Dorothy Parker said that New York is always hopeful, and it’s true that New Yorkers are famous for looking to the future rather than into the past. The city symbolizes their dreams, determination, adaptability, and success, as well as times of trouble and protest. But sometimes, it’s worth taking a moment to look back, to find the stories that lie behind the city’s remarkable buildings and views. Because it’s those stories that show the soul of New York and ensure that the achievements of its inhabitants get the attention they deserve.
1) Broadway: the city’s lifeline
Broadway begins at Battery Park, near the southern tip of Manhattan. Following an old Native American trail, it curves through Manhattan Island for 23 kilometers, until it reaches the northern city limits.
Where it crosses other roads, Broadway creates some of the most beautiful spaces in the city. The street is studded with skyscrapers. The Woolworth Building, 241 meters high, was the tallest in the world until 1930. It was commissioned by Frank Woolworth in 1910, to use the “advertising effect” of strong architecture.
Along its route, Broadway touches some of the city’s most important business sectors. It even gives its name to one of them: New York’s Broadway Theater District. This centers around Times Square, home to 39 theaters.
This part of Broadway is often called “the Great White Way.” The phrase dates to the end of the 19th century, when electric lights were first hung on theater billboards to draw attention to shows.
2) Ellen’s Stardust Diner: making it big
There are 41 Broadway theaters, 62 off-Broadway, and 120 off-off-Broadway stages. This classification refers to the number of seats in the theater, not to the location or the quality of the plays. Some Broadway theaters seat more than 1,500 people, while off-Broadway theaters have 100 to 499 seats, and off-off-theaters fewer still.
What makes an evening on Broadway so unforgettable is the dining experience. The OpenTable platform reported in 2021 that, if you ate at a different restaurant every day, it would take you 12 years to visit those in Manhattan that use the app.
At least 80 percent of New York establishments don’t survive beyond their first five years. Fortunately, Ellen’s Stardust Diner did. Since 1987, people have lined up at the door almost daily to see live performances by the singing waiters and waitresses. The 1950s-style diner has as its theme the longing of actors, musicians, dancers, and directors from all corners of the world to make it big. You’ll have a wonderful evening!
3) Steam: the breath of the city
There are certain features that make New York’s streets immediately recognizable: yellow cabs, pedestrian walkway signals, subway iconography, water towers, pretzel sellers, and hot-dog stands.
Also typical is steam, rising from orange and white-striped chimneys that can be seen at construction sites. Every year, 12 million tons of steam are pumped through an underground network of pipes to around 1,700 customers, including the U.N., the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), and New York’s universities. The steam is used to cool or heat rooms, increase air humidity, steam-iron linens in laundries, and sterilize items in hospitals.
This is the largest district heating system of its kind in the world – and it’s environmentally friendly: Steam is simply a result of electricity generation.
4) Central Park: space to breathe
It’s Sunday morning, and I’m making my way to Central Park. The sun’s shining, half of Manhattan seems to be going to the Great Lawn, carrying picnic baskets.
It wasn’t always like this. Before the park was built, the land was rocky and swampy. The chief planner, Frederick Olmsted, had had a vision of a democratic space that everyone could enjoy. Construction began in 1858 and, in that same year, the first section of the park, the Lake, opened to the public.
In the early years of the project, the Central Park Commission was one of New York’s main employers. More than 140,000 tons of rock and earth were moved to build bridges and, drain the swampy land, and prepare the soil for the 500,000 trees and shrubs that were planted.
The project was supposed to cost $5 million; in the end, the bill came to $14 million. This was almost twice as much as it had cost for the U.S. to buy Alaska from Russia in 1867.
5) Waldorf salad: the taste of luxury
Oscar Tschirky was known in his day as an artist “who composed sonatas in soups, symphonies in salads, minuets in sauces, lyrics in entrees.” Aged just 16 when he arrived in New York from Switzerland in 1883, he became the maître d’hôtel at the Waldorf Hotel ten years later, when it opened.
Among other delicacies, Tschirky gave the world eggs Benedict, Thousand Island dressing, and an enormous cookbook, which was called simply The Cookbook.
And, of course, he created the famous Waldorf salad, which originally consisted of finely chopped apple, celery, salt, pepper, and mayonnaise, served on a bed of torn lettuce. It was only later that walnuts were sometimes added to the salad.
Standing at the corner of Fifth Avenue, with 1,300 rooms, all with electric lights, the Waldorf was considered to be one of the best hotels in the world. This was partly because of the hotel’s progressive policy: It even welcomed women who arrived without men accompanying them.