Central Park

Central Park is a public park in the heart of Manhattan in New York City. Central Park, designated a National Historic Landmark in 1963, is today managed by the Central Park Conservancy under contract with the City of New York. The Conservancy is a non-profit organization that contributes 85% of Central Park's $25 million dollar annual budget, and employs 80% of the park's maintenance staff. Central Park, which has been a National Historic Landmark since 1963, was designed by landscape designer and writer Frederick Law Olmsted, and English architect Calvert Vaux, in 1858 after winning a design competition 1858.

The Empire State Building is a 102-story landmark Art Deco skyscraper in New York City at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. Its name is derived from the nickname for the state of New York, The Empire State. It stood as the world's tallest building for more than forty years, from its completion in 1931 until construction of the World Trade Center's North Tower was completed in 1972. Following the destruction of the World Trade Center in 2001, the Empire State Building once again became the tallest building in New York City and New York State.

The George Washington Bridge was dedicated on October 24, 1931, and opened to traffic the following day. Initially named the "Hudson River Bridge," the bridge is named in honor of George Washington, the first President of the United States. The Bridge is near the sites of Fort Washington (on the New York side) and Fort Lee (in New Jersey).

The George Washington Bridge (known informally as the GW Bridge) is a suspension bridge spanning the Hudson River, connecting the Washington Heights neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City to Fort Lee in New Jersey. Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 1/9 cross the river via the bridge. U.S. Route 46, which is entirely in New Jersey, ends halfway across the bridge at the state border. The bridge has an upper level with four lanes in each direction and a lower level with three lanes in each direction, for a total of 14 lanes of travel. The speed limit on the bridge is 45 mph (70 km/h), though congestion often slows traffic, especially during the morning and evening rush hours. A path on each side of the bridge's upper level carries pedestrian and bicycle traffic. As of 2007, the George Washington Bridge has the greatest vehicular capacity of any bridge in the world, carrying approximately 106 million vehicles per year, making it the world's busiest motor vehicle bridge, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Due to the troubled political situation in France, work on the statue did not commence until the early 1870s. In 1875, Laboulaye proposed that the French finance the statue and the Americans provide the pedestal and the site. Bartholdi completed both the head and the torch-bearing arm before the statue was fully designed, and these pieces were exhibited for publicity at international expositions. The arm was displayed in New York's Madison Square Park from 1876 to 1882. Fundraising proved difficult, especially for the Americans, and by 1885 work on the pedestal was threatened due to lack of funds. Publisher Joseph Pulitzer of the World initiated a drive for donations to complete the project, and the campaign inspired over 120,000 contributors, most of whom gave less than a dollar. The statue was constructed in France, shipped overseas in crates, and assembled on the completed pedestal on what was then called Bedloe's Island. The statue's completion was marked by New York's first ticker-tape parade and a dedication ceremony presided over by President Grover Cleveland.

The Statue of Liberty (originally called Liberty Enlightening the World) is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor. It was designed by Frederic Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886. The statue is a robed female figure representing Liberties, the Roman goddess of freedom, who bears a torch and a tabula ansata upon which is inscribed the date of American independence. A broken chain also lies at her feet. The statue has become an iconic symbol of freedom and of the United States. Bartholdi was inspired by French law professor and politician Eduard Rene de Laboulaye, who commented in 1865 that any monument raised to American independence would properly be a joint project of the French and American peoples.

New York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. The city is often referred to as New York City or the City of New York to distinguish it from the state of New York, of which it is a part.It is located on a large natural harbor on the Atlantic coast of the Northeastern United States, the city consists of five boroughs: The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island. Many districts and landmarks in the city have become well known to outsiders. The Statue of Liberty greeted millions of immigrants as they came to America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Times Square, iconified as "The Crossroads of the World", is the brightly illuminated hub of the Broadway theater district, one of the world's busiest pedestrian intersections, and a major center of the world's entertainment industry. Anchored by Wall Street, in Lower Manhattan, New York City vies with London as the financial capital of the world and is home to the New York Stock Exchange, the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies. The original Manhattan Chinatown attracts throngs of tourists to its bustling sidewalks and retail establishments. World-class schools and universities such as Columbia University and New York University also reside in New York City.