With an estimated population in 2022 of 8,335,897 distributed over 300.46 square miles (778.2 km2), the city is the most densely populated major city in the United States. New York has more than double the population of Los Angeles, the nation's second-most populous city. New York is the geographical and demographic center of both the Northeast megalopolis and the New York metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area in the U.S. by both population and urban area. With more than 20.1 million people in its metropolitan statistical area and 23.5 million in its combined statistical area as of 2020, New York City is one of the world's most populous megacities. The city and its metropolitan area are the premier gateway for legal immigration to the United States. As many as 800 languages are spoken in New York, making it the most linguistically diverse city in the world. In 2021, the city was home to nearly 3.1 million residents born outside the U.S., the largest foreign-born population of any city in the world. (Full article...)
The 79th Street station was constructed for the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) as part of the city's first subway line, which was approved in 1900. Construction of the line segment that includes the 79th Street station began on August 22 of the same year. The station opened on October 27, 1904, as one of the original 28 stations of the New York City Subway. The station's platforms have been lengthened since opening.
The 79th Street station contains two side platforms and four tracks; express trains use the inner two tracks to bypass the station. The station was built with tile and mosaic decorations, although most of the original design has been replaced with a cinder block design. The platforms contain exits to 79th Street and Broadway and are not connected to each other within fare control. The remaining portion of the original station interior is a New York City designated landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. (Full article...)
The building largely contains a facade of white brick, interspersed with horizontal strips of aluminum windows. The lowest two stories contain a main entrance on Madison Avenue as well as several glass-and-metal storefronts. The three sides are connected by curved walls. The exterior includes several setbacks to comply with the 1916 Zoning Resolution. Each of the building's stories contain an average floor area of 19,500 square feet (1,810 m2), a feature intended to maximize usable office space.
In 1912, the city, urged on by social journalist Jacob Riis, acquired the land for a park initially called Seaside Park and later Telawana Park. In 1914, the park was renamed for Riis. During World War I, the site was used as the Rockaway Naval Air Station, one of the first naval air stations in the United States and, in 1919, the launching point for the first transatlantic flight. The Art Deco-style bathhouse was built in 1932, but much of the park's infrastructure and approaches were built between 1936 and 1937 by New York City Parks Commissioner Robert Moses, who envisioned it as a getaway for New York City residents, like Jones Beach State Park further east on Long Island. The park was built along with the Marine Parkway Bridge and the Belt Parkway in nearby Brooklyn, which provided access to the park.
After a period of decline, Jacob Riis Park was transferred in 1974 to the control of the National Park Service. The Jacob Riis Park Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981. The Neponsit Beach Hospital, which occupies part of the park's site, was razed in 2023. In addition to the bathhouse, the park contains a north–south central mall; a boardwalk to the north of the beach; a large parking lot; an 18-hole golf course; and several sporting fields. The beaches at Jacob Riis Park, on the south side of the Rockaway peninsula, consists of 14 bays on the Atlantic coast. (Full article...)
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81 Willoughby Street (formerly the New York and New Jersey Telephone and Telegraph Building) is a commercial building in the Downtown Brooklyn neighborhood of New York City. Built from 1896 to 1898 as the headquarters for the New York and New Jersey Telephone and Telegraph Company (later the New York Telephone Company), it is located at the northeast corner of Willoughby and Lawrence Streets. The building is eight stories tall and was designed by Rudolphe L. Daus in a mixture of the Beaux-Arts and Renaissance Revival styles.
The facade is largely clad with limestone on its bottom four stories, as well as brick and terracotta on its top four stories. The Willoughby and Lawrence Street elevations are each divided vertically into three bays and are highly similar in design. The main entrance is through an ornamental arch on Willoughby Street, at the southeast corner of the building. The remainder of the building contains ornamental details such as a curved corner with an oculus window, as well as a deep cornice on the upper stories. The building measures eight stories high with a basement and was largely constructed with a steel frame. When the building was constructed, the entire structure contained various departments, with a telephone exchange on the top floor.
The New York and New Jersey Telephone Company constructed 81 Willoughby Street in 1896 in response to increased business. Plans for the new structure were filed in May 1896, and the building was occupied by early 1898. The company's business grew so rapidly that it moved some operations to another building in 1904 and constructed a six-story annex at 360 Bridge Street between 1922 and 1923. New York Telephone acquired 81 Willoughby Street in 1929 and retained central office equipment there after a new telephone building opened in 1931 at 101 Willoughby Street. In 1943, the company sold off the building, which has remained a commercial structure ever since, accommodating offices, laboratories, and educational institutions. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the building as a city landmark in 2004. (Full article...)
The house is a six-story stone building in the French Renaissance Revival style. The first floor has arched openings topped by a balustrade, while the second and third stories contain fluted pilasters supporting an entablature. The fourth and fifth floors were added in the late 1930s in an imitation of the original design, and a balustrade runs above the fifth story. The adjoining townhouse at 645 Fifth Avenue, demolished in 1944, had been built in a similar style. The entire building is taken up by a store for fashion company Versace, which also built a sixth-story fitting room.
The southeast corner of Fifth Avenue and 52nd Street was planned as a hotel in the early 1900s after the Roman Catholic Asylum vacated the site. After the Vanderbilts blocked the development of the hotel, the southern portion of the site was developed as the Marble Twins, while the northern portion became the Morton F. Plant House (now the Cartier Building). Number 647 was altered for commercial use after 1916 and contained an art gallery and airline ticket agent, among other tenants. Number 645 was largely residential until it was torn down. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated 647 Fifth Avenue as a city landmark in 1977, and it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 along with the Cartier Building. In the late 1990s, Versace remodeled 647 Fifth Avenue. (Full article...)
The Woolworth Building is bounded by Broadway and City Hall Park to its east, Park Place to its north, and Barclay Street to its south. It consists of a 30-story base topped by a 30-story tower. Its facade is mostly decorated with architectural terracotta, though the lower portions are limestone, and it features thousands of windows. The ornate lobby contains various sculptures, mosaics, and architectural touches. The structure was designed with several amenities and attractions, including a now-closed observatory on the 57th floor and a private swimming pool in the basement.
F. W. Woolworth, the founder of a brand of popular five-and-ten-cent stores, conceived the skyscraper as a headquarters for his company. Woolworth planned the skyscraper jointly with the Irving National Exchange Bank, which also agreed to use the structure as its headquarters. The Woolworth Building had originally been planned as a 12- to 16-story commercial building but underwent several revisions during its planning process. Its final height was not decided upon until January 1911. Construction started in 1910 and was completed two years later. The building officially opened on April 24, 1913. (Full article...)
The mansion was designed in the Châteauesque style by C. P. H. Gilbert and retains its original façade, characterized by French Gothic details around the windows and on the roofline. In 1993, Kevin Roche constructed an annex to the house in Gilbert's style built with stone from the same quarry that supplied the original mansion, replacing an extension built in 1963. The interior of the Warburg House, wholly occupied by the Jewish Museum, has a total floor space of 82,000 square feet (7,600 m2). Critical reviews of the original house's architecture have generally been positive while the extensions, from 1963 and 1993, have mixed receptions. (Full article...)
The Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line station was built for the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) and was a local station on the city's first subway line, which was approved in 1900. The station opened on October 27, 1904, as one of the original 28 stations of the New York City Subway. The Eighth Avenue Line station was built as an express station for the Independent Subway System (IND) and opened on September 10, 1932, as part of the IND's first segment. The complex was renovated in the 2000s, following unsuccessful attempts to raise money for such a restoration during the late 20th century.
Smalls Paradise. Founder Ed Smalls is seen at upper right.
Smalls Paradise (often called Small's Paradise and Smalls' Paradise), was a nightclub in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Located in the basement of 2294 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard at 134th Street, it opened in 1925 and was owned by Ed Smalls (né Edwin Alexander Smalls; 1882–1976). At the time of the Harlem Renaissance, Smalls Paradise was the only one of the well-known Harlem night clubs to be owned by an African-American and integrated. Other major Harlem night clubs admitted only white patrons unless the person was an African-American celebrity.
The entertainment at Smalls Paradise was not limited to the stage; waiters danced the Charleston or roller-skated as they delivered orders to customers. Waiters were also known to vocalize during the club's floor shows. Unlike most of the Harlem clubs which closed between 3 and 4am, Smalls was open all night, offering a breakfast dance which featured a full floor show beginning at 6am.
After 23 years as the owner of the night club, Ed Smalls sold the club to Tommy Smalls (no relation) in 1955. It was later owned by Harlem businessman Pete McDougal and Wilt Chamberlain, and renamed Big Wilt's Smalls Paradise. Many well known musicians, both white and African-American, appeared at the club over the years and often came to Smalls after their evening engagements to jam with the Smalls Paradise band. The club was responsible for promoting popular dances such as the Charleston, the Madison and the Twist. Smalls Paradise was the longest-operating club in Harlem before it closed in 1986. The building has been the site of the Thurgood Marshall Academy for Learning and Social Change since 2004. (Full article...)
Producer David De Silva conceived the premise in 1976, partially inspired by the musical A Chorus Line. He commissioned playwright Gore to write the script, originally titled Hot Lunch, before selling it to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). After he was hired to direct the film, Parker rewrote the script with Gore, aiming for a darker and more dramatic tone. The script's subject matter received criticism by the New York Board of Education, which prevented the production from filming in the actual High School of Performing Arts. The film was shot on location in New York City, with principal photography beginning in July 1979 and concluding after 91 days. Parker encountered a difficult filming process, which included conflicts with U.S. labor unions over various aspects of the film's production.
Fame received a limited release beginning at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City on May 12, 1980, and had a wide release in the United States on June 20, by United Artists. The film grossed over $42 million worldwide against a production budget of $8.5 million. It initially received a mixed response from reviewers who praised the music, but criticized the dramatic tone, pacing and direction although the film has been reappraised over the years. The film received several awards and nominations, including two Academy Awards for Best Original Song ("Fame") and Best Original Score, and a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song ("Fame"). Its success spawned a media franchise encompassing several television series, a stage musical, and a remake released in 2009. (Full article...)
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The terminal's head house in 2010
The TWA Flight Center, also known as the Trans World Flight Center, is an airport terminal and hotel complex at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York City. The original terminal building, or head house, operated as a terminal from 1962 to 2001 and was adaptively repurposed in 2017 as part of the TWA Hotel. The head house is partially encircled by a replacement terminal building completed in 2008, and flanked by two buildings added for the hotel. The replacement terminal is home to JetBlue's JFK operations. The head house and terminal are collectively known as Terminal 5 or T5.
The TWA Flight Center was designed for Trans World Airlines by Eero Saarinen and Associates starting in 1956. It was erected between 1959 and 1962, and it operated as an air terminal until 2001. It has a prominent wing-shaped thin shell roof supported by four Y-shaped piers. An open three-level space with tall windows originally offered views of departing and arriving jets. Two tube-shaped red-carpeted departure-arrival corridors extended outward from the terminal, connecting to the gates; these would be demolished for the 2008 addition. Roche-Dinkeloo, a successor firm to Saarinen's company, designed an expansion in 1970. Its design received much critical acclaim; the interior and the exterior of the head house became New York City designated landmarks in 1994, and it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.
The encircling Terminal 5 addition, designed by Gensler, was built between 2005 and 2008. It consists of the 26 active gates at Terminal 5, as well as numerous restaurants and stores. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ), which operates JFK Airport, had once intended the original structure as an entrance to the replacement terminal. That plan did not happen, and the TWA Hotel was instead constructed between 2015 and 2019; its development entailed renovating the disused head house and adding two adjacent buildings. (Full article...)
The 38-story building is designed in the Art Deco style, with Middle Eastern influences, and contains numerous setbacks as mandated by the 1916 Zoning Resolution. The facade is mostly designed with brick walls and limestone trim. The base of the facade is ornamented with two bronze entrances and multiple mythological figures, while the top contains a "tower" with Mesopotamian style bas-reliefs and faience tiles. Other multicolored details such as ornamental friezes ornament the facade. The Middle Eastern design motifs are also used in the lobby, which contains a polychrome vaulted ceiling.
The Fred F. French Building has approximately 430,000 square feet (40,000 m2) for rent and is owned by The Feil Organization. It was the tallest building on Fifth Avenue as well as one of the most desired addresses on the avenue upon its completion. By the 1990s, it underwent a complete restoration, subsequently earning the Building Owners and Managers Association 1994/1995 Historic Building of the Year Award. The Fred F. French Building and its interior became New York City designated landmarks in 1986, and the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004. (Full article...)
The building's facade is made of limestone on the lower stories and gray brick on the upper stories, capped by a copper cornice. The structure contains a chamfered corner at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 38th Street, and it wraps around another building at Fifth Avenue and 39th Street. The store had multiple entrances, including a barrel-vaulted arch on Fifth Avenue The building was designed with several features that enabled the store to function efficiently, such as delivery ramps and movable window displays on elevators. The above-ground floors were connected via various elevators and stairs; there were no retail areas on the tenth floor.
The building was constructed from 1913 to 1914 and served as Lord & Taylor's flagship store for over a hundred years. It was described as the first "frankly commercial" structure on Fifth Avenue north of 34th Street, and it replaced several of the company's previous headquarters. During the building's operation as Lord & Taylor's flagship store, it was renovated several times, and by the late 20th century, the store had expanded into an adjacent building. The Lord & Taylor Building was designated a city landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission on October 30, 2007. The building was mostly sold in a joint venture to workspace company WeWork in 2019. Amazon acquired the building in 2020, and opened an office there in mid-2023. (Full article...)
The Potter Building employed the most advanced fireproofing methods that were available when the building was erected between 1883 and 1886. These features included rolled iron beams, cast iron columns, brick exterior walls, tile arches, and terracotta. The Potter Building was also one of the first iron-framed buildings, and among the first to have a C-shaped floor plan, with an exterior light courtyard facing Beekman Street. The original design remains largely intact.
The building replaced a former headquarters of the New York World, which was built in 1857 and burned down in February 1882. It was named for its developer, the politician and real estate developer Orlando B. Potter. The Potter Building originally served as an office building with many tenants from the media and from legal professions. It was converted into apartments from 1979 to 1981. The Potter Building was designated a New York City landmark in 1996 and is also a contributing property to the Fulton–Nassau Historic District, a National Register of Historic Places district created in 2005. (Full article...)
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The Hudson River Watershed, including the Hudson and Mohawk rivers
The Hudson River is a 315-mile (507 km) river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York, United States. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York at Henderson Lake in the town of Newcomb, and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between New York City and Jersey City, eventually draining into the Atlantic Ocean at Upper New York Bay. The river serves as a physical boundary between the states of New Jersey and New York at its southern end. Farther north, it marks local boundaries between several New York counties. The lower half of the river is a tidal estuary, deeper than the body of water into which it flows, occupying the Hudson Fjord, an inlet that formed during the most recent period of North American glaciation, estimated at 26,000 to 13,300 years ago. Even as far north as the city of Troy, the flow of the river changes direction with the tides.
The Hudson River runs through the Munsee, Lenape, Mohican, Mohawk, and Haudenosaunee homelands. Prior to European exploration, the river was known as the Mahicannittuk by the Mohicans, Ka'nón:no by the Mohawks, and Muhheakantuck by the Lenape. The river was subsequently named after Henry Hudson, an Englishman sailing for the Dutch East India Company who explored it in 1609, and after whom Hudson Bay in Canada is also named. It had previously been observed by Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano sailing for King Francis I of France in 1524, as he became the first European known to have entered the Upper New York Bay, but he considered the river to be an estuary. The Dutch called the river the North River, and they called the present-day Delaware River the South River, which formed the spine of the Dutch colony of New Netherland. Settlements of the colony clustered around the Hudson, and its strategic importance as the gateway to the American interior led to years of competition between the English and the Dutch over control of the river and colony.
During the 18th century, the river valley and its inhabitants were the subject and inspiration of Washington Irving, the first internationally acclaimed American author. In the nineteenth century, the area inspired the Hudson River School of landscape painting, an American pastoral style, as well as the concepts of environmentalism and wilderness. The Hudson River was also the eastern outlet for the Erie Canal, which, when completed in 1825, became an important transportation artery for the early 19th century United States. (Full article...)
The Lexington Avenue Line platforms were built for the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) as an express station on the city's first subway line, which was approved in 1900. The station opened on October 27, 1904, as one of the original 28 stations of the New York City Subway. As part of the Dual Contracts, the Broadway Line platforms opened in 1917 and the Canarsie Line platform opened in 1924. Several modifications have been made to the stations over the years, and they were combined on July 1, 1948. The complex was renovated in the 1990s and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.
The Lexington Avenue Line station has two abandoned side platforms, two island platforms, and four tracks, while the parallel Broadway Line station has two island platforms and four tracks. The Canarsie Line station, crossing under both of the other stations, has one island platform and two tracks. Numerous elevators make most of the complex, except for the Lexington Avenue Line station, compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). In 2019, over 32 million passengers entered this station, making it the fourth-busiest station in the system. (Full article...)
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The outer lobby of the old Embassy Theater, now a store entrance
Within the former theater, an entrance vestibule connects to an outer lobby with marble trim and a coved ceiling. The inner lobby, decorated with woodwork and mirrors, was originally used to sell tickets; it was designed in a similar manner to the outer lobby. The auditorium originally had 598 seats, which were arranged on a single raked floor, facing a proscenium arch with a movie screen. The side walls of the auditorium contain piers with lighting fixtures, behind which are murals by Arthur Crisp. The ceiling contains plasterwork decoration and lighting fixtures by the Rambusch Decorating Company, including a central recessed dome. These design details remain intact except for the removal of the original seats and movie screen.
The theater opened on August 26, 1925, and was originally operated by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Its first manager, Gloria Gould, staffed the theater almost exclusively with young women. After Guild Enterprises began operating the Embassy in 1929, the theater became the first newsreel theater in the United States. The decline of the newsreel format forced the Embassy to revert to showing films in 1949. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the theater as an interior landmark in 1987, and the Embassy showed its last film in 1998. The Times Square Business Improvement District renovated the theater into a visitor center, which operated from 1998 to 2014. Following another renovation, the Embassy reopened in 2019 as a store themed to soccer star Pelé. (Full article...)
Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj, is a Trinidadian-born rapper and singer based in the United States. Often referred to as the "Queen of Rap", she is known for her musical versatility, animated rap flow, and alter egos. She first gained recognition after releasing three mixtapes between 2007 and 2009.
The Bronx is divided by the Bronx River into a hillier section in the west, and a flatter eastern section. East and west street names are divided by Jerome Avenue. The West Bronx was annexed to New York City in 1874, and the areas east of the Bronx River in 1895. Bronx County was separated from New York County (modern-day Manhattan) in 1914. About a quarter of the Bronx's area is open space, including Woodlawn Cemetery, Van Cortlandt Park, Pelham Bay Park, the New York Botanical Garden, and the Bronx Zoo in the borough's north and center. The Thain Family Forest at the New York Botanical Garden is thousands of years old and is New York City's largest remaining tract of the original forest that once covered the city. These open spaces are primarily on land reserved in the late 19th century as urban development progressed north and east from Manhattan. (Full article...)
Named after the Dutch town of Breukelen in the Netherlands, Brooklyn shares a border with the borough of Queens. It has several bridge and tunnel connections to the borough of Manhattan, across the East River, and is connected to Staten Island by way of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge. With a land area of 69.38 square miles (179.7 km2) and a water area of 27.48 square miles (71.2 km2), Kings County is the state of New York's fourth-smallest county by land area and third smallest by total area. (Full article...)
Staten Island (/ˈstætən/STAT-ən) is the southernmost borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southern most point of New York. The borough is separated from the adjacent state of New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull and from the rest of New York by New York Bay. With a population of 495,747 in the 2020 Census, Staten Island is the least populated New York City borough but the third largest in land area at 58.5 sq mi (152 km2); it is also the least densely populated and most suburban borough in the city.
A home to the Lenape indigenous people, the island was settled by Dutch colonists in the 17th century. It was one of the 12 original counties of New York state. Staten Island was consolidated with New York City in 1898. It was formerly known as the Borough of Richmond until 1975, when its name was changed to Borough of Staten Island. Staten Island has sometimes been called "the forgotten borough" by inhabitants who feel neglected by the city government. It has also been referred to as the "borough of parks" due to its 12,300 acres of protected parkland and over 170 parks. (Full article...)
With a population of 2,405,464 as of the 2020 census, Queens is the second-most populous county in New York state, behind Kings County (Brooklyn), and is therefore also the second-most populous of the five New York City boroughs. If Queens were its own city, it would be the fourth most-populous in the U.S. after New York City itself, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Queens is the fourth-most densely populated borough in New York City and the fourth-most densely populated U.S. county. About 47% of its residents are foreign-born. Queens is the most linguistically and ethnically diverse place on Earth. (Full article...)
Image 5Anderson Avenue garbage strike. A common scene throughout New York City in 1968 during a sanitation workers strike (from History of New York City (1946–1977))
Image 29The Sunday magazine of the New York World appealed to immigrants with this April 29, 1906 cover page celebrating their arrival at Ellis Island. (from History of New York City (1898–1945))
... that Lucy Feagin founded the Feagin School of Dramatic Art in New York City, where talent scouts for radio, screen, and stage were always present to watch her senior students' plays?
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