New York City Attractions: Forty Best Places to Visit for Citizens and Tourists

Edition AD published a selection of the most interesting sights in New York, which are worth visiting for everyone. Many of them are familiar to you, but for sure there are places that you did not even know existed.

Art Center The Shed

The $475 million project is a collaboration between Diller Scofidio + Renfro and the Rockwell Group. The Shed is an art space of almost 19 m². The outer shell moves on wheels on special rails transforming it. “In fact, the technology used to move the structure is not surprising,” says architect Elisabeth Diller. “It requires power comparable to a Toyota Prius engine. This is a very economical building.” By the way, the engine power of the 2019 Toyota Prius is 121 horsepower.

Carousel "Jane"

The Jane carousel on the East River was built in 1922. It quickly became popular with locals and tourists. In 2011, during a renovation led by the architect Jean Nouvel, a glass pavilion was built above the carousel. It looks like a gem from a distance.

Ellis Island

In 1900, the building of the Federal Immigration Center was built on Ellis Island. The project was created by architects Edward Tilton and William Boring. Once this place was the gateway for millions of immigrants hoping to find a new home in the United States. Today, Ellis Island is administered by the National Park Service. It is part of the Statue of Liberty memorial.

World Trade Center transport hub

The World Trade Center hub, built by architect Santiago Calatrava, opened in spring 2016. The project seemed to be difficult to implement due to its bird-shaped design. In addition, the large passenger traffic was a reason for doubt. The transport hub houses a pedestrian crossing to the Westfield World Trade Center, which opened in the summer of 2016.

Queensboro Bridge

The Queensboro Bridge was built in 1909 by architect Henry Hornbostel. It is often overlooked because of the legendary Brooklyn Bridge. However, the Queensboro Bridge connects Queens with Manhattan. Its length is 1135 m. You can see it in the films The Dark Knight Rises (2012) and The Great Gatsby (2013).

metlife tower

In 1909, the architectural firm Napoleon LeBrun & Sons completed the construction of the Metlife Tower. Until 1913, it had the status of the tallest building in the world. Metlife Tower is located on the corner of East 23rd Street and Madison Avenue.

Ansonia Hotel

The Ansonia Hotel, built in 1914, is a Beaux-Arts building with a storied past. Previously, there was a farm with chickens, ducks and goats on the roof of the hotel. The guests of the hotel ate the products of this farm. One of the most famous US baseball players, Babe Ruth, called Ansonia his first home in New York. In 1972, the hotel was officially recognized as a New York Landmark.

Flatiron Building

22-floor skyscraperb The steel-framed Flatiron Building was built in 1902. Architect Daniel Burnham came up with its wedge shape. By the way, it fits perfectly into the triangular section connecting Broadway, Fifth Avenue and East 23rd Street. Unlike most buildings of that time, the Flatiron Building has a non-bulky base, so the skyscraper looks elegant.

Washington Square Park

Washington Square Park, at 39,5 hectares, is significantly smaller than many other parks in New York. Nevertheless, the green island in the middle of the trendy Greenwich Village district and the famous triumphal arch have long become the hallmark of the city.

The Brooklyn Bridge

The construction of the legendary bridge lasted more than 13 years, and only in 1883, thousands of New Yorkers came to the opening ceremony of the Brooklyn Bridge. Many New Yorkers questioned the safety of the structure. To prove the durability of the 1825 m long bridge, local authorities led 21 elephants from a circus touring nearby. Until 1903 it was the longest suspension bridge in the world. He was overtaken by 13 m by the Williamsburg Bridge.

Trinity Church

The church is located at the intersection of two of the most famous streets in Manhattan - Wall Street and Broadway. The Neo-Gothic building was completed in 1846. At that time, the church was the tallest building in New York. Its height, together with the spire, is 85 m. The Trinity Church withstood the September 11, 2001 attacks, although many buildings around it collapsed.

Brooklyn Museum

At the Brooklyn Museum, whose area is 52 m², stores about 1,5 million exhibits. The building was designed by McKim, Mead & White in the beaux-arts style. It is the third largest museum in New York.

VIA 57 West

This residential building was built in 2016 by the famous architect Bjarke Ingels. The building has the shape of a pyramid, in the center of which is an open-air garden.

New York Public Library

Library, built in 1911, is located in downtown Manhattan, at the intersection of Fifth Avenue with 40th and 42nd streets. In the photo you see the research hall of the library.

High line

The High Line is a 2,3 km long park. It is located on the site of the former New York City Elevated Railroad, which operated from 1831 to 1968. The opening of the first of three planned sections of the park took place in 2009.

Central station

The Central Station was opened in 1891. The ceiling of the main lobby is decorated with a painting depicting more than two thousand stars, as well as zodiac constellations. The famous statues on the façade were designed by French architects but built in Queens.

World Trade Center-1

The 541 m high skyscraper was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. The opening took place at the end of 2014. The building houses the offices of many large companies, including Condé Nast. This is the highest skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere.

Metropolitan Museum

The Metropolitan Museum of Art opened to the public in 1902. The building was designed by architect Richard Hunt. This museum was the first institution in the world to acquire the work of Henri Matisse in 1910. Today in a building with an area of ​​185 m²located on Fifth Avenue - tens of thousands of exhibits.

Woolworth Building

The Woolworth Building skyscraper was completed in 1913. At one time it was the tallest building in the world. Its height is 241 m. The building, built with the money of entrepreneur Frank Woolworth and designed by architect Cass Gilbert, held this status for almost two decades.

The Statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty, which France donated to the United States, was built in 1886 at the southern tip of Manhattan Island. The height from the ground to the torch is 93 m. The sculptor of the statue was Frederic Auguste Bartholdi. The woman's head is topped with a crown, from which seven rays extend, symbolizing the seven seas and seven continents. In the left hand of the statue is a tablet with the inscription July IV MDCCLXXVI - the date of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence of the United States.

Chrysler Building

Skyscraper Chrysler Building 320 m high was built in 1930. Then it became the tallest building in the world, but a year later this status passed to the Empire State Building. The Chrysler Building is one of the most famous examples of Art Deco architecture. The corners of the 61st floor are decorated with eagle statues, and there are no offices on all floors above the 71st - there are only technical rooms and a staircase to the spire.

Empire State Building

In 1931, when the opening of the Empire State Building took place, US President Herbert Hoover turned on the lighting of the building by pressing a button in Washington in the White House. In fact, the gesture was symbolic. After all, the light was turned on not by the president, but by one of the employees of the building in New York. The skyscraper with a height of 443 meters was the highest in the world for more than forty years.

Cloisters

The Cloisters, opened in 1938, is a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art dedicated to the art of medieval Europe. The museum is located near the northern tip of Manhattan, on a hill with stunning views of the Hudson River.

Waldorf-Astoria

The Waldorf Astoria Hotel was built in 1931 on Park Avenue. Then it was the tallest hotel in the world. Over the years, this opulent Art Deco building has hosted celebrities. In 1955, Marilyn Monroe lived in one of the rooms of the Waldorf Astoria for $1000 a week. What's more, every current US president since Herbert Hoover has stayed at this hotel while visiting New York.

Lincoln Center

Lincoln Center began to be built in 1959 - then US President Dwight Eisenhower attended the groundbreaking ceremony. The Performing Arts Center, located on Manhattan's Upper West Side, opened in 1962 and began a ten-year renovation in 1999. The architects involved in the restoration included Frank Gehry, Cooper, Robertson & Partners and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.

Seagram building

The Seagram Building was designed by architects Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Philip Johnson. Construction was completed in 1958. The building housed the headquarters of the Canadian company Joseph E. Seagram & Sons, engaged in the production of alcoholic beverages. The architect Mies van der Rohe didn't want the randomly lowered blinds to interfere with the aesthetics of the building. Therefore, he ordered the installation of special blinds on the windows, which could only be in one of three positions - fully open, half-open and fully closed.

Tenement Museum

The museum is located on the Lower East Side of Manhattan at the corner of Orchard and Delancey Streets. The building, built in the 1988th century, used to be inhabited by immigrants, but over time, the windows of the house were boarded up, and the building itself was empty for many decades. In 1994 it opened a museum showcasing the lifestyle of immigrants. There you can see the furnishings of rooms with minimal amenities, where people lived who came to look for a new home in the United States. In XNUMX, the museum was recognized as a national historical monument.

Boathouse and the Audubon Society

The neoclassical boathouse, built in 1904 by Helmle & Huberty, is one of the landmarks of Brooklyn's Prospect Park. In 1964, the local authorities decided to demolish the boathouse due to low passenger traffic. According to some reports, it was used by less than ten people per hour. However, the demolition of the building did not take place, and in 1972 the boathouse was added to the register of National Historic Places. Now the building houses the Audubon Society, which is engaged in the protection of nature.

Vessel

The structure, designed by Thomas Heatherwick, is considered the centerpiece of the Hudson Yards area. The construction cost was $150 million. The huge amount caused bewilderment among many local residents. Vessel is a metal structure made up of a network of stairs and viewing platforms. Visitors can view New York from different angles from here.

Staircase in the Bronx

The Bronx has a seemingly unremarkable staircase between two buildings that connects Shakespeare Avenue to the higher Anderson Avenue. The staircase has become a popular destination for tourists since the release of Joaquin Phoenix's Joker movie in 2019. One of the key scenes of the film was filmed on this staircase.

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Frick Collection

In a huge mansion on Fifth Avenue, the family of industrialist Henry Clay Frick used to live. In 1931 his wife, the last inhabitant of the house, died. Four years later, a museum was opened in the mansion. Throughout his life, Henry Frick amassed a large collection of paintings that spans the period from the Renaissance to the XNUMXth century. Not only the exhibits of the museum deserve attention, but also the inner garden of the mansion, which was designed by the architect Russell Pope.

"Delmonico"

Delmonico, opened in 1837, is one of the first gourmet restaurants in New York. In the XNUMXth century, Delmonico's visitors were often representatives of the city's elite, who flaunted their wealth there. Food for the restaurant came from a farm in Brooklyn, which also belonged to the Delmonico brothers.

Brooklyn heights

Originally, the Brooklyn Heights area, located south of the Brooklyn Bridge, was one of the first residential areas of Manhattan. Now it is one of the most prestigious historical districts in New York, overlooking the East River. One of the first houses built in Brooklyn Heights is the four-chimney house that George Washington used as his headquarters during the Battle of Brooklyn. After the war, the famous landowner Hezekiah Biers Pierpont lived in this house.

Dyckman House Museum

Jan Dyckman was one of the first Dutch settlersarriving in New Amsterdam. In 1784, his grandson William Dyckman built a farmhouse. There is now a museum there. For almost a hundred years the house was owned by the Dyckman family until they sold it in 1871. Fortunately, the building has hardly changed its original appearance. At the beginning of the 1916th century, the Dyckman family bought the house, restored it and donated it to the city in XNUMX.

brooklyn hall

Brooklyn Hall, built in 1848, is considered the oldest public building in the area. Previously, it housed the city hall (then Brooklyn was independent). The Neo-Greek building, with its monumental external staircase, Ionic columns and pediment, was designed by the architect Gamaliel King.

Little Island

Little Island is a floating park on the Hudson River. It was created by Thomas Heatherwick. The park is located on an artificial island with a hilly landscape, trees and benches. This is the perfect place to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

One Vanderbilt Observation Deck

The height of the observation deck Summit skyscraper One vanderbilt 16 m lower than the Empire State Building. The observation deck offers stunning views of New York. There is an installation here created by artist Kenzo. It is a space whose surfaces are completely covered with mirrors. In addition, you can dine on the observation deck at the Après restaurant, which is owned by renowned restaurateur Danny Meyer.

Katz's Delicatessen

There is always a long line at the door of this diner. The restaurant, located on the corner of Houston and Ludlow Streets, was opened in 1888. Initially, it was called "Icelandic Brothers" and was very popular among immigrants. In 1910, the Katz brothers bought the establishment, moved its building across the street and renamed it. This diner is famous for its legendary pastrami and corned beef sandwiches.

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Apollo Theater

The Apollo Theater in Harlem was designed by architect George Keister. The theater became widely known thanks to the "Amateur Night at the Apollo". Every Wednesday at such concerts, different performers sang, and their performances were broadcast on the radio. Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Sammy Davis Jr. were on the Apollo stage before they became world famous. Now the Apollo Theater is a non-profit organization, but concerts are still held there.

Brooklyn Botanical Garden

The Botanical Garden is located between the Brooklyn Museum and Prospect Park. Its area is more than 20 m². The Brooklyn Botanical Garden is home to over 14 plant species. It was founded in 1910 by the botanist Charles Geiger, who became its first director. Today, the botanical garden is one of the most visited places in Brooklyn. Especially popular is the Japanese garden by the pond, which was designed in 1933 by landscape designer Takeo Shiota.