New York and Washington

New York is the largest city in the USA and an industrial port (printing, publishing, clothing). It lies on the east coast at the mouth of the Hudson and East Rivers and covers an area of 780 square kilometres. The population of New York is about 18 million. Out of these about 43 per cent are white, 25 per cent black and 24 per cent Hispanic. New York has five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island (Richmond). It is one of the most important financial, commercial and cultural centres in the world.

New York was a city of immigrants. During the 18th century the city grew to such an extent that it was necessary to plan its further development. In American cities the streets are often numbered and do not have names. It is easy to find one’s way around New York. In New York City, avenues go from north to south, streets from east to west. The only exception in this plan of streets and avenues is Broadway, which runs almost diagonally from the south to the north, and it is the centre of the famous theatre district. Only the oldest streets have names e.g. Wall Street, home of the NY Stock Exchange.
Manhattan is famous for its skyline. Some of its skyscrapers are among the highest in the world. The skyscrapers started to be built because of the lack of space and the high price of land in the city centres. A skyscraper is a small city itself, for it offers residential quarters, office spaces, parking lots, restaurants, shopping, cultural and sports facilities. Skyscrapers have a steel frame, which carries the building’s weight. It makes them strong enough to resist high winds and even earthquakes. They are designed by computers. Many skyscrapers were built by Indians, because Indians are not afraid of working at great heights.

Places of General Interest
Liberty Island with the Statue of Liberty together with Manhattan skyline are the first sights to attract the visitor’s eyes when approaching New York from the sea. But probably the best known feature in Manhattan was the World Trade Center, a complex of seven buildings grouped around a vast Plaza, dominated by the 110 – story twin towers. They were the highest in the world after the Sears Tower in Chicago. In 2001 they were destroyed by planes.

Probably the most famous building of NY is the Empire State Building, built in 1931 and it surpassed the Chrysler Building and became the highest in the world until the construction of the WTC (1973) and Sears Tower in Chicago (1974) .The Chrysler Building is the seat of the Chrysler automobile company.
St. Paul’s Chapel is the oldest church in NY and was built in 1766. Times Square is a place where people still come to welcome in the New Year.
Rockefeller Center is currently home to a number of various businesses. Central Park is the largest of all New York’s parks. NY has always been closely involved with the world of sports. There are two most famous stadiums: Yankee and Shea. Madison Square Garden, the most famous sports centre in NY, is the home to the Knicks [baseball] and the Rangers [ice hockey].

Flushing Meadows Park is world known for its tennis championships. NY has 4 airports, including the largest, J.F.K. It also has the largest subway system in the world and one of the most dangerous New York is also known as the „Melting Pot „ because of its cosmopolitan society. More than 80 languages are now spoken there. Spanish is the second most common language after English.

Washington
Washington, D.C., is not in Washington State. The state of Washington is on the west coast, while the city of Washington D.C. is on the east coast, on Potomac River. D.C. stands for the District of Columbia. It is the seat of the federal government of the United State and the national capital of the USA.
Washington is a planned city, which means it was designed by an architect. D.C. is a square, ten miles on each side, with the corners exactly north- south and east – west. Streets running north – south are numbered and those running east – west are lettered. The cupola of the U.S. Capitol is in the centre of the square.

Places to visit in Washington include:
The Capitol – the seat of the American government. It has two parts – the Senate and the House of Representatives. Between them is a cupola.
White House – home to every president and his family since 1800. It burned down in 1814 and was rebuilt. Five rooms are opened to the public.
The President’s office is known as the Oval Office.
Pentagon – this five – sided building contains the U.S. Department of Defence.

Smithsonian Institute – a large museum of science and technology and natural history. Library of Congress – the building, which contains the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.
Space Museum – a museum that contains the first airplane, built by the Wright Brothers, a life – size model of the rocket, which went to the moon as well as moon rocks. A film of the moon landing is shown on a five – story screen.