Borough backgroundThe names of the boroughs all originated differently. In 1609, one of Henry Hudson’s officers, Robert Juet, dubbed the island “Mannahata,” apparently basing this on some of the names Native Americans had for the area (one of which reportedly meant “place of general inebriation.”) Hudson himself came up with Staten Eylandt (States Island) to honor the Dutch parliament that sent him exploring — the Staten Generaal or States-General. The Bronx’s name goes back to Jonas Bronck, an early Dutch settler who came to the area in 1639. Brooklyn was nostalgically named after a Dutch village in Utrecht: Breukelen. The word means “fractured lands.” And Queens, which was established as a county in 1683, was named after Catherine of Braganza, who married King Charles II of England.
Return to senderIt seems unimaginable today, but New Yorkers used to receive up to four residential mail deliveries a day. A day. The number was reduced to two in 1940; and one in 1950. Then we got email, but it’s not the same.
Street side incubatorPremature babies were once displayed on the Conley Island boardwalk for money. But it’s not as bad as it sounds. In 1898, the modern incubator, which is basically a box made of glass, came to the U.S. and was so popular at expositions that Dr. Martin Couney set up a small display in a building on the Coney Island Boardwalk. Since there were no neo-natal wards, New Yorkers rushed their premature babies to the incubator, where they could be kept warm, breathe filtered air and have a shot at survival. The tiny babies were on display to the public for a quarter a look. But they saved many lives and the creepy showmanship probably helped make the public realize the importance of the device.
Whales on BroadwayWhales once lived on Broadway — lower Broadway, actually. In 1842, P.T. Barnum opened Barnum’s American Museum on the corner of Ann Street and Broadway. The museum showcased exhibits that were supposed to be unusual and/or educational, including live animals. Among them were whales, which were shipped in from Labrador via refrigerated train car and kept in a huge tank inside the museum. Unfortunately, the whales died when their tank was broken during a devastating fire in 1865. The museum burned to the ground and at least one carcass was left to decay on Broadway for days.
Capital of the U.S.Believe it or not, NYC used to be the capital of the United States. On April 30, 1789, George Washington was inaugurated as first president of the United States on the balcony of Federal Hall in lower Manhattan. New York City served as the nation’s capital for about a year and a half before the honor went to Philly and then the newly constructed D.C.
Guys and galsIt’s not your imagination. There really are more women than men in NYC — at last count, 400,000 more.
Freedomland USAThere used to be a huge American history-themed amusement park in the northeast Bronx that was bigger than Disneyland. Opened in 1960, the 85-acre Freedomland USA was the brainchild of Cornelius Vanderbilt Wood, a young Texan who’d worked with Walt Disney on the creation of Disneyland. Among its many attractions, the park showcased historical reenactments of everything from Tammany speeches to the Chicago fire to a live Western street gunfight. Its many rides included one that reproduced the experience of the San Francisco earthquake, a scary underground mine train ride and a wagon trip through the turmoil of the Civil War. The park closed down and filed for bankruptcy in September, 1964.
Brooklyn Bridge vaultsThe Brooklyn Bridge contains built-in wine vaults — though they haven’t been used as such for years. The bridge’s massive anchorages — the giant granite structures that house the cable anchor plates — have ramps leading up to them. Beneath those ramps lurk the enormous, pitch-black vaults (some 50 feet high), where the temperature is said to hover at about 60 degrees in the summer. After the bridge was finished, in 1883, the vaults were rented out to provide funds to defray the massive debt from the bridge’s construction. Today they’re generally used to store maintenance equipment.
Ellis Island first
Millions of people have immigrated to the U.S. through Ellis Island, but only one was the first. “When the Ellis Island Immigration Bureau opened in 1892, The New York Times reported that the first person to be registered was ‘charming teenager Annie Moore,’ formerly of County Cork, who had just emerged from the steerage hold of a ship called the Nevada,” says Elizabeth L. Bradley. She’s the author, most recently, of New York, a short history of (and opinionated guidebook to) New York City, published by Reaktion Books. “The paper noted that she was given a ten-dollar gold piece as a prize for her accidental triumph, but they did not follow up on the subsequent assimilation of Annie, who was just one of more than 20 million immigrants who passed through Ellis Island between 1892 and 1924.”
A multicultural metropolisNew York City isn’t just the most populous city in the U.S. — it’s also one of the most diverse. Nearly 40% of the city’s population is foreign-born. New York City has the largest Puerto Rican population of any city in the world; the largest Chinese population of any city outside Asia; and the largest Jewish population of any city outside Israel.the way to explore the new york and to see its amazing sights is with high quality tours they offer their New York Bus Tour Services . they really know their work , great service , polite people , great to know about all places and locations of new York !you will really enjoy with them !
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