Fun Facts About New York
New York City in the state of New York is a world-famous city. It has been the setting for countless movies and television programs and is home to some of the most famous people in the world. When most people think of a city, New York springs to mind. It may as well be the dictionary definition for a modern age mega-city. But, even though we all know and love New York, there are plenty of things we don’t know about this wonderful city.
We have done a little research and come up with a few fun facts about the Big Apple that you may not be aware of.
United Nations HQ
In September 1948, construction started for the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. New York was chosen as the site because it was the closest thing to an International city the world possessed at that time. The principal architect was Wallace Harrison, and the design was chosen by a group of directors to symbolize a new start after WWII. Construction of the four-building structure was completed in 1952. The tallest building is the Secretariat Building, which has 39 floors and rises 505 feet above the ground.
Mayors of New York
The current Mayor is Bill de Blasio, and he is the 109th Mayor of New York. The first-ever Mayor was Thomas Willett, who took office in 1665. One of the longest-serving Mayors was Fiorello LaGuardia, who served the city for twelve years between 1934 and 1945. However, serving for such a long extended period cannot happen as the law stands at the moment because a Mayor can only stand in office for two consecutive terms, a total of eight years. However, there is a clause in that they may return to office, if voted back in, of course, after a full term break of four years.
New Amsterdam
The original name for New York was New Amsterdam due to the original colonial power being Dutch. The Dutch West India Company in 1624 created an area known as New Netherland, which encompassed places such as New York City, New Jersey, and Connecticut. The name was changed from New Amsterdam to New York in 1664 because the area came under English rule.
Broadway
The famous Broadway in New York is actually the longest street in New York City, it is 33 miles long, and it was initially called the Great White Way.
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty was a gift to New York from the people of France. It was shipped over in 1885 in a total of 350 pieces. The Frenchman Edouard de Laboulaye formulated the idea for the Lady of Liberty in 1865. However, it wasn’t until 1876 when they commissioned the sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi to create a design for it that work began. The French wanted the statue to celebrate the one-hundred-year anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence, which happened on July 4, 1776. However, The Statue of Liberty was not erected until 1887, over twenty years after the original conception.