Brooklyn Heights in New York City

21 May 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, New York City Reading Time:  6 minutes

© GK tramrunner229/cc-by-sa-3.0

© GK tramrunner229/cc-by-sa-3.0

Brooklyn Heights is an upper middle class residential neighborhood within the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Originally referred to as “Brooklyn Village”, it has been a prominent area of Brooklyn since 1834. As of 2000, Brooklyn Heights sustained a population of 22,594 people. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 2.   read more…

The museums island Ellis Island

17 May 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions, New York City, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  10 minutes

Ellis Island, as seen from Liberty Island © Daniel Schwen/cc-by-sa-3.0

Ellis Island, as seen from Liberty Island © Daniel Schwen/cc-by-sa-3.0

Ellis Island, in Upper New York Bay, was the gateway for millions of immigrants to the United States as the nation’s busiest immigrant inspection station from 1892 until 1954. The island was greatly expanded with land reclamation between 1892 and 1934. Before that, the much smaller original island was the site of Fort Gibson and later a naval magazine. The island was made part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument in 1965, and has hosted a museum of immigration since 1990. A 1998 United States Supreme Court decision found most of the island to be part of New Jersey. The south side of the island, home to the Ellis Island Immigrant Hospital, is closed to the general public and the object of restoration efforts spearheaded by Save Ellis Island. The island has been closed to the public since Hurricane Sandy in October 2012 with re-opening date at some point of 2014.   read more…

One World Trade Center

23 April 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Intelligent Buildings, New York City Reading Time:  9 minutes

One World Trade Center © flickr.com - Joe Mabel/cc-by-sa-2.0

One World Trade Center © flickr.com – Joe Mabel/cc-by-sa-2.0

One World Trade Center is the primary building of the new World Trade Center complex in New York City‘s Lower Manhattan and is the tallest building in the United States. The 104-story supertall skyscraper stands on the northwest corner of the 16-acre (6.5 ha) World Trade Center site, on the site of the original 6 World Trade Center. The building is bordered to the west by West Street, to the north by Vesey Street, to the south by Fulton Street, and to the east by Washington Street. Construction on below-ground utility relocations, footings, and foundations for the building began on April 27, 2006. On March 30, 2009, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey confirmed that the building would be known by its legal name, One World Trade Center, rather than the colloquial name, Freedom Tower.   read more…

Grand Central Station

29 March 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, New York City Reading Time:  6 minutes

© flickr.com - Muhammad/cc-by-2.0

© flickr.com – Muhammad/cc-by-2.0

Built in Beaux-Arts style, Grand Central Terminal (GCT) is a railroad terminal at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Built by and named for the New York Central Railroad in the heyday of American long-distance passenger rail travel, it is the largest such facility in the world by number of platforms with 44 serving 67 tracks along them. They are on two levels, both below ground, with 41 tracks on the upper level and 26 on the lower, though the total number of tracks along platforms and in rail yards exceeds 100. The terminal covers an area of 48 acres (19 ha).   read more…

The port of New York

28 February 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, New York City Reading Time:  7 minutes

South Street Seaport © flickr.com - ian reid/cc-by-2.0

South Street Seaport © flickr.com – ian reid/cc-by-2.0

New York Harbor, part of the Port of New York and New Jersey, is at the mouth of the Hudson River where it empties into New York Bay. It is one of the largest natural harbors in the world. Although the United States Board on Geographic Names does not use the term, New York Harbor has important historical, governmental, commercial, and ecological usages.   read more…

Cathedral of Commerce, the Woolworth Building in Manhattan

1 February 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, New York City Reading Time:  7 minutes

Woolworth Building seen from the Hudson River © flickr.com - Joe Mabel/cc-by-sa-2.0

Woolworth Building seen from the Hudson River © flickr.com – Joe Mabel/cc-by-sa-2.0

The Woolworth Building, at 233 Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, built in 1910, is one of the oldest skyscrapers in the United States. The building opened on April 24, 1913. President Woodrow Wilson turned the lights on by way of a button in Washington, D.C. that evening. More than a century after the start of its construction, it remains, at 241.4 meters (792 ft), one of the twenty tallest buildings in New York City. It has been a National Historic Landmark since 1966, and a New York City landmark since 1983.   read more…

Governors Island

29 January 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, New York City, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  6 minutes

Governors Island plan © United States Government

Governors Island plan © United States Government

Governors Island is a 172-acre (70 ha) island in Upper New York Bay, approximately one-half mile (1 km) from the southern tip of Manhattan Island and separated from Brooklyn by Buttermilk Channel. It is legally part of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. Physically, the island changed greatly during the early 20th century. Using material excavated from the Lexington Avenue subway, the Army Corps of Engineers supervised the deposit of 4,787,000 cubic yards of fill on the south side of Governors Island, adding 103 acres (42 ha) of flat, treeless land by 1912 and bringing the total acreage of the island to 172.   read more…

Liberty Island

14 December 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, New York City, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  7 minutes

Statue of Liberty © flickr.com - Koshy Koshy/cc-by-2.0

Statue of Liberty © flickr.com – Koshy Koshy/cc-by-2.0

Liberty Island is a small uninhabited island in New York Harbor in the United States, best known as the location of the Statue of Liberty. Though so called since the start of the 20th century, the name did not become official until 1956. In 1937, by proclamation 2250, President Franklin D. Roosevelt expanded the Statue of Liberty National Monument to include all of Bedloe’s Island, and in 1956, an act of Congress officially renamed it. It became part of the National Register of Historic Places site Statue of Liberty National Monument, Ellis Island and Liberty Island in 1966. The island was closed to the public after Hurricane Sandy in October 2012 until reopening on July 4, 2013.   read more…

The Explorers Club

22 June 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, New York City, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  5 minutes

Honored Members © explorers.org

Honored Members © explorers.org

The Explorers Club is an American-based professional society dedicated to scientific exploration of Earth, its oceans, and outer space. Founded in 1904 in New York City, it currently has 30 chapters worldwide. In addition to sponsoring expeditions and lectures, the Explorers Club is known for their adventurous, exotic cuisine served at their banquets.   read more…

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