New York City from Above (86 photos)

Have you ever flown over New York City? Would you like to? We invite you on an exciting virtual helicopter ride over the Big Apple.





1. New York is often called the capital of the world: it is a "city for everyone," incorporating elements of different cultures, which is reflected in its appearance. The main feature of modern New York is, without a doubt, its skyscrapers. The city boasts over 500 buildings over 100 meters tall. In this respect, New York is second only to Hong Kong. Most people have to look up to experience New York City. But to fully appreciate this city's beauty, you must look at it from above, not from below.



2. The city is relatively young, founded in the early 17th century by Dutch colonists. Due to its abundance of natural canals and large bodies of water, it was originally named New Amsterdam. In 1664, the city was captured by the English without resistance and renamed New York in honor of the English king's brother, the Duke of York, who initiated the capture.

3. Manhattan

New York City has a population of over 8.4 million. The city's most populous borough, Manhattan, is located on the 21-kilometer-long island of the same name. In 1626, Dutch explorer Peter Minuit purchased Manhattan from a Native American tribe for $24. The island is now worth approximately $50 billion.



4. Most of the island, with the exception of the historic southern portion, is built on a rectangular plan. The 16 streets parallel to the Hudson River were called "avenues," and the 155 transverse streets were numbered and called "streets." Broadway is the exception: it crosses almost the entire length of Manhattan diagonally. Between 5th and 8th Avenues (from 59th to 110th Streets), space was allocated for Central Park.



5. Skyscrapers form the foundation of modern New York City architecture.

For its first 200 years, New York City followed European architectural styles. Not a single building from the Dutch colonial period remains in Manhattan today. Most were destroyed in the Great Fire of 1776 or demolished in the early 19th century. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, The main architectural trends followed European trends. But with the advent of cast iron, Art Deco, and skyscrapers, New York architecture took its own path.



6. The development of high-rise construction was facilitated by the confined space, high land prices, and the presence of durable rock.

The history of skyscrapers in New York began with the construction of the New York World Building in 1890 (destroyed in 1955). It was the first building to surpass the 85-meter-tall Trinity Church in height. Since 1890, 11 skyscrapers in the city have held the title of tallest building in the world. New York City experienced a very early boom in high-rise construction, the first wave of which began in the 1910s and lasted until the early 1930s. A second wave of high-rise construction began in the 1960s and continues to this day.



7. Statue of Liberty

One of the most famous sculptures in the United States and the world, often referred to as a symbol of New York and the United States, a symbol of freedom and democracy, "Lady Liberty" is a gift from French citizens for the centennial of the American Revolution in 1886. The statue is located on the island of the same name, three kilometers from Manhattan.



8. The Goddess of Liberty holds a torch in her right hand and a tablet in her left. The tablet is inscribed "ENG. JULY IV MDCCLXXVI" (July 4, 1776), the date of the adoption of the US Declaration of Independence.

The height from the ground to the tip of the torch is 93 meters, including the base and pedestal. The height of the statue itself, from the top of the pedestal to the torch, is 46 meters.



9. Ellis Island

Located in New York Harbor, Ellis Island was the largest immigration point in the United States. From 1892 to 1954, 12 million people passed through it. Approximately every second American now has at least one person in their family tree who arrived in the United States through this island.



10. Lower Manhattan

Battery Park is one of the oldest recreation areas in New York City. Ferries to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty depart from here. The park's name comes from a Dutch cannon battery located here in the 17th century, guarding the ocean approaches to the city. Since then, the shoreline has shifted and, as a result of excavation work, has extended further into the sea. After the destruction of the World Trade Center skyscrapers on September 11, 2001, debris from the buildings was dumped here, increasing the park's area by 2 hectares.



11. This is the oldest part of the city; it is here that modern New York City grew.



12. One World Trade Center and the National September 11 Memorial & Museum



13. The Twin Towers once stood on this site. Now it's a memorial featuring two of the largest artificial waterfalls in the United States. The names of the 2,983 victims are engraved on 76 bronze plaques attached to the pools' parapets. The September 11 Museum itself is located beneath the waterfalls, approximately 21 meters below ground.



14. The new World Trade Center is 541 meters tall. It is the third-tallest skyscraper in the world after the Burj Khalifa and Abraj Al Bait, and the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.



15. Brooklyn Bridge

One of the oldest suspension bridges, at 1,825 meters long, it crosses the East River and connects Brooklyn with Manhattan. When completed in 1883, it was the largest suspension bridge in the world.



16. Manhattan Bridge

This double-decker bridge was built in 1909. The upper deck carries passenger vehicles. The lower deck carries the New York City Subway. Incidentally, New York City has the largest subway in the world. It has 468 stations and carries approximately 8 million passengers per day.



17. Financial District

It is home to tens of thousands of jobs, many of which are located in the largest stock exchanges and banks. The area has the highest population density, reaching 378,000 people per square kilometer during the day.



18. Wall Street

Considered the historic center of the city's Financial District, the street's main landmark is the New York Stock Exchange. Figuratively, this name refers to both the exchange itself and the entire US stock market.



19. 25% of the world's gold reserves are stored in the vaults of the Federal Reserve Bank on Wall Street.



20. Park Row Building

This 30-story, 119-meter skyscraper was the tallest building in the world for nine years upon its completion in 1899. The building utilized an all-steel load-bearing skeleton, an innovation of the Chicago School of Tall Buildings. Notably, Park Row has only one formal facade, facing City Hall Park. The other walls are finished in plain brick.



21. Woolworth Building

This neo-Gothic skyscraper, built between 1910 and 1913 as the headquarters of the Woolworth Company retail chain, was the tallest building in the world for 17 years. One hundred years after its construction, it still ranks among the 50 tallest skyscrapers in the United States, standing at 241 meters (57 stories). The Woolworth Building was designed by architect Cass Gilbert. Construction cost $13.5 million, which Woolworth paid in cash.



22. The tower's exterior decorations were made of architectural terracotta limestone panels. The columns extend straight up to the pyramidal top, giving the building its "uprightness," leading New Yorkers to jokingly call the building "The Pride of New York."



23. Civic Center



24. Manhattan Municipal Building

In 1898, after the unification of the Five Towns, New York City was short of government space. In 1909, construction began on the Manhattan Municipal Building, which was intended to address this problem. Three years later, the 177-meter, 40-story building was completed and became the first skyscraper to house a subway station at its base. The building served as a prototype for Stalin's skyscrapers in Moscow (especially Moscow State University and the Kotelniki skyscraper).



25. Union Square

Since the 19th century, various protests and demonstrations have taken place here, including rallies for the return of the Dalai Lama to China, the release of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, and the creation of an independent Palestinian state.



26. Madison Square is a square at the intersection of Broadway and Fifth Avenue.

From 1876 to 1882, a giant hand of the Statue of Liberty, holding a torch, stood in the park—citizens were encouraged to raise money for the construction of a pedestal for the statue. In 1912, the first public Christmas tree in New York City was illuminated here. A monument to William Henry Seward is located in the park. As U.S. Secretary of State, Seward did everything he could to ensure the Alaska Purchase was completed. He said that only the next generation would understand the full significance of this acquisition. This proved to be true when gold, copper, and oil were discovered in Alaska.



27. Flatiron Building

One of New York City's most unusual skyscrapers. Construction of the 82-meter-tall building was completed in 1902. The name Flatiron, which translates as "flatiron," comes from its triangular shape, which truly resembles an iron.



28. Despite its considerable height, it gives the impression of being "unstable." That's exactly what New Yorkers thought as they watched the building's construction: they believed a gale would inevitably topple the structure, and they bet on how far the debris would fly. The men of New York noticed a peculiarity: when the north wind blew, which the building "cut" with its tip, the currents would flow down the walls and, striking the pavement, form eddies that lifted women's skirts above their heads. This peculiarity attracted dozens of men around the building, who were constantly dispersed by police.



29. Metropolitan Life Tower

One of New York City's most beautiful "Gothic" skyscrapers. The 50-story tower was built in 1909, modeled after the Campanile of St. Mark's Basilica in Venice. Each side of the building is adorned with an 8-meter-tall clock with 500-kilogram minute hands.

Behind the tower stands the Metropolitan Life North Building. This massive structure was designed in the 1920s as a 100-story skyscraper. Had the design been built as originally planned, it would have briefly been the tallest building in the world. However, the stock market crash of 1929, along with the ensuing Great Depression, prevented this plan from being realized; construction was halted at the 29th floor in 1933.



30. Washington Square Park

This was once a cemetery for slaves and yellow fever victims. Deep beneath the park, some 20,000 people are buried to this day. However, the park is now a popular recreation area. In 1889, to commemorate the centennial of the inauguration of George Washington, the first US President, a memorial arch of wood and plaster was erected in the park. In 1892, a marble arch was added. Fifth Avenue, Manhattan's central avenue, begins at the park, dividing its streets into the west and east sides.



31. Midtown



32. Empire State Building

New York's most famous skyscraper. From 1931 to 1970, the Empire State was the tallest building in the world. It is the first building in the world to exceed 100 stories. Its height is 381 meters, and including the television antenna added in the 1950s, it reaches 443 meters.



33. It's hard to believe, but the 102-story Empire State Building was built in just 13 months!

Construction began in March 1930. The Waldorf Astoria Hotel previously stood on the site designated for the Empire State Building. In November 1929, the hotel was demolished, and over 16,000 truckloads of debris were removed from the site. The foundation of the future skyscraper was laid in less than a month, and by April 1930, work began on the building's steel frame. The Empire State Building grew an average of four stories each week, and at one peak, it rose a whopping 14.5 stories in just 10 days! The official opening took place on May 1, 1931, when US President Herbert Hoover turned on the building's lights by pressing a button in Washington, D.C.



34. The observation deck on the 86th floor of the building was visited annually by up to three and a half million people, providing a significant source of income during the Great Depression, when the building was nicknamed the "Empty State Building." The skyscraper did not recoup its construction costs until 1948.



35. A testament to the building's structural strength is the fact that when a twin-engine US Air Force B-25 bomber, piloted in dense fog, crashed into the building at the 79th floor on July 28, 1945, the damage was limited to the exterior walls and a fire inside. The aftermath was quickly dealt with, despite the fact that one of the plane's engines passed through the entire building. Fourteen people died. Elevator operator Betty Lou Oliver survived the incident after falling 75 stories in an elevator—an achievement that earned a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.



36. At the building's inception, its spire was conceived as a mooring mast for airships. However, the idea of ​​an air terminal was deemed untenable due to safety concerns (strong and unstable air currents at the top of the building made docking very difficult, and after the first attempt, it became clear that the idea was utopian). Not a single zeppelin ever docked at the building.

In 1964, a floodlighting system was installed on the tower to illuminate the top in colors corresponding to events, anniversaries, or holidays. Since then, the building's illumination has become a unique spectacle: each day of the week has its own color, and on holidays and significant dates, the skyscraper is illuminated in special color combinations.



37. The Empire State Building's observation deck, located on the 86th floor, is one of the most visited observation decks in the world. More than 110 million people have visited it.

It's worth noting that over the entire life of the building, more than 30 suicides have occurred there. In 1947, a fence was erected around the observation deck after five suicide attempts were made there in just three weeks. In 1979, Miss Elvita Adams decided to take her own life and jumped from the 86th floor. However, strong winds blew her to the 85th floor, and she suffered only a broken hip.



38. Bryant Park Neighborhood



39. The New York Public Library

One of the largest libraries in the world. In total, the library system's collections contain over 50 million items (books, videos, maps, etc.), of which over 20 million are books.



40. American Radiator Building

The skyscraper was built in 1924. Back then, to give the façade a striking appearance, the bricks of the exterior walls were dipped in manganese before installation, darkening them. The building now houses the Bryant Park Hotel.



41. Bank of America Tower

It is the third-tallest building in New York City after the Empire State Building and the Freedom Tower, and the fifth-tallest in the United States at 366 meters.



42. MetLife Building (Pan Am Building until 1981)

Until 1981, the building housed the headquarters of Pan American World Airways. In 1981, the building was purchased by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, which led to its name change. The platforms of New York City's Grand Central Terminal are located beneath the building. It has more platforms (44) and more tracks (67) than any other train station in the world.



43. Midtown East



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45. Chrysler Building

One of New York City's most famous and recognizable skyscrapers. Both the appearance of this 77-story building and its construction history are unusual.



46. The building was constructed in 1930 at a rate of four floors per week, essentially competing with another skyscraper located in Lower Manhattan at 40 Wall Street, now known as the Trump Building. The architects competed for the right to be called the tallest building in the world, making changes to the design during construction.

At the last minute, architect William Van Allen agreed with city officials to place a 38-meter steel spire on the building's roof, keeping this secret until the very end of construction and the start of installation. The visible portion of the Chrysler Building's spire was erected in just 90 minutes. William Van Allen thus won the title of architect of the tallest building in the world, but he held it for only 11 months—until May 1, 1931, when the Empire State Building was completed.



47. The Chrysler Building is an example of Art Deco architecture. The ornamentation on the tower echoes the hubcap designs on Chrysler automobiles of the time. The corners of the 61st floor are adorned with eagles, the same eagles that appeared on the hood of the Chrysler automobile in 1929.

In 2007, the New York City Commission on Architecture named the Chrysler Building "The Most Beautiful Skyscraper in Manhattan."



48. Brightly Shining Blocks – This is the "Heart of Manhattan"



49. Times Square

One of the most popular and frequently visited places in New York City. The square received its name in April 1904 after The New York Times moved its headquarters to the newly constructed Times Building, now called One Times Square and the site of the annual New Year's Eve ball drop.



50. Broadway theaters, a plethora of bright neon signs, and television-style signs have made Times Square one of the most iconic symbols of New York City's vibrant life. It is the only neighborhood in the city where residents are required to display brightly colored billboards.



51. The square is nicknamed "the crossroads of the world" and "the Great White Way." It is an iconic landmark worldwide, a symbol of New York City and the entire United States.



52. Times Square is visited by over 39 million tourists annually and approximately 300,000 people daily.



53. Madison Square Garden

It hosts international competitions in several sports and is home to NHL and NBA teams. The arena's capacity varies depending on the event, from 18,200 seats for hockey games to 20,000 for concerts. Located beneath the stadium is Pennsylvania Station, commonly known as Penn Station, one of the busiest train stations in the world.



54. New Yorker Hotel

During the 1940s and 1950s, the hotel was one of the most fashionable. Many notable figures, such as Spencer Tracy, Joan Crawford, and Fidel Castro, stayed here. Inventor Nikola Tesla spent the last ten years of his life in seclusion in Suite 3327, where he died, devoting his time primarily to feeding pigeons and occasionally meeting with celebrities.



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56. Rockefeller Center

A large office center built in the 1930s with funds from the Rockefeller family. It was named after John Davison Rockefeller, Jr. The center is best known for its 14 high-rise buildings with Art Deco finishes. It houses the headquarters of various corporations and the world's largest auction house, Christie's. In 1989, Rockefeller Center was purchased from the Rockefellers by the Japanese Mitsubishi Group.



57. In the center of the complex is the Lower Plaza, where the city's main Christmas tree is erected every Christmas.



58. The General Electric Building

The 70-story skyscraper, located in the heart of the complex, was formerly known as the RCA Building but is commonly known as 30 Rock. The building houses the NBC headquarters, where numerous television series and programs are filmed. Tours are available for tourists, allowing them to go behind the scenes of NBC's most famous television shows and series.



59. At the top of the skyscraper is an observation deck called Top of the Rock. Although not as tall as the Empire State Building's observation deck, many consider Top of the Rock to offer the best panoramic view of New York City.



60. St. Patrick's Cathedral is the largest Catholic church in the United States built in the neo-Gothic style.



61. Traffic on Sixth Avenue



62. Citigroup Center (formerly Citicorp Center)

An interesting feature: there is a small Lutheran church directly beneath the building. Out of respect for the cathedral and its parishioners, the architects chose not to demolish it, but instead took a remarkable step: they erected the building on large pedestals, as if it were standing on legs. The result was a rather unique community: a small cathedral, and above it, on towering supports, a giant skyscraper. Remarkably, the supports are not at the corners, but in the middle of each side of the building. In 2002, one of the columns was reinforced with durable steel and copper shields to protect the building from the possibility of a terrorist attack.



63. Lipstick Building

The color and shape of this 34-story residential skyscraper so closely resembled lipstick that it was immediately nicknamed the Lipstick Building.



64. Waldorf Astoria Hotel

The original Waldorf Astoria opened in the late 19th century and was demolished in 1929, replaced by the Empire State Building. The current Waldorf Astoria, 47 stories tall and with over 1,400 rooms, was completed in 1931. Marilyn Monroe and Ella Fitzgerald stayed at the hotel, and the film "Scent of a Woman" was also filmed here, for which Al Pacino won an Oscar in 1993.



65. 432 Park Avenue

The tallest residential skyscraper in the world is currently under construction (the 117-story World One in Mumbai, India, is still under construction). The 96-story, 426-meter building will house 104 apartments priced from $7 million to $95 million.



66. The 75-story residential skyscraper One 57



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68. Grand Army Plaza

The plaza is located at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 53rd Street. The five-star Plaza Hotel is visible on the right in the photo. The hotel has been used in various film productions, such as Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. In February 1964, the Beatles stayed at the Plaza during their first visit to New York.



69. Midtown West



70. Columbus Circle

A plaza at the southwest corner of Central Park, at the intersection of Broadway and Eighth Avenue. The Columbus Monument stands in the center of the plaza. This monument was erected in 1892 as part of the celebration of the 400th anniversary of the discovery of America. For New York City, this is a kind of zero kilometer.



71. Central Park is a green oasis nestled between densely built-up neighborhoods.

The park is approximately 4 km long, approximately 800 meters wide, and covers a total area of ​​3.41 square kilometers. For comparison, that's almost twice the size of Monaco.



72. Sheep Meadow

The park is visited by approximately 25 million people per year, making it the most visited park in the United States.



73. Landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted designed the park. Work continued even during the American Civil War and was completed in 1873.



74. Bow Bridge

Although the park appears very natural, almost all of its landscapes are hand-crafted. Central Park features several artificial lakes, numerous walkways, two ice rinks, untouched wilderness areas, and grassy areas used for various sports, as well as children's playgrounds and a petting zoo.



75. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir



76. The Dakota

Built between 1880 and 1884, this building was originally a luxury residential building. It gained its greatest notoriety when, on December 8, 1980, fan Mark Chapman shot and killed iconic English musician John Lennon, who had immigrated to the United States, in the archway of this building. Currently, to buy an apartment in the Dakota, you need to secure the support of the residents' committee, which recently turned down Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith, who hoped to buy apartments there.



77. The streets around Central Park are home to the most expensive buildings in New York City. Some apartments here cost $20-30 million, and acquiring them is not easy. Even if a vacant apartment comes on the market, it's not a guarantee that the local conservative residents' council will approve your application.



78. San Remo

Many celebrities have lived in this building at various times, including Steven Spielberg, Tiger Woods, Dustin Hoffman, Bruce Willis, and Demi Moore. From 1982 to 2003, the north tower of the building housed apartments owned by Steve Jobs, who later sold them to Bono, the lead singer of U2, for $15 million.



79. Queensboro Bridge

A two-tier cantilever bridge built in 1909 across the East River. Its upper tier houses two pedestrian walkways, a bicycle path, and two railroad tracks. The lower tier carries four lanes of traffic. The Roosevelt Island Tramway, a suspended railway spanning the East River and connecting Roosevelt Island to Manhattan, runs adjacent to the bridge.



80. Headquarters of the United Nations

The United Nations (UN) is an international organization of states created to maintain and strengthen peace, security, and promote cooperation among nations. The UN currently has 193 member states.



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82. USS Intrepid

An American Essex-class aircraft carrier from World War II. The name translates as "fearless." The ship is moored at Pier 86 in New York City and has served as a naval and aerospace museum since 1982, attracting hundreds of thousands of tourists annually.



83. The museum's collection includes such exhibits as the Concorde supersonic passenger jet, the Lockheed A-12 spy plane, the NASA space shuttle Enterprise, the submarine USS Growler, and much more.



84. Chelsea Piers

The Titanic, on its maiden voyage in 1912, was scheduled to dock at Pier 59 (the rightmost pier). On the evening of April 18, 1912, the Carpathia, carrying the rescued Titanic passengers, approached this pier and unloaded the lifeboats she had found in the ocean. Only then did she moor at Pier 54 to release the survivors.



85. Verrazano-Narrows Bridge

One of the world's largest suspension bridges, it connects the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Staten Island. The bridge's central span is 1.3 km long. Built in 1964, the bridge is named after Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano, the first European to enter New York Harbor and the Hudson River.



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