NYC Fun Facts

I am by nature a very curious person.  I love to learn.  I guess that's why I became a teacher.  One of my goals for each of my students is to become a life-long learner.  I am one of those.

I love fun facts.  Here are a few that I learned about New York City.

FUN FACT #1:

'I Heart New York' concept sketch on a scrap of paper.  1976. 

The finished product.

At a time when the fear of crime was depressing tourism in New York City, the Department of Commerce commissioned Milton Glasner to develop a positive campaign for the city.  Designed pro bono for a 3 month campaign, the wildly successful design has been copied millions of times all over the world.  Glasner's rebus has become a strong icon for New York City.  The design was finally copyrighted after about 10 years in use.

FUN FACT #2:

Macy's flagship department store covers an entire New York City block.

Macy's was founded by a former whaler named R. H. Macy who opened a small store on 14th Street in 1857.  The red star logo came from one of Macy's many tattoos from his sailing days.

FUN FACT #3:

The famous Reading Room in New York Public Library.

The New York City Library cost $9,000,000.00 to build in 1911.
The Main Reading Room stretches two full blocks.  Below it are 140 kilometres of shelves, holding over 7 million volumes.  A staff of over 100 and a computerized dumbwaiter can supply any book within 10 minutes.

FUN FACT #4:

The Flatiron Building.

The Flatiron Building was the world's tallest skyscraper when it was built in 1903.  It is only 6 feet wide at its apex.

FUN FACT #5

The view of Manhattan from the Brooklyn Bridge.

Walt Whitman said of this view, "It is the best, most effective medicine my soul has yet partaken."

FUN FACT #6:

The Brooklyn Bridge


Each cable of the Brooklyn Bridge contains 5, 657 kilometres of wire, galvanized with zinc for protection from the wind, rain and snow.

FUN FACT #7:

Empire State Building

The Empire State Building has attracted over 130,000,000 visitors since it opened in 1931.  The views from the 86th floor observation deck are astounding.

FUN FACT #8:

The Chrysler Building.


I don't know a fun fact about this amazing art deco building except to say it has always been my favourite piece of architecture.

FUN FACT #9:

Lower East Side living conditions in the 1850s.

Each apartment was only 325 square feet.

Sometimes 2 families would share one apartment.


Between the 1870s and 1930s, hundreds of thousands of European immigrants flooded into New York's Lower East Side.
At the turn of the last century, the Lower East Side was the most densely populated area in the world.  There were 240,000 people per square mile.
The tenements had no indoor plumbing.  Outhouses were in the rear alley along with a spigot for collecting water.
Two toilets for every 4 families were added in 1901.
Gas heating arrived in 1905.
Electric light was added in 1924.  Until then the only light an apartment would get was through its one window.
The tenement at 97 Orchard Street was home to over 7,000 working class immigrants from 1860 until it was condemned in 1930.  The building was bought in 1988 and was the first tenement ever designated as a historic landmark.  The Lower East Side Tenement Museum was born in 1992.

FUN FACT #10

A mosaic in Strawberry Fields, Central Park.


This mosaic is set in the pathway through Strawberry Fields.  It was a gift from the city of Naples in Italy.