New York
New York
INTRODUCTION
New York is the largest city and port in the north-east
of the USA. It’s washed by 2 rivers: Hudson River and East River. There live about 18 million people. Many people
call New York ,,the city that never sleeps’’ because it’s alive all day and night. New York is centre of culture, business, hotels,
theater, cinemas…it’s one of the busiest city. 80 languages are spoken here, but most frequent here are English and Spanish. There are live many
kind of people ( black people, Hispanic origin, white people ) - so we call it ,,melting pot’’.
Another nickname if this
city is ,,big apple’’ because of big orchards in the past.
HISTORY
The first
European, who entered New York, was Giovanni da Verrazano in 1524. Original inhabitants were Indians. In
1906 came Dutch people - they started their business here and they bought fur. Captain of the first Dutch ship was
Henry Hudson. Dutch people bought this place for 24 Dollars from Indians. The first settlement was called New
Amsterdam. There lived only 500 people in 50 years and there were different languages. Englishmen wanted to buy this area from Dutch people
but they refused it. Later English people got this place and called it New York. It became the first English colony.
People went to New York from Great Britain, Ireland, France, Germany, Spain, China and also Jewish people. They hoped in finding freedom and being
rich. They didn’t speak English - so people from one country stayed in one place - it lead to create communities. At the 20th
century the first skyscrapers were built. In 1930s were built the first bridge over the Hudson, the Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building.
In 1945 New York became the seat of the newly created United Nations.
PARTS OF NEW YORK
The city of
New York is made up of 5 boroughs: BRONX, QUEENS, BROOKLYN, STATEN ISLAND ( Richmond ), MANHATTAN.
·
MANHATTAN: it’s heard of New York
- it’s famous for its skyscrapers and roads
- streets and avenues
haven’t names, they have only numbers:
Streets: they are from west to east
Avenues: they are from
north to south
- Manhattan looks like chessboard
- there are quarters that represent the country from which the people who live there
came - Little Italy, China Town 5th Avenue - famous shopping street which divided Manhattan into east and west
- here is the
largest Catholic cathedral in the US: St. Patrick’s Cathedral
Broadway - it’s the avenue and an old
Indian trade path 33 km long
- there are cinemas, theatres, law firms, banks and so on
Wall Street - it’s one of the
oldest streets in New York
- Dutch people built here the wall because they were afraid from Indian
· THE
EMPIRE STATE BUILDING: it’s probably the most famous building in New
York, it was built in 1931 at the corner of 5th Avenue
and 34th Street. It became the highest in the world. It has 102 stories and is 381 m high.
· THE WORLD TRADE
CENTRE: it’s a complex of seven buildings grouped around
a vast Plaza, dominated by the 110-story towers. They were the
highest points in the city and the second highest in the world. It was destroyed by a terrorist attack on September 11, 2001.
·
FEDERAL HALL NATIONAL MEMORIAL: the original building was the site of
George Washington’s inauguration as
the first president of the United States in 1789
· THE CHRYSLER BUILDING: it has 306 m high seat of
the Chrysler automobile
company. It’s one of the most shining examples of the Art Deco Style.
·
ROCKEFELLER CENTRE: it consists of 19 buildings. It’s a home to a number of
diverse businesses, such as
General Electric, travel agencies, shipping companies, nearly forty restaurants and several theatres. It’s the major Art Deco complex in NY.
· LINCOLN CENTRE: includes for example Metropolitan Opera House, New York
Philharmonic Orchestra
and New York State Theatre
· TIMES SQUARE: it’s known as the center of performing arts in New
York. It
received its name after the New York Times ( a magazine ) which moved into the Times Tower. People still come here to welcome in the
New Year.
· CENTRAL PARK: it’s from the 19th century and it was created by Frederick Lan
Olmsted. There were swamps and underground system. There is a wall around the park with several entrances. You can here ride a bike, a horse, play
tennis, basketball, swim and get married. It’s divided into 4 parts: West side, East side, Upper Manhattan and Lower Manhattan.
· MADISON SQUARE: it was named in memory of James Madison, president of the
United States. It was
established in 1811. Further northwest of the square the Madison Square Garden Center is situated.
· THE UNITED
NATIONS HEADQUARTERS: the United Nations Organization was
created after World War II. There are three buildings - the
Secretariat for the offices, the General Assembly and the Conference building.
· THE STATUE OF
LIBERTY: the Statue was erected on Liberty island in New York
Harbor in 1886. It has become a symbol of both freedom and the
United States. The statue commemorates French-American friendship for Frederic Auguste Bartoldi designed it. The people of France were given to
America’s 100 years anniversary of independence. It’s 91,5 m high form its pedestal to the torch, the height of the statue itself is 45,3 m and
weights 225 tons. The Lady holds a book with the inscription 4th July 1776, the date of the beginning of the independent United States. In the torch
there is a gallery and in the headband is a restaurant.
· BROOKLYN BRIDGE: it was the first
bridge, constructed in 1883 to join Brooklyn and Manhattan.
· WASHINGTON BRIDGE: remains the only
bridge over the Hudson River. It’s a suspension bridge and it’s twice as long as the Brooklyn Bridge.
·
VERRAZANO NARROWS BRIDGE: one of the longest suspension bridges in the world. It spans the strait diving Brooklyn
from Staten Island at the mouth of the Upper Bay.
SPORTS
New York has always been involved with the
world of sports. The city has also most famous stadiums: Yankee and Shea. Madison Square Garden, the most famous
sports centre in New York, is the home to the Knicks ( basketball ) and the Rangers ( ice-hockey ). Flushing Meadows Park is world
know for its tennis championships.
TRANSPORT
Transport in the New York means subway, buses, taxis
called yellow cubs, railroad and airports. Ferries had been the main method of transportations over the rivers. The first ferry
started in 1712. There are also four underwater tunnels. The first regular shipping line between New York and Liverpool was
established in 1818.
New York has three main airports: John F. Kennedy International Airport
( south-east
of Manhattan ), Newark International Airport ( south-west of Manhattan ) and La Guardia Airport ( cast of Manhattan
).
The train connection to the centre of New York is provided by trains running from two Manhattan stations: Grand Central
Terminal and Pennsylvania Station. The New York subway system began to operate in 1904. With 710 miles of
track, 469 stations and 5950 trains, the subway is the largest transportation system in the world. In addition there are local buses and 12 000
yellow taxis in New York which called cabs.
Zones.sk – Zóny pre každého študenta