Articles
THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING the sentinel of NEW YORK
How many times have I searched the horizon, looking for the familiar pencil shape of the Empire State Building so that I could orient myself to my current location? If you are like me and countless others, you too use this familiar shape as a personal location device.
New York City
In the year 1825, 200 years after the first Dutch New Amsterdam settlement at the foot of lower Broadway, the city had expanded northward about three miles. There was no other direction in which to go. This built up zone ended at Canal street, the former location of the drainage canal for the Collect Pond at the site of the current Foley Square.
New York City Grows Larger
This past October the World Champion N.Y. Yankees were honored, once again, with a tickertape parade up Broadway and a speech by the mayor on the steps of City Hall.
In 1811, when City Hall was completed on Broadway and Chambers St., the building was considered to be the handsomest structure in the U.S., and perhaps the world. It stood on the outskirts of the city, it’s south, east, and west facing walls of brilliant white marble. No one complained that in order to save money, the city fathers had used common brownstone on the north wall. After all, they reasoned, since the building stood on the edge of town, few people would view this side of the building anyway.