History of Manhattan, New York, USA

Journey back in time to Manhattan, New York, USA

(New York City) (New Amsterdam) (Washington Heights)

• 1524 - Giovanni de Verrazano enters New York harbor
  
  The World Almanac of the U.S.A, by Allan Carpenter and Carl Provorse, 1996
  
  
• 1609 - September - Navigator Henry Hudson discovers island of Manhattan
  
  historyorb.com
  
  
•  1610 - June 10 - 1st Dutch settlers arrive (from NJ), to colonize Manhattan Island
  
  historyorb.com
  June 10, 1610
  
  
• 1625 - New Amsterdam founded by Dutch colonists
  Now New York City. Was settled 1624 on Governor's Island, moved to Manhattan 1625.
  wikipedia.org
  
  
• 1626 - May 6 - Dutch colonist Peter Minuit buys Manhattan Island from local Indians for 60 guilders worth of trinkets
  
  historyorb.com
  
  
• 1664 - British conquer New Netherland (New York)
  
  The World Almanac of the U.S.A, by Allan Carpenter and Carl Provorse, 1996
  
  
• 1704 - February 28 - Frenchman Elias Neau opens a school for blacks in NYC
  
  www.onthisday.com
  
  
•  1712 - April 7 - Slave revolt in New York kills 6 white men, 21 African Americans executed
  
  www.onthisday.com
  April 7, 1712
  
  
• 1725 - First Newspaper in New York
  The first [newspaper] in New York was "The New York Gazette," [published] in 1725.
  
  colonialwarsct.org/ 1755.htm
  
  
•  1728 - December 17 - Congregation Shearith Israel of New York purchases a lot on Mill Street in lower Manhattan to build the city's first synagogue
  
  onthisday.com
  December 17, 1728
  
  
•  1736 - March 31 - Belleuve Hospital founded in a New York City almshouse - 1st public hospital in the US
  
  onthisday.com
  March 31, 1736
  
  
• 1765 - New York City hosts a colony conference dealing with the King of England's Stamp Act
  
  www.e-referencedesk.com/ resources/ state-history-timeline/ new-york.html
  
  
• 1770 - January 19 - Battle of Golden Hill (Lower Manhattan)
  
  historyorb.com
  
  
• 1777 - New York City, long occupied by British troops, was evacuated.
  
  www.e-referencedesk.com/ resources/state-history-timeline/ new-york.html
  
  
•  January 23, 1780 - The coldest day of the coldest month of record in the northeastern U.S.
  A British Army thermometer in New York City registered a reading of 16 degrees below zero. During that infamous hard winter the harbor was frozen soli...Read MORE...
  
  
  
• 1785 - New York City named nation's capitol
  
  www.worldatlas.com/ webimage/ countrys/ namerica/ usstates/ nytimeln.htm
  
  
• 1789 - George Washington inaugurated as first U. S. president in New York City
  
  www.worldatlas.com/ webimage/ countrys/ namerica/ usstates/ nytimeln.htm
  
  
• 1792 - July 1 - A tremendous storm (a tornado or hurricane) hit Philadelphia and New York City. Many young people were drowned while out boating on that Sunday.
  
  WeatherForYou.com
  
  
• 1799 - September 1 - Bank of Manhattan Company opens in NYC (forerunner to Chase Manhattan)
  
  historyorb.com
  
  
• 1801 - The popular tabloid New York Post was originally established in 1801 as a Federalist newspaper called the New York Evening Post by Alexander Hamilton, an author of the Federalist papers and the nation’s first secretary of the treasury.
  
  www.ereferencedesk.com/ resources/ state-facts/ new-york.html
  
  
•  January 25, 1821 - The Hudson River was frozen solid during the midst of the coldest winter in forty-one years.
  Thousands of persons crossed the ice from New York City to New Jersey, and refreshment taverns were set up in the middle of the river to warm pedestri...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  June 28, 1832: Cholera epidemic began in N.Y.C.
  
  The Old Farmer's Almanac www.almanac.com
  June 28, 1832
  
  
•  1835 - AWFUL CONFLAGRATION !!
  Our city has just been the theatre and the victim of the most disastrous visitation ever known to this Continent !! The heart of her business, her com...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  1837 - May 10 – The Panic of 1837 begins in New York City.
  Banks in New York City ran out of gold and silver. They suspended specie payments and would no longer redeem commercial paper in specie at full face v...Read MORE...
  
  
  
• 1853 - Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations
  Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations was a World's Fair held in 1853 in what is now Bryant Park in New York City, in the wake of the highly succe...Read MORE...
  
  
  
• 1854 - Manhattan
  Manhattan Island, sometimes called New York Island, in the S. E. part of New York, separated from the mainland by Harlem river. Length 15 miles, width...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  1855 - We Wish You a Happy New Year.
  We know how busy you are this morning - you can't stop to take a third cup, nor to eat half a breakfast; you are in a pet about your boots - in a stew...Read MORE...
  
  
  
• 1855 - August 1 - Castle Clinton in New York City opens as the first U.S. receiving station for immigrants.
  
  http://www.independentsentinel.com/
  
  
•  1856 - St. Valentine's Day.
  This is St. Valentine's Day, and if there has not been a wonderful reform in the general mind, since February last, a great many foolish lines will be...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  1857 - March 23 – Elisha Otis' first elevator is installed (at 488 Broadway, New York City).
  On March 23, 1857, the first passenger elevator was installed in the retail establishment of the New York porcelain and glass dealer Haughwout and Com...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  1857 - October 13 – Panic of 1857: New York banks close and do not reopen until December 12.
  
  wikipedia.org
  October 13, 1857
  
  
•  1858 - October 28 – Macy's department store, founded by R.H. Macy, opens for business in New York.
  Rowland H. Macy opened R.H. Macy & Co. as a dry goods store in New York City. First-day sales totaled $11.06.
  macysinc.com
  October 28, 1858
  
  
•  1863 - July 13 – American Civil War – New York Draft Riots: In New York City, opponents of conscription begin 3 days of violent rioting, which will be regarded as the worst in the history of the United States.
  
  wikipedia.org
  July 13, 1863
  
  
•  1864 - May 18 - The Civil War Gold Hoax was an 1864 hoax perpetrated by two US journalists to exploit the financial situation during the American Civil War.
  On May 18, 1864, two New York City newspapers, the New York World and the New York Journal of Commerce, published a story that President Abraham Linco...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  1865 - January 4 – The New York Stock Exchange opens its first permanent headquarters at 10-12 Broad near Wall Street in New York City.
  The Exchange had formally existed since 1792, but had operated out of a series of packed Wall Street coffee-houses and rented offices. By the mid-nine...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  1867 - FIREWORK EXPLOSION - THREE MEN SERIOUSLY INJURED.
  Yesterday afternoon at 5:30 o'clock, as EDWARD KENNY, a porter in the employ of Messrs. Purdy & Co., dealers in fireworks, at No. 34 Maiden Lane, ...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  1873 - September 18 – The New York stock market crash triggers the Panic of 1873, part of the Long Depression.
  After the Civil War, the US banking system grew rapidly and seemed to be set on solid ground. But the country was hit by many banking crises. One of t...Read MORE...
  
  
  
• 1873 - October 20 - P. T. Barnum’s Hippodrome opens in New York City featuring “The Greatest Show on Earth.” It is destroyed in a fire on December 23, 1873.
  
  http://www.independentsentinel.com/
  
  
•  1874 - November 9 - A famous hoax at the zoo, called the New York Zoo hoax, is also known as The Central Park Zoo Escape and the Central Park Menagerie Scare of 1874.
  It was a hoax perpetrated by the New York Herald about a supposed breakout of animals from the Central Park Zoo on November 9, 1874.
  The article warn...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  1875 - December 4 – Notorious New York City politician Boss Tweed escapes from prison and flees to Cuba, then to Spain.
  On December 4, 1875, William M. “Boss” Tweed, notorious leader of New York City’s Democratic political machine, escaped from the Ludlow Street jail wh...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  1879 - May 30 – New York City's Gilmore's Garden is renamed Madison Square Garden by William Henry Vanderbilt, and is opened to the public at 26th Street and Madison Avenue.
  Originally it was a railroad passenger depot located at East 26th Street and Madison Avenue, the New York and Harlem Railroad, before they would move ...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  1880 - DESTRUCTION AND DEATH - A FRESH HORROR FURNISHED IN NEW YORK CITY.
  FALL OF THE MADISON SQUARE GARDEN - THE BUILDING FILLED WITH PEOPLE IN AID OF A CHARITY - SEVERAL PERSONS KILLED AND MANY MORE INJURED.
  
  New York, A...Read MORE...
  
  
  
• 
  Nestle Food
  New York, NY
  
  Found at Old Drugstore, St Augustine, Florida
  Advertisement
  
• 
  Palmer's Skin-Success Soap
  Made in New York, NY
  
  Found at Old Drugstore, St Augustine, Florida
  Advertisement
  
• 
  Vaseline Petroleum Jelly
  Made in New York, NY
  
  Found at Old Drugstore, St Augustine, Florida
  Advertisement
  
• 
  1880s
  F. A. O. Schwarz
  Advertisement
  
•  1882 - September 4 - Thomas Edison flips the switch to the first commercial electrical power plant in history, lighting one square mile of lower Manhattan. This is considered by many as the day that began the electrical age.
  
  wikipedia.org
  September 4, 1882
  
  
• 1882 - March 3 - NY Steam Corp begins distributing steam to Manhattan buildings
  
  historyorb.com
  
  
•  1883 - January 4 – Life magazine is founded in New York City.
  "Life was founded January 4, 1883, in a New York City artist’s studio at 1155 Broadway. The founding publisher was John Ames Mitchell, a 37-year old i...Read MORE...
  
  
  
• 1883 - November 27 - Fire engines were called out in New York City and New Haven, CT, as a result of the afterglow of the sunset due to vivid red ash from the Krakatoa Volcano explosion in August.
  
  The Weather Channel
  
  
•  1885 - March 3 – A subsidiary of the American Bell Telephone Company, American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T), is incorporated in New York.
  
  wikipedia.org
  March 3, 1885
  
  
• 1885 - The Statue of Liberty arrives in New York Harbor.
  The formal reception of Bartholdi's great statue of "Liberty Enlightening the World" took place at yesterday at New York with impressive ceremonies. T...Read MORE...
  
  
  
• 1888 - "The Great White Hurricane"
  March 11-14, 1888
  More than 120 winters have come and gone since the so-called “Great White Hurricane,” but this whopper of a storm still lives in in...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  1889 - July 8 – The Wall Street Journal is established.
  "...The first issue of The Wall Street Journal appeared on July 8, 1889. It cost two cents per issue or five dollars for a one-year subscription. Dow ...Read MORE...
  
  
  
• 
  Perry Davis' cough medicine
  New York, New York
  Found at The Way It Was Museum, Virginia City, Nevada
  Advertisement
  
•  1891 - May 5 – The Music Hall in New York (now known as Carnegie Hall) has its grand opening and first public performance, with maestro Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky as the guest conductor.
  
  wikipedia.org
  May 5, 1891
  
  
• 1892 - NO MORE BARGE OFFICE. Immigrants Will Hereafter Land at Ellis Island.
  New York, Jan. 1. - Without any ceremony or formal opening the immigration officials of this city today settled down on Ellis Island in the harbor and...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  1893 - May 5 – Panic of 1893: A crash on the New York Stock Exchange starts a depression.
  
  wikipedia.org
  May 5, 1893
  
  
•  1894 - September 4 – In New York City, 12,000 tailors strike against sweatshop working conditions.
  
  wikipedia.org
  September 4, 1894
  
  
•  1895 - BUILDING UNDER CONSTRUCTION COLLAPSES.
  New York, March 2. - The accident occurred about 3:55 o'clock in the afternoon. Without the slightest sound that might have warned the 50 men that wor...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  1895 - November 25 - Oscar Hammerstein opens the Olympia Theatre, the first theatre to be built in New York City's Times Square district.
  
  wikipedia.org
  November 25, 1895
  
  
• 1895 - Manhattan Island
  Manhattan Island, New York, is at the mouth of the Hudson River, which forms its western boundary. It is bounded on the E. by Harlem River and East Ri...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  1896 - May 26 – Charles Dow's Dow Jones Industrial Average first appears in the Wall Street Journal.
  "Charles Henry Dow, born in Sterling, Connecticut on November 5, 1851, was the son of a farmer who died when his son was six years old....
  
  Dow did ...Read MORE...
  
  
  
• 1896 - Nine-day heatwave in NYC killed 420
  
  www.worldatlas.com/ webimage/ countrys/ namerica/ usstates/ nytimeln.htm
  
  
•  1897 - September 21 – Francis P. Church responds to a letter to the editor that is known as the famous "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" letter. (wikipedia)
  "DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old.
  "Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus.
  "Papa says, 'If you see it in THE SUN it's so.'
  "Please ...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  1897 - While Preparing a Christmas Tree for Her Children Mrs. Rice Fell Dead - A CLOCK'S SUPPOSED WARNING
  Father Had Saved His Earnings for Six Months to Give His Children the First Tree They Had Ever Had.
  
  "Mamma, the clock has stopped between 12 and 1 ...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  1898 - January 1 – New York City annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York. The city is geographically divided into five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, and Staten Island.
  
  wikipedia.org
  January 1, 1898
  
  
•  1898 - Open Air Courtship
  With the coming of summer in New York the open air courtships begin. There is hardly the shadow of a friendly tree without a pair of lovers under it, ...Read MORE...
  
  
  
• 
  Who has the Oldest Sewing Machine?
  A new "Singer" given in exchange for it
  
  The Singer Manufacturing Co.
  New York City
  
  Ladies' Home Journal
  February 1898
  Advertisement
  
• 
  The Edison New Standard Phonograph
  Price $20
  National Phonograph Co., New York
  
  The Ladies' Home Journal
  November 1898
  Advertisement
  
•  1899 - CANDELEMAS DAY AT HAND.
  Something About That Day and the Practices and Beliefs Popularly Associated with It.
  
  The careless, everyday reader, who is too busy to trouble hims...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  1899 - July 19 – The Newsboys Strike takes place when the Newsies of New York go on strike (until August 2).
  Only a Partial Concession.
  
  The newsboys strike against the New York Journal and World has been settled. The newsies wanted the daily editions of th...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  1899 - SWALLOWED PIN; DEATH MAY RESULT - Lena Reilly Held Pin in Her Mouth and One Slipped Down Her Throat - WAS LAUGHING AT A JOKE
  Convulsed by Porter's Funny Story She Suddenly Cried Out and Fell to the Floor.
  
  VICTIM IN GREAT AGONY
  
  Surgeons Will Try to Locate Pin by Means ...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  1900 - March 24 - New York City Mayor Robert Anderson Van Wyck breaks ground for a new underground "Rapid Transit Railroad" that would link Manhattan and Brooklyn.
  
  historyorb.com
  March 24, 1900
  
  
• 
  Woolworth Building from City Hall Park, New York City
  Postcard
  
• 
  Times Square, New York City
  Postcard
  
• 
  Herald Square, New York
  Postcard
  
• 
  Skyline view of New York City
  Postcard
  
• 
  
  (IL) - Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Illinois
  
• 
  Curb Market, Broad Street
  Postcard
  
• 
  Fort Tryon, Washington Heights, New York City
  
  Fort Tryon Park is a public park located in the Hudson Heights and Inwood neighborhoods of the borough of Manhattan in New York City.
  
  Beginning in January 1917, philanthropist John D. Rockefeller,... Read MORE...
  
  Postcard
  
• 
  The Jumel Mansion, Washington Heights, New York City
  
  The landmark Morris-Jumel Mansion is located in the aptly named Washington Heights section of Manhattan. Built in 1765 for British military officer Roger Morris, this National Historic Landmark ... Read MORE...
  
  Postcard
  
•  1901 - May 17 – The U.S. stock market crashes.
  
  wikipedia.org
  May 17, 1901
  
  
•  1902 - January 8 – A train collision in the New York Central Railroad's Park Avenue Tunnel kills 17, injures 38, and leads to increased demand for electric trains and led to the banning of Steam locomotives in the state.
  
  wikipedia.org
  January 8, 1902
  
  
•  1902 - June 15 – The New York Central railroad inaugurates the 20th Century Limited passenger train between Chicago and New York City.
  
  wikipedia.org
  June 15 1902
  
  
•  1903 - March 2 – In New York City, the Martha Washington Hotel, the first hotel exclusively for women, opens.
  
  wikipedia.org
  March 2, 1903
  
  
•  1903 - October 9 - New York City was deluged with 11.17 inches of rain in 24 hours to establish a state record.
  
  WeatherForYou.com
  October 9, 1903
  
  
• 1903 - December 19 - Williamsburg suspension bridge opens between Brooklyn & Manhattan
  
  historyorb.com
  
  
• 1903 - NYC - Crayons were invented by Edwin Binney and Harold Smith, who owned a paint company in New York City, NY, USA. Binney and Smith invented the modern-day crayon by combining paraffin wax with pigments (colorants).
  These inexpensive art supplies were an instant success since they were first marketed as Crayola crayons in 1903.
  www.enchantedlearning.com/ inventors/ us.shtml
  
  
•  1904 - June 15 – A fire aboard the steamboat General Slocum in New York City's East River kills 1,021.
  
  wikipedia.org
  June 15, 1904
  
  
•  1904 - October 27 – The first underground line of the New York City Subway opens.
  
  wikipedia.org
  October 27, 1904
  
  
•  1905 - "Likely to excel"
  The New York park commissioner recently made a requisition on the civil service commission for candidates from which to select a city apiarist. A woma...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  1905 - January 2 - GREATEST OF SKYSCRAPERS - OPENING OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BUILDING
  New York, Jan. 2 - The New York Times was published last night from its new building in Times square, a structure which has been referred to by expert...Read MORE...
  
  
  
• 
  St. Patrick's Cathedral, 1905
  
  St. Patrick's Cathedral is a Catholic cathedral in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It is the seat of the Archbishop of New York as well as a parish church. The cathedral occupies a city block... Read MORE...
  
  Postcard
  
• 1906
  Manhattan, a borough of the city of New York. It comprises Manhattan, Governor's, Bedloe's, Ellis, Oyster, Blackwell's, Randall's, and Ward's islands,...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  1909 - FIRE WIPES OUT A LANDMARK.
  Parkinson's in Whitehall Street Destroyed and Several Persons Burned.
  
  An aged scrubwoman was seriously burned and three men, one a fireman, were sl...Read MORE...
  
  
  
• 1909 - March 30 - Queensboro Bridge opens, linking Manhattan & Queens
  
  historyorb.com
  
  
• 
  Hester Street
  Postcard
  
• 
  Macy's Department Store and Herald Square, 1909
  Postcard
  
•  1910 - Saved by a Strong Clothesline
  Five-Story Fall Didn’t Feaze [sic] Him
  Seven-Year-Old, Emulating Feats of Firemen, Drops Through Tenement Clothes Lines. Four Broke Under Him
  Fifth ...Read MORE...
  
  
  
• 
  Shopping Center, 14th Street
  Rothenberg & Co. department store
  Postcard
  
• 
  Bowling Green
  
  Bowling Green is a small public park in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan, New York City, at the southern end of Broadway. Located next to the site of the original Dutch fort of New Amsterdam, it served as a public place... Read MORE...
  
  Postcard
  
• 
  Hotel McAlpin, 34th Street and Broadway
  
  The Hotel McAlpin was constructed in 1912 by General Edwin A. McAlpin, son of David Hunter McAlpin. When opened it was the largest hotel in the world... wikipedia
  Postcard
  
•  1911 - March 25 – A fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City kills 146.
  
  wikipedia.org
  March 25, 1911
  
  
• 
  McGown's Pass Tavern, Central Park, New York City, 1911
  
  Located in the northern portion of Central Park. It is the original tavern on the green.
  
  "A narrow passage between the hills was named McGown’s Pass after Andrew McGown, owner of a... Read MORE...
  
  Postcard
  
• 
  The New Grand Central Depot, 42d Street, 1911
  Postcard
  
•  1913 - April 24 – The Woolworth Building opens in New York City. Designed by Cass Gilbert, it is the tallest building in the world at this date and for more than a decade after.
  
  wikipedia.org
  April 24, 1913
  
  
•  1913 - February 1 – New York City's Grand Central Terminal, having been rebuilt, reopens as the world's largest railroad station.
  
  wikipedia.org
  February 1, 1913
  
  
• 
  Manhattan Opera House, 1913
  Postcard
  
•  1914 - August 1 - New York Stock Exchange closed due to war in Europe, where nearly all stock exchanges are already closed.
  
  wikipedia.org
  August 1, 1914
  
  
•  1914 - December 12 – The New York Stock Exchange re-opens, having been closed since August 1 except for bond trading.
  
  wikipedia.org
  December 12, 1914
  
  
• 1914 - Carrier Pigeon is Bridal Messenger
  NEW YORK, Nov. 3 - Ever since a Belgian rabbit escaped from one of the rooms on the fifth floor of the Prince George hotel, A. M. Gutterson, the assis...Read MORE...
  
  
  
• 
  Manhattan Hotel
  
  Hotel Manhattan (also known as Manhattan Hotel) was a "railroad hotel" on the northwest corner of Madison Avenue and 42nd Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York.
  
  Built in 1895–1896, it was to an 1893 design by Henry... Read MORE...
  
  Postcard
  
• 
  Panorama of Lower Manhattan and Bay from top of Woolworth Building
  Postcard
  
• 
  Flat Iron Building
  Postcard
  
•  1920 - January 9 – Thousands of onlookers watch as "The Human Fly" George Polley climbs the Woolworth Building in New York City. He reaches the 30th floor before being arrested.
  
  wikipedia.org
  January 9, 1920
  
  
• 
  Pell Street, Chinatown
  Postcard
  
• 
  Hotel Commodore
  
  The Commodore Hotel was constructed by The Bowman-Biltmore Hotels group. The structure itself was developed as part of Terminal City, a complex of palatial hotels and offices connected to Grand Central Terminal and all owned by... Read MORE...
  
  Postcard
  
• 
  Madison Square Garden
  
  Madison Square Garden (1879–1890) was an arena in New York City at the northeast corner of East 26th Street and Madison Avenue in Manhattan. The first venue to use that name, it seated 10,000 spectators. It was replaced with ... Read MORE...
  
  Postcard
  
• 
  Paterno Castle, Washington Heights, New York
  
  The centerpiece of Paterno's seven-acre (2.8 ha) estate, located in what is now the Hudson Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, was Paterno's Castle, a Neo-Gothic four-story 35-room... Read MORE...
  
  Postcard
  
•  1924 - November 27 – In New York City the first Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is held
  
  wikipedia.org
  November 27, 1924
  
  
• 
  Rogers Restaurant, Sixth Avenue and 45th Street
  Postcard
  
•  1926 - February 1 – Land on Broadway and Wall Street in New York City is sold at a record $7 per sq inch.
  
  wikipedia.org
  February 1, 1926
  
  
• 
  1927 advertisement
  
  A Bit of New England in New York
  Prince George Hotel
  Fifth Ave. & 28th St.
  A. M. Gutterson, Mgr.
  1000 Rooms with Bath $3.0 and up
  A Home in the Heart of Things
  
  Built in 1904 with an addition in 1912, The Prince George... Read MORE...
  
  Advertisement
  
•  1928 - LOST BELLBOY FOUND
  Youngster Wind Gold Medal for Refusing to Sell Liquor
  
  NEW YORK. March 25 - Satisfaction of the existence of a non-bootlegging bellboy was the featu...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  1930 - February 26 - 1st red & green traffic lights installed (Manhattan NYC)
  
  historyorb.com
  February 26, 1930
  
  
• 
  Chrysler Building
  
  The Chrysler Building is an Art Deco skyscraper on the East Side of Manhattan in New York City, at the intersection of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. At 1,046 feet (319 m), it is the tallest brick... Read MORE...
  
  Postcard
  
• 
  Gimbels, 1930
  
  Gimbels arrived in New York in 1910, and in one fell
  swoop created a famous department store legend
  which competed with its rival Macy's, one block away.
  Postcard
  
•  1931 - October 24 – The George Washington Bridge across the Hudson River in the United States is dedicated; it opens to traffic the following day. At 3,500 feet (1,100 m), it nearly doubles the previous record for the longest main span in the world.
  
  wikipedia.org
  October 24, 1931
  
  
• 1931 - May 1 - The Empire State Building Opens
  President Herbert Hoover pressed a button in Washington, D.C., and on came the lights in the world's tallest skyscraper. Before that, the Chrysler Bui...Read MORE...
  
  
  
• 
  Empire State Building, 1931
  
  The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its name is derived from "Empire State", ... Read MORE...
  
  Postcard
  
•  1932 - December 27 - Radio City Music Hall opens in New York City.
  
  wikipedia.org
  December 27, 1932
  
  
•  1932 - November 16 – New York City's Palace Theatre fully converts to a cinema, which is considered the final death knell of vaudeville as a popular entertainment in the United States.
  
  wikipedia.org
  November 16, 1932
  
  
•  1933 - March 15 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average rises from 53.84 to 62.10. The day's gain of 15.34%, achieved during the depths of the Great Depression, remains to date as the largest 1-day percentage gain for the index.
  
  wikipedia.org
  March 15, 1933
  
  
• 
  Midtown Manhattan, 1934
  Postcard
  
•  1935 - March 19 – Harlem Riot of 1935: A race riot breaks out in Harlem (New York City) after a rumor circulates that a teenage Puerto Rican shoplifter in the S. H. Kress & Co. department store has been brutally beaten.
  
  wikipedia.org
  March 19, 1935
  
  
•  1936 - July 11 - Triborough Bridge linking Manhattan, Bronx & Queens opens
  
  historyorb.com
  July 11, 1936
  
  
• 1938 - "Long Island Express" - HURRICANE, FLOODS SWEEP NEW ENGLAND. 296 WERE KILLED IN STORM ALONG ATLANTIC COAST; PROPERTY DAMAGE ENORMOUS.
  ...New York City Drenched.
  New York city's 7,000,000 inhabitants, who barely escaped the worst of the storm, were drenched with a 4 1/ 2 inch rain. Th...Read MORE...
  
  
  
• 1939 - April 30 - World's Fair opens in New York City
  
  April 30, 1939
  
  
• 1940 - November 18 - George Matesky, New York City's Mad Bomber places his first bomb at a Manhattan office building used by Consolidated Edison.
  
  historyorb.com
  
  
• 
  Bond Spectacular Waterfall Sign in Times Square
  
  Largest Spectacular Sign in the World. Bond Sign on Broadway -- A full block from 44th to 45th Street in Times Square, 21,500 electric light bulbs, over two miles of vari-colored neon. 10,000... Read MORE...
  
  Postcard
  
•  1943 - March 31 – Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma! opens on Broadway
  
  wikipedia.org
  March 31, 1943
  
  
• 1944 - HURRICANE HITS NEW YORK AND NEW ENGLAND COASTS. HIGH WINDS LASH JERSEY, LONG ISLAND.
  ...In New York City, sidewalks were virtually deserted. Wind whipping sheets of rain around the corners of tall buildings smashed plate glass windows....Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  1945 - October 29 - At Gimbels Department Store in New York City, the first ballpoint pens go on sale at $12.50 each.
  
  wikipedia.org
  October 29, 1945
  
  
•  July 28, 1945: A U.S. bomber flying through thick fog at about 200 mph crashed into the 79th floor of New York's Empire State Building, killing 14 people
  
  The Old Farmer's Almanac www.almanac.com
  July 28, 1945
  
  
•  1946 - December 20 - Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life, featuring James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Henry Travers, and Thomas Mitchell, is released in New York.
  
  wikipedia.org
  December 20, 1946
  
  
• 1946 - New York City is chosen as the site of the United Nations
  
  
  
•  1947 - December 26-27 - New York City received a record 26.4 inches of snow in 24 hours, with as much as 32 inches reported in the suburbs.
  The heavy snow brought traffic to a standstill, and snow removal cost eight million dollars. Thirty thousand persons were called upon to remove the 1...Read MORE...
  
  
  
• 
  Radio City Music Hall, Rockefeller Center, 1947
  
  Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue and theater at 1260 Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Nicknamed "The... Read MORE...
  
  Postcard
  
• 1951 - January 10 - UN headquarters opens in Manhattan NY
  
  historyorb.com
  
  
•  1952 - February 5 - The first “Don’t Walk” sign was installed in New York City. The installation of this sign was inspired by the growing number of deaths resulting from pedestrian accidents.
  
  http://thisdayintechhistory.com
  February 5, 1952
  
  
• 1953 - November - Residents of New York City suffered through ten days of smog resulting in 200 deaths.
  
  The Weather Channel
  
  
• 1964 - April 22 - World's Fair opens in New York City
  
  April 22, 1964
  
  
• 1972 - Hurricane Agnes
  June 22
  1:00 p.m. EDT (18:00 UTC) – Tropical Storm Agnes makes landfall near New York City, New York with winds of 65 mph (105 km/ h).
  wikipedia.org
  
  
•  1973 - April 4 – The World Trade Center officially opens in New York City with a ribbon cutting ceremony.
  
  April 4, 1973
  
  
•  1977 - July 13 - Lightning struck a key electrical transmission line in Westchester County of southeastern New York State plunging New York City into darkness.
  
  WeatherForYou.com
  July 13, 1977
  
  
• 1993 - World Trade Center bombing