26.8.12 - 
Manhattan
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Manhattan
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Getting to know Manhattan
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| Photo courtesy of Nelson Mattioli Leite |
MANHATTAN
Let's start with History and Curiosities (just a little bit)…
Manhattan is one of the 5 boroughs of New York City (the others are the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island) and its population is 1.6 mi (8 mi along with the other boroughs). Lenape Indians lived here when the Dutch settled, in 1625, and sold the land for goods worth about US$ 24 (!). They had named it Manna-Hata ("islands of many hills") and the Dutch named it New Amsterdam.
In 1674 the Treaty of Westminster was signed ceding it to England, who named it New York after the English Duke of York.
The dutch people originally settled below what is now 14th street to the Southern tip (close to Ellis Island, where the immigrants entered the country in the 19th century).
Manhattan connects with New Jersey and the other boroughs through lots of tunnels and bridges.
How to walk around as a local:
The island has a fabulous grid system, dated from 1811, that makes it really easy to locate anything above the 14th street (below that the streets have names and some are winding, so it gets more difficult). The street numbers increase from south to north, 220th being the last one (above that is the Bronx). The avenue numbers increase from east to west (1st, 2nd, 3rd, Lexington, Park, Madison, 5th, 6th... and so on). Above midtown some avenues change names: 8th Ave becomes Central Park West, 9th Ave turns into Columbus Ave, 10th Ave is Amsterdam Ave and 11th becomes West End Avenue.
Broadway is the only one that runs from northwest (Bronx) to southeast (Bowling Green), crossing a lot of avenues. In each intersection there is a landmark/ square/ subway station:
- Amsterdam Ave, at 72nd: Verdi Square;
- Columbus Ave, at 65th: Lincoln Square;
- West End Ave, at 59th: Columbus Circle;
- 7th Ave, at 42nd: Times Square;
- 6th Ave, at 34th: Herald Square (Penn Station);
- 5th Ave, at 23rd: Madison Square (being the 5th on the west side and Madison Ave on the east side of this park);
- Park Ave: Union Square
The Fifth Avenue, which runs along Central Park on the east side, is the dividing line between East and West. Street signs are written to include whether it is East (E) or West (W), such as 45th W and 45th E.
The address numbers begin at the Fifth and increase as you head to either sides. Even streets run east and odd streets run west. There are some two way main streets: 14th, 23rd, 34th, 42nd, 57th, 72nd, 86th, 96th... (notice that usually is the street where Broadway crosses an Avenue).
Tip 1: New York is a walking city (so leave your Manolos, Louboutins and Jimmy Choos at home). Twenty blocks equal about a mile (1.6 Km). It takes approximately 1 minute to walk each block between the streets and 3 between the avenues. Good to know to calculate the time between your current location and your destination.
Tip 2: Memorizing the way each avenue runs helps you to locate Downtown and Uptown easily. This is really good when you reach the surface leaving the subway. Otherwise you might walk in the wrong direction. Of course a tourist doesn't have to do that, rsrsrs.
1st Ave: Uptown;
2nd Ave: Downtown;
3rd Ave: Uptown;
Lexington Ave: Downtown;
Park Ave: Uptown and Downtown;
Madison Ave: Uptown;
5th Ave: Downtown;
6th Ave: Uptown;
7th Ave: Downtown;
8th Ave: Uptown;
9th Ave: Downtown;
10th Ave: Uptown;
11th Ave: Downtown.
See in a bigger map
2 comments:
Paula, já ganhou uma leitora! Finalmente consegui entender a lógica da numeração das ruas! :-)
Adorei teu blog… Parabéns!!!
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