furnish temporary homes for the multitudes which visit the city each year. Fifteen of the largest of these can house more than 15,000 guests at one time—a good-sized city in itself. Thus has Manhattan become one of the most densely populated areas on the globe. In the boroughs of Queens and Richmond, on the other hand, large tracts of land are given over to farms and market gardens.
Manhattan is at once the smallest and the most important borough in the city. Here are the homes of more than 2,000,000 people, the business section of Greater New York, and the chief shipping districts.
A MAMMOTH HOTEL
When building the narrow irregular streets of their little town on lower Manhattan, the inhabitants of New Amsterdam little dreamed that they would one day be the scene of the enormous traffic of modern New York. Those old, narrow, winding streets to-day swarm with hurrying throngs from morning till night and are among the busiest and noisiest in the world.
The newer part of the city from Fourteenth Street north to the Harlem River has been laid out in wide parallel avenues running north and south. These are crossed by numbered streets running east and west from river to river. Fifth Avenue runs lengthwise through the middle of the borough, dividing it into the East and West sides. On the East Side you will find the crowded homes of the poorer classes, where many of the working people of Manhattan live. On the West Side are many manufacturing plants, lumber yards, and warehouses. On the upper stretch of Fifth Avenue, and on the streets leading off, are the homes of many of New York's wealthiest residents. Opposite Central Park are some of the most costly and beautiful mansions in the city.
In this regular arrangement of streets, Broadway alone is the exception to the rule. Beginning at the southern end of the island, it runs straight north for more than two miles, then turns west and winds its way throughout the whole length of the city. About its lower end, and on some of the neighboring streets, center the banking and financial interests. Here are many of the city's richest banks and trust companies.
FIFTH AVENUE FROM THIRTY-FOURTH STREET
BROADWAY CROSSING SIXTH AVENUE
Wall Street, running east from Broadway about one third of a mile from the southern end of Manhattan, was named from the wall which the Dutch, in 1683, built across the island at this point, because they heard that the English were planning to attack them from the north. Though only half a mile in length, Wall Street probably surpasses all others in the extent of its business.
WALL STREET
North of the banking center is the great wholesale region, where merchants from all parts of the country buy their stock in large