Visit New York City Places

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The Walkfo guide to things to do & explore in New York City

  

New York City Places Overview: History, Culture & Facts about New York City

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New York City history

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Early history

In the pre-colonial era, the area of present-day New York City was inhabited by Algonquian Native Americans, including the Lenape. The first documented visit into New York Harbor by a European was in 1524 by Italian Giovanni da Verrazzano, an explorer from Florence in the service of the French crown. A Spanish expedition, led by the Portuguese captain Estêvão Gomes sailing for Emperor Charles V, charted the mouth of the Hudson River in January 1525. In 1609, the English explorer Henry Hudson rediscovered the harbor while searching for the Northwest Passage to the Orient for the Dutch East India Company.

Dutch rule

A permanent European presence near New York Harbor began in 1624 with the founding of a Dutch fur trading settlement on Governors Island. In 1625, construction was started on a citadel and Fort Amsterdam, later called Nieuw Amsterdam, on present-day Manhattan Island. The colony of New Amsterdam was centered on what would later be known as Lower Manhattan.

English rule

In 1664, unable to summon any significant resistance, Stuyvesant surrendered New Amsterdam to English troops, led by Colonel Richard Nicolls, without bloodshed. In 1667, the Dutch decided to keep the nascent plantation colony of what is now Suriname (on the northern South America coast) they had gained from the English; in return, the English kept New Amsterdam. The fledgling settlement was promptly renamed “New York” after the Duke of York.

Province of New York

42% of households held slaves by 1730, the highest percentage outside Charleston, South Carolina. Discovery of the African Burying Ground in the 1990s revealed that tens of thousands of Africans had been buried in the area in colonial period.

American Revolution

The Battle of Long Island, the largest battle of the American Revolutionary War, was fought in August 1776. The British made the city their military and political base of operations in North America. The city was a haven for Loyalist refugees and escaped slaves who joined the British lines for freedom.

Nineteenth century

Over the course of the nineteenth century, New York City’s population grew from 60,000 to 3.43 million. The city’s population jumped from 123,706 in 1820 to 312,710 by 1840, 16,000 of whom were Black. The Great Irish Famine brought a large influx of Irish immigrants; more than 200,000 were living in New York by 1860. There was also extensive immigration from the German provinces, and Germans comprised another 25% of New York’s population.

Modern history

In 1898, the modern City of New York was formed with the consolidation of Brooklyn (until then a separate city), the County of New York (which then included parts of the Bronx), the County of Richmond, and the western portion of the County of Queens. The opening of the subway in 1904, first built as separate private systems, helped bind the new city together. Throughout the first half of the 20th century, the city became a world center for industry, commerce, and communication. In 1904, the steamship General Slocum caught fire in the East River, killing 1,021 people on board. In 1911, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, the city’s worst industrial disaster, took the lives of 146 garment workers and spurred the growth of the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union and major improvements in factory safety standards. New York’s non-White population was 36,620 in 1890. New York City was a prime destination in the early twentieth century for African Americans during the Great Migration from the American South, and by 1916, New York City had become home to the largest urban African diaspora in North America. The Harlem Renaissance of literary and cultural life flourished during the era of Prohibition. The larger economic boom generated construction of skyscrapers competing in height and creating an identifiable skyline. New York became the most populous urbanized area in the world in the early-1920s, overtaking London. The metropolitan area surpassed the 10 million mark in the early-1930s, becoming the first megacity in human history. The difficult years of the Great Depression saw the election of reformer Fiorello La Guardia as mayor and the fall of Tammany Hall after eighty years of political dominance. Returning World War II veterans created a post-war economic boom and the development of large housing tracts in eastern Queens and Nassau County as well as similar suburban areas in New Jersey. New York emerged from the war unscathed as the leading city of the world, with Wall Street leading America’s place as the world’s dominant economic power. The United Nations Headquarters was completed in 1952, solidifying New York’s global geopolitical influence, and the rise of abstract expressionism in the city precipitated New York’s displacement of Paris as the center of the art world. The Stonewall riots were a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations by members of the gay community against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan. They are widely considered to constitute the single most important event leading to the gay liberation movement and the modern fight for LGBT rights. Wayne R. Dynes, author of the Encyclopedia of Homosexuality, wrote that drag queens were the only “transgender folks around” during the June 1969 Stonewall riots. The transgender community in New York City played a significant role in fighting for LGBT equality during the period of the Stonewall riots and thereafter. In the 1970s, job losses due to industrial restructuring caused New York City to suffer from economic problems and rising crime rates. While a resurgence in the financial industry greatly improved the city’s economic health in the 1980s, New York’s crime rate continued to increase through that decade and into the beginning of the 1990s. By the mid 1990s, crime rates started to drop dramatically due to revised police strategies, improving economic opportunities, gentrification, and new residents, both American transplants and new immigrants from Asia and Latin America. Important new sectors, such as Silicon Alley, emerged in the city’s economy. New York’s population reached all-time highs in the 2000 census and then again in the 2010 census. New York City suffered the bulk of the economic damage and largest loss of human life in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Two of the four airliners hijacked that day were flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center, destroying them and killing 2,192 civilians, 343 firefighters, and 71 law enforcement officers. The North Tower became the tallest building ever to be destroyed anywhere then or subsequently. The area was rebuilt with a new One World Trade Center, a 9/11 memorial and museum, and other new buildings and infrastructure. The World Trade Center PATH station, which had opened on July 19, 1909 as the Hudson Terminal, was also destroyed in the attacks. A temporary station was built and opened on November 23, 2003. An 800,000-square-foot (74,000 m) permanent rail station designed by Santiago Calatrava, the World Trade Center Transportation Hub, the city’s third-largest hub, was completed in 2016. The new One World Trade Center is the tallest skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere and the sixth-tallest building in the world by pinnacle height, with its spire reaching a symbolic 1,776 feet (541.3 m) in reference to the year of U.S. independence. The Occupy Wall Street protests in Zuccotti Park in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan began on September 17, 2011, receiving global attention and popularizing the Occupy movement against social and economic inequality worldwide. In March 2020, the first case of COVID-19 in the city was confirmed in Manhattan. The city rapidly replaced Wuhan, China to become the global epicenter of the pandemic during the early phase, before the infection became widespread across the world and the rest of the nation. As of March 2021, New York City had recorded over 30,000 deaths from COVID-19-related complications.

New York City economy & business

Wall Street

New York City’s most important economic sector lies in its role as the headquarters for the U.S. financial industry, metonymously known as Wall Street. The city’s securities industry, enumerating 163,400 jobs in August 2013, continues to form the largest segment of the city’s financial sector and an important economic engine. Lower Manhattan is home to the New York Stock Exchange, at 11 Wall Street, and the NASDAQ, at 165 Broadway.

Tech and biotech

Silicon Alley, centered in New York, has evolved into a metonym for the sphere encompassing the metropolitan region’s high technology industries. Tech:NYC, founded in 2016, is a non-profit organization which represents New York City’s technology industry with government, civic institutions, in business, and in the media. Biotechnology sector is also growing in the city, based upon the city’s strength in academic scientific research and public and commercial financial support.

Real estate

The total value of all New York City property was assessed at US$1.072 trillion for the 2017 fiscal year. The Time Warner Center is the property with the highest-listed market value in the city, at $1.1 billion in 2006. 450 Park Avenue was sold on July 2, 2007 for $510 million, about $1,589 per square foot ($17,104/m)

Tourism

Tourism generated an all-time high $61.3 billion in overall economic impact for New York City in 2014, pending 2015 statistics. Approximately 12 million visitors were from outside the United States, with the highest numbers from the United Kingdom, Canada, Brazil, and China. I Love New York (stylized I ❤ NY) is both a logo and a song that are the basis of an advertising campaign.

Media and entertainment

As of 2012, New York City was the second largest center for filmmaking and television production in the United States, producing about 200 feature films annually, employing 130,000 individuals. The filmed entertainment industry has been growing in New York, contributing nearly $9 billion to the city economy alone as of 2015. New York is also a center for the advertising, music, newspaper, digital media, and publishing industries. The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times are the U.S. media’s “newspaper of record”

New York City etymology

In 1664, the city was named in honor of the Duke of York, who would become King James II of England. King Charles II appointed the Duke proprietor of the former territory of New Netherland, including the city of New Amsterdam.

New York City geography / climate

Most of New York City is built on the three islands of Long Island, Manhattan, and Staten Island. The highest point in the city is Todt Hill, which, at 409.8 feet (124.9 m) above sea level, is the highest point on the eastern seaboard south of Maine. The city’s land has been altered substantially by human intervention.

Boroughs

New York City is sometimes referred to collectively as the Five Boroughs. Each borough is coextensive with a respective county of New York State, making New York City one of the U.S. municipalities in multiple counties. There are hundreds of distinct neighborhoods throughout the boroughs, many with a definable history and character. If the boroughs were each independent cities, four of the boroughs (Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, and the Bronx) would be among the ten most populous cities in the United States (Staten Island would be ranked 37th as of 2020); these same boroughs are coterminous with the four most densely populated counties in the United States: New York (Manhattan), Kings (Brooklyn), Bronx, and Queens. Manhattan (New York County) is the geographically smallest and most densely populated borough. It is home to Central Park and most of the city’s skyscrapers, and is sometimes locally known as The City. Manhattan’s population density of 72,033 people per square mile (27,812/km) in 2015 makes it the highest of any county in the United States and higher than the density of any individual American city. Manhattan is the cultural, administrative, and financial center of New York City and contains the headquarters of many major multinational corporations, the United Nations Headquarters, Wall Street, and a number of important universities. The borough of Manhattan is often described as the financial and cultural center of the world. Most of the borough is situated on Manhattan Island, at the mouth of the Hudson River. Several small islands also compose part of the borough of Manhattan, including Randall’s Island, Wards Island, and Roosevelt Island in the East River, and Governors Island and Liberty Island to the south in New York Harbor. Manhattan Island is loosely divided into the Lower, Midtown, and Uptown regions. Uptown Manhattan is divided by Central Park into the Upper East Side and the Upper West Side, and above the park is Harlem, bordering the Bronx (Bronx County). Harlem was predominantly occupied by Jewish and Italian Americans in the 19th century until the Great Migration. It was the center of the Harlem Renaissance. The borough of Manhattan also includes a small neighborhood on the mainland, called Marble Hill, which is contiguous with the Bronx. New York City’s remaining four boroughs are collectively referred to as the Outer Boroughs. Brooklyn (Kings County), on the western tip of Long Island, is the city’s most populous borough. Brooklyn is known for its cultural, social, and ethnic diversity, an independent art scene, distinct neighborhoods, and a distinctive architectural heritage. Downtown Brooklyn is the largest central core neighborhood in the Outer Boroughs. The borough has a long beachfront shoreline including Coney Island, established in the 1870s as one of the earliest amusement grounds in the U.S. Marine Park and Prospect Park are the two largest parks in Brooklyn. Since 2010, Brooklyn has evolved into a thriving hub of entrepreneurship and high technology startup firms, and of postmodern art and design. Queens (Queens County), on Long Island north and east of Brooklyn, is geographically the largest borough, the most ethnically diverse county in the United States, and the most ethnically diverse urban area in the world. Historically a collection of small towns and villages founded by the Dutch, the borough has since developed both commercial and residential prominence. Downtown Flushing has become one of the busiest central core neighborhoods in the outer boroughs. Queens is the site of Citi Field, the baseball stadium of the New York Mets, and hosts the annual U.S. Open tennis tournament at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. Additionally, two of the three busiest airports serving the New York metropolitan area, John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport, are located in Queens. The third is Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey. The Bronx (Bronx County) is New York City’s northernmost borough and the only New York City borough that lies mainly on the mainland United States. It is the location of Yankee Stadium, the baseball park of the New York Yankees, and home to the largest cooperatively owned housing complex in the United States, Co-op City. It is also home to the Bronx Zoo, the world’s largest metropolitan zoo, which spans 265 acres (1.07 km) and houses more than 6,000 animals. The Bronx is also the birthplace of hip hop music and culture. Pelham Bay Park is the largest park in New York City, at 2,772 acres (1,122 ha). Staten Island (Richmond County) is the most suburban in character of the five boroughs. Staten Island is connected to Brooklyn by the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, and to Manhattan by way of the free Staten Island Ferry, a daily commuter ferry which provides unobstructed views of the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and Lower Manhattan. In central Staten Island, the Staten Island Greenbelt spans approximately 2,500 acres (10 km), including 28 miles (45 km) of walking trails and one of the last undisturbed forests in the city. Designated in 1984 to protect the island’s natural lands, the Greenbelt comprises seven city parks. The growing skyline of Long Island City, Queens (background), facing the East River and Manhattan in May 2017 The Grand Concourse in the Bronx, foreground, with Manhattan in the background in February 2018 St. George, Staten Island as seen from the Staten Island Ferry, the world’s busiest passenger-only ferry system, shuttling passengers between Manhattan and Staten Island

Architecture

As of 2019, New York City had 6,455 high-rise buildings, the third most in the world after Hong Kong and Seoul. As of 2011, 550 completed structures were at least 330 feet (100 m) high, with more than fifty completed skyscrapers taller than 656 feet (200 m) The Woolworth Building, an early example of Gothic Revival architecture in skyscraper design, was the world’s tallest building. The Seagram Building is a highly influential example of the international style in the U.S.

Climate

Under the Köppen climate classification, using the 0 °C (32 °F) isotherm, New York City features a humid subtropical climate (Cfa), and is thus the northernmost major city on the North American continent with this categorization. The suburbs to the immediate north and west lie in the transitional zone between humid subtropical and humid continental climates (Dfa). By the Trewartha classification, the city is defined as having an oceanic climate (Do). Annually, the city averages 234 days with at least some sunshine. The city lies in the USDA 7b plant hardiness zone. Winters are chilly and damp, and prevailing wind patterns that blow sea breezes offshore temper the moderating effects of the Atlantic Ocean; yet the Atlantic and the partial shielding from colder air by the Appalachian Mountains keep the city warmer in the winter than inland North American cities at similar or lesser latitudes such as Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and Indianapolis. The daily mean temperature in January, the area’s coldest month, is 33.7 °F (0.9 °C). Temperatures usually drop to 10 °F (−12 °C) several times per winter, yet can also reach 60 °F (16 °C) for several days even in the coldest winter month. Spring and autumn are unpredictable and can range from cool to warm, although they are usually mild with low humidity. Summers are typically hot and humid, with a daily mean temperature of 77.5 °F (25.3 °C) in July. Nighttime temperatures are often enhanced due to the urban heat island effect. Daytime temperatures exceed 90 °F (32 °C) on average of 17 days each summer and in some years exceed 100 °F (38 °C), although this is a rare achievement, last occurring on July 18, 2012. Similarly, readings of 0 °F (−18 °C) are also extremely rare, last occurring on February 14, 2016. Extreme temperatures have ranged from −15 °F (−26 °C), recorded on February 9, 1934, up to 106 °F (41 °C) on July 9, 1936; the coldest recorded wind chill was −37 °F (−38 °C) on the same day as the all-time record low. The record cold daily maximum was 2 °F (−17 °C) on December 30, 1917, while, conversely, the record warm daily minimum was 87 °F (31 °C), on July 2, 1903. The average water temperature of the nearby Atlantic Ocean ranges from 39.7 °F (4.3 °C) in February to 74.1 °F (23.4 °C) in August. The city receives 49.5 inches (1,260 mm) of precipitation annually, which is relatively evenly spread throughout the year. Average winter snowfall between 1991 and 2020 has been 29.8 inches (76 cm); this varies considerably between years. Hurricanes and tropical storms are rare in the New York area. Hurricane Sandy brought a destructive storm surge to New York City on the evening of October 29, 2012, flooding numerous streets, tunnels, and subway lines in Lower Manhattan and other areas of the city and cutting off electricity in many parts of the city and its suburbs. The storm and its profound impacts have prompted the discussion of constructing seawalls and other coastal barriers around the shorelines of the city and the metropolitan area to minimize the risk of destructive consequences from another such event in the future. The coldest month on record is January 1857, with a mean temperature of 19.6 °F (−6.9 °C) whereas the warmest months on record are July 1825 and July 1999, both with a mean temperature of 81.4 °F (27.4 °C). The warmest years on record are 2012 and 2020, both with mean temperatures of 57.1 °F (13.9 °C). The coldest year is 1836, with a mean temperature of 47.3 °F (8.5 °C). The driest month on record is June 1949, with 0.02 inches (0.51 mm) of rainfall. The wettest month was August 2011, with 18.95 inches (481 mm) of rainfall. The driest year on record is 1965, with 26.09 inches (663 mm) of rainfall. The wettest year was 1983, with 80.56 inches (2,046 mm) of rainfall. The snowiest month on record is February 2010, with 36.9 inches (94 cm) of snowfall. The snowiest season (Jul–Jun) on record is 1995–1996, with 75.6 inches (192 cm) of snowfall. The least snowy season was 1972–1973, with 2.3 inches (5.8 cm) of snowfall. The earliest seasonal trace of snowfall occurred on October 10, in both 1979 and 1925. The latest seasonal trace of snowfall occurred on May 9, in both 2020 and 1977. See or edit raw graph data.

Parks

The city of New York has a complex park system, with various lands operated by the National Park Service, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. In its 2018 ParkScore ranking, The Trust for Public Land reported that the park system in New York City was the ninth-best park system among the fifty most populous U.S. cities. ParkScore ranks urban park systems by a formula that analyzes median park size, park acres as percent of city area, the percent of city residents within a half-mile of a park, spending of park services per resident, and the number of playgrounds per 10,000 residents. Gateway National Recreation Area contains over 26,000 acres (110 km) in total, most of it surrounded by New York City, including the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. In Brooklyn and Queens, the park contains over 9,000 acres (36 km) of salt marsh, wetlands, islands, and water, including most of Jamaica Bay. Also in Queens, the park includes a significant portion of the western Rockaway Peninsula, most notably Jacob Riis Park and Fort Tilden. In Staten Island, Gateway National Recreation Area includes Fort Wadsworth, with historic pre-Civil War era Battery Weed and Fort Tompkins, and Great Kills Park, with beaches, trails, and a marina. The Statue of Liberty National Monument and Ellis Island Immigration Museum are managed by the National Park Service and are in both the states of New York and New Jersey. They are joined in the harbor by Governors Island National Monument, in New York. Historic sites under federal management on Manhattan Island include Castle Clinton National Monument; Federal Hall National Memorial; Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site; General Grant National Memorial (“Grant’s Tomb”); African Burial Ground National Monument; and Hamilton Grange National Memorial. Hundreds of private properties are listed on the National Register of Historic Places or as a National Historic Landmark such as, for example, the Stonewall Inn, part of the Stonewall National Monument in Greenwich Village, as the catalyst of the modern gay rights movement. There are seven state parks within the confines of New York City. Some of them include: The Clay Pit Ponds State Park Preserve is a natural area that includes extensive riding trails. Riverbank State Park is a 28-acre (11 ha) facility that rises 69 feet (21 m) over the Hudson River. Marsha P. Johnson State Park is a state park in Brooklyn and Manhatten that borders the East River that was renamed in honor of Marsha P. Johnson. New York City has over 28,000 acres (110 km) of municipal parkland and 14 miles (23 km) of public beaches. The largest municipal park in the city is Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx, with 2,772 acres (1,122 ha). Central Park, an 843-acre (3.41 km) park in middle-upper Manhattan, is the most visited urban park in the United States and one of the most filmed locations in the world, with 40 million visitors in 2013. The park has a wide range of attractions; there are several lakes and ponds, two ice-skating rinks, the Central Park Zoo, the Central Park Conservatory Garden, and the 106-acre (0.43 km) Jackie Onassis Reservoir. Indoor attractions include Belvedere Castle with its nature center, the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theater, and the historic Carousel. On October 23, 2012, hedge fund manager John A. Paulson announced a $100 million gift to the Central Park Conservancy, the largest ever monetary donation to New York City’s park system. Washington Square Park is a prominent landmark in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan. The Washington Square Arch at the northern gateway to the park is an iconic symbol of both New York University and Greenwich Village. Prospect Park in Brooklyn has a 90-acre (36 ha) meadow, a lake, and extensive woodlands. Within the park is the historic Battle Pass, prominent in the Battle of Long Island. Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, with its 897 acres (363 ha) making it the city’s fourth largest park, was the setting for the 1939 World’s Fair and the 1964 World’s Fair and is host to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center and the annual U.S. Open Tennis Championships tournament. Over a fifth of the Bronx’s area, 7,000 acres (28 km), is given over to open space and parks, including Pelham Bay Park, Van Cortlandt Park, the Bronx Zoo, and the New York Botanical Gardens. In Staten Island, the Conference House Park contains the historic Conference House, site of the only attempt of a peaceful resolution to the American Revolution which was conducted in September 1775, attended by Benjamin Franklin representing the Americans and Lord Howe representing the British Crown. The historic Burial Ridge, the largest Native American burial ground within New York City, is within the park.

Military installations

Fort Hamilton is the U.S. military’s only active duty installation within New York City. It was established in 1825 on the site of a small battery utilized during the American Revolution. Fort Hamilton serves as the headquarters of the North Atlantic Division of the United States Army Corps of Engineers.

You can visit New York City places with Walkfo New York City to hear history at New York City’s places whilst walking around using the free digital tour app. Walkfo New York City has 341 places to visit in our interactive New York City map, with amazing history, culture & travel facts you can explore the same way you would at a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout New York City, being in the moment, without digital distraction or limits to a specific walking route. Our historic audio walks, National Trust interactive audio experiences, digital tour guides for English Heritage locations are available at New York City places, with a AI tour guide to help you get the best from a visit to New York City & the surrounding areas.

“Curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 341 audio facts unique to New York City places in an interactive New York City map you can explore.”

Walkfo: Visit New York City Places Map
341 tourist, history, culture & geography spots

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New York City historic spots	New York City tourist destinations	New York City plaques	New York City geographic features
Walkfo New York City tourism map key: places to see & visit like National Trust sites, Blue Plaques, English Heritage locations & top tourist destinations in New York City

  

Best New York City places to visit

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New York City has places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are a selection of the varied New York City’s destinations you can visit with additional content available at the Walkfo New York City’s information audio spots:

250 Water Street 250 Water Street is a site in Lower Manhattan, currently occupied by a parking lot, located in the South Street Seaport, one of the city’s historic districts. The Howard Hughes Corporation owns the site, and has released several proposals for converting the parking facility into a residential or mixed-use development.

Dey Street Dey Street is a short street in Lower Manhattan, New York City. It runs for one block between Church Street and Broadway. It originally ran to West Street, but the western reaches were demolished to make way for the World Trade Center in the 1960s. It now extends to Greenwich Street.

Visit New York City plaques