2. “SUNSHINE A N D S H A D OW ” ( 1 8 6 5 – 1 8 9 8 )
THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE
The Brooklyn Bridge was built because New York City was
filling up so quickly and they wanted it to expand to Brooklyn
It was originally designed by a German-born
engineer/inventor named , John Augustus Roebling and had his
son, Washington, with him to co-supervise.
The construction of the bridge started in the Summer of
1869 and those working on it mostly consisted of immigrants.
Roebling, himself, was surveying it until a ferry accident
crushed his foot and he died of Tetanus 3 weeks later. His son,
Washington, had to take over.
With financial and other complications, the bridge ended up
taking 14 years to build and twice the amount of money planned,
but on May 24, 1883 the bridge opened up to the public and the
city celebrated. It was 1,600 feet long and the towers stood 275
feet high. It was the most majestic structure in the city and
symbolized the future of steel industry.
3. “ S U N S H I N E A N D S H A D OW ” ( 1 8 6 5 – 1 8 9 8 )
BOSS WILLIAM M. TWEED
Boss William M. Tweed is one of the most infamous corrupt
politician.
In the beginning of his political career, he was a graceful man and
good politician for he took care of his target voters, mostly immigrants,
and provided them with shelter, jobs and hospitals.
He was elected into the New York Board of Supervisors in 1858, then
into the New York State Senate in 1867 and had concentrated more power
in himself than anybody in the history of the city by 1870.
He helped maneuver the money to fund structures and real estate by
defrauding tax payers out of millions of dollars. He would develop then
sell the real estate and keep a portion of the money for himself.
He spent extravagant amounts of money over paying for contractors,
furniture and other things that totaled about $25 to $45 million.
Boss Tweed was indicted on December 15, 1871 for 3 counts of fraud
and grand larceny and charged for 220 misdemeanors 2 months later.
He was sentenced to 12 years of prison and died of Pneumonia on
April 12, 1878 in a prison cell that he had built.
4. “ S U N S H I N E A N D S H A D OW ” ( 1 8 6 5 – 1 8 9 8 )
TH E S TATU E O F L I BE RTY
In February, 1875, the French presented the New Yorkers part of
a statue they wanted to give as a gift. It was a woman’s hand holding a
torch.
The French said they would pay for the statue, if the New Yorkers
would pay for the pedestal for it to stand on.
It was the fourth year of the Great Depression and the New
Yorkers said they could not pay for the pedestal.
The New York Times declared that “No true patriot can support
expenditures for a bronze female in the present state of our finances.”
So the amputated bronze hand and torch remained in Madison
Square Garden.
On March 3, 1877, President Grant signed the authorization to
accept the gift from the French.
On October 8, 1886, the Statue of Liberty was finally unveiled to
the New Yorkers.
5. “COSMOPOLIS”
THE RISE OF MASS MEDIA
The 1920s was a time when consumerism rose and
mass media and advertisement came about.
New technology made for the homes, such as washing
machines and vacuums, were made available to the public,
but they needed good advertising for them though.
The first radio advertisement was aired on August 28,
1922 for advertising apartment complexes.
The public loved it and bought apartments from them.
Radio and radio advertisements became wildly popular.
The marketers had to change the psychology of the
public to feel like they want and need their product, and in
doing this, the modern American culture was born and
New York was the center of it.
6. “COSMOPOLIS”
E N T E R TA I N M E N T
The performing arts of music and other
entertainment was the “melting pot” of the races.
Blacks and whites would share their ideas and
styles with each other.
Broadway was the main gathering point for
everybody to come together to enjoy shows.
New York was the trend setter of America and
commercially promoted the new forms of music,
such as Jazz.
People looked to New York for the latest styles
and movements in entertainment.
New York City was the “Hollywood” of the time
before Hollywood even happened.
Some people liked their new styles and the pop
culture they created, and some people disapproved of
it, especially the liberal, party lifestyle that they lived.
7. “COSMOPOLIS”
T H E C H RY S L E R BU I L D I N G
There was an ongoing race in New York to build the tallest skyscraper.
The tallest for awhile was the 60 story Woolworth Building.
In the Spring of 1929, Walter Chrysler, the owner of the Chrysler
automobiles, announced his plans to build a massive skyscraper on the corner
of 42nd street and Lexington Avenue.
He told the architect, William Van Alen, to make it the tallest in the
world.
Van Alen’s once partner, but now enemy, set to work on a rival structure
on Wall Street for the Bank of Manhattan at the same time the Chrysler
building was starting to be built. It became a race between the rivals to build
the tallest in the world.
After changing their plans multiple times to try to beat out the other, the
Bank of Manhattan building topped out in the Fall of 1929 at 927 feet tall.
However, the Chrysler Building put a 125 foot steel spike on the very top
of the tower on October 16, 1929, making it 1,048 feet tall and surpassed its
rival. It was the tallest building in the world at the time.
8. “A M E RG E R T H AT P U T S N E W
YO R K O N T O P ”
This article talks about how America Online’s decision to buy out Time
Warner will put New York back on top of dominating the “…new
American global information economy.”
New York was the leader in the old American industrial economy, but
when things became more about e-commerce, rather than industrial
commerce.
The west coast had more resources for the new kind of e-commerce
than New York did.
Originally, New York was the leader in the economic world of America
because they had the Erie Canal to control the exports to Europe and the
“Triangle Trade” of cotton from the South to England.
Now, the port and “Triangle Trade” don’t have a lot of value in today’s
world of e-commerce.
With 22-million online subscribers, the AOL- Time Warner merge will
bring what New York needs to be on top again and be apart of the new e-
commerce world.
9. IMMIGRANTS AND CITIES
“THE CITY IN THE LAND OF THE DOLLAR ”
The cities in America are not like traditional cities. Some
say they can’t even be considered cities because they lack
everything a traditional city has.
Chicago was designed around the industrial and
commercial expansion of the nineteenth century.
The use of steel in construction and the use of elevators
allowed them to build the first skyscrapers.
Nearly all offices were skyscrapers and the skyscrapers
made the value of real estate rise.
With electric trolley cars and railroads, people were able to
move to the suburbs where it was cheaper to live and
commute back to the city.
Because the people could live out of the city, the city
became known as “downtown” because it was mostly
concentrated with industrial buildings, offices, and department
stores.
10. IMMIGRANTS AND CITIES
“THE CITY IN THE LAND OF THE DOLLAR”
By the 1890s, Chicago wanted to be put on the
cultural map.
So, like other industrial cities, they had Fredrick Law
Olmsted design urban parks.
He designed 8 individual parks, all about 200 to 600
acres each
They would include numerous activities and sites such
as zoos, bicycle and pedestrian trails, arbors,
conservatories, broad carriage trails, lakes, canals among
other things.
These parks were meant to not only beautify the city,
but to also help “civilize” the city to off-balance the
nervous inhospitableness of it.
