Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 06.djvu/542

NEW YORK States in population and commercial importance, second in the world in population, and first in commercial importance; connected with all parts of the world by railroads and steamship lines; 232 miles S. W. of Boston, 915 miles E. of Chicago, and 226 miles N E. of Washington; area, 326,9 square miles; pop. (1890) 2,607,414; (1900) 3,437,202; (1910) 4,776,883; (1920) 5,620,048.

Topography.—The city is divided into five boroughs: Manhattan, consisting of Manhattan Island, Governor's Island, Bedloe's Island, Ellis Island, Blackwell's Island, Randall's Island, Ward's Island, and Oyster Island; Bronx, consisting of all that portion of the city lying N. or E. of the Harlem river, between the Hudson and the East rivers and Long Island Sound, including City, Traver's, Hart's and Riker's Islands; Brooklyn, consisting of the former city of Brooklyn, and all of King's county; Queens, including the present county of that name; and Richmond, consisting of Staten Island.

The main body of the city, situated on Manhattan Island, is bounded by Spuyten Duyvil creek, and the Harlem river, separating it from the mainland of the State, the East river. New York Bay, and the Hudson river. The island was originally very rough, with a rocky ridge running from the S. extremity, N. and branching into several spurs. These unite at a distance of several miles, culminating in Washington Heights, 230 feet above the water, and in a bold promontory 130 feet high in the extreme N. In the S. the surface consisted of many places of alluvial sand deposits and swamps. The original surface is disappearing by the constant grading and filling in, by the improvement of old, and construction of new streets.

Street Plan.&mdash; At the S. end of Manhattan Island is the Battery, a park of 21 acres having a fine water front. Running N. from the Battery is Broadway, the principal business street. At 10th street, Broadway turns N. W., and finally merges into 11th avenue. The streets in the S. part of the city are narrow, crooked and irregularly laid out, but, beginning with 13th street, they become regular, crossing each other at right angles; the cross streets are numbered, as are also most of the avenues running N. and S.

Parks.—The public parks of New York City are very numerous and well kept. The total acreage of parks in 1920 was 7,807, distributed as follows: 1,487 in Manhattan, 3,929 in the Bronx, 1,300 in Brooklyn, 1,175 in Queens, and 63 in Richmond. The larger parks are, Central Park, 840 acres, in Manhattan; Bronx Park, 719 acres, and Van Cortlandt Park, 1,132 acres, in the Bronx, and Prospect Park, in (q. v.). Central Park contains about 30 buildings, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the old United States Arsenal; two extensive reservoirs, numerous lakes, and children's playgrounds. The Bronx Park contains a botanical garden, and a large reservation, used as a zoological garden. Van Cortlandt Park is an extensive stretch of rural country, containing a large skating pond, baseball fields, golf links, and a militia parade ground. The numerous other parks, scattered about the city include, City Hall Park, containing the Postoffice and City Hall; Riverside Park, extending several miles along the Hudson river and containing the tomb of General Grant, and Morningside Park, situated on a high ridge E. of Riverside and adjoining the buildings of Columbia University, the new cathedral of St. John the Divine, and St. Luke's Hospital. Parkways connect Van Cortlandt Park with Bronx Park, Pelham Bay Park and Crotona Park. In Brooklyn, Ocean Parkway extends from Prospect Park to Coney Island. The Speedway, a public road for fast driving, 100 feet wide, extends for a distance of two miles along the foot of the bluff on the W. bank of the Harlem river.

Notable Buildings.—Among the public buildings is the City Hall, 216 by 105 feet, and three stories high, a marble edifice in the Italian style, completed in 1812 at a cost of $500,000. In the rear of the City Hall is the Court House and to the east the Municipal Building. The City Prison and Hall of Records are noted for their fine architecture. New York is noted for the number and height of its office buildings. Among the more prominent of these are the Woolworth Building, 792 feet; Metropolitan Life Insurance Building, 700 feet; Singer Building, 612 feet; Municipal Building, 560 feet; Adams Building, American Bank Note Building, American Express Building, American Surety Buildings Bankers' Trust Building, Biltmore Hotel, Candler Building, City Investing Building, Columbia Trust Company, Equitable Building, Hanover National Bank Building, Liberty Tower, McAlpin Hotel, Park Row Building, Pulitzer Building, St. Paul Building, Times Building, Western Union Building, Whitehall Building, World's Tower, all over 300 feet high.

New York is also noted for the number and magnificence of its hotels. Among the most prominent are the Ambassador, Astor, Belmont, Biltmore, Brevoort, Chatham, Commodore, Gotham, McAlpin, Majestic, Murray Hill,