Broadway (Manhattan)

The Broadway [ bɹɑ dweɪ ː ] is a capital and business street in Manhattan, New York is also the oldest and longest with more than 25 km long north- south crossing of the island. This road comes to parts still from an old Indian trail, the assumed that the first Dutch settlers and have expanded to a road. The southern end of Broadway is located at Bowling Green near the southern tip of Manhattan. He leads across the island to the northern tip, where it crosses the Harlem River via the Broadway Bridge, continues through the Bronx and into Westchester County, along the Hudson River, until he is in Sleepy Hollow to Albany Post Road and in the course U.S. Highway 9 through to Albany, the capital of the State of New York, leads.

When the first Dutch settlers settled on the island and New Amsterdam founded, they took over - in contrast to the English, who resorted more to their existing principle of English town planning ways to build their settlements - these existing Indian trail to get from New Amsterdam, in the south the island to get to other places in the north.

History

Long before the first Europeans entered the island of Manhattan ( origin of the name of the language of the Delawares ), living there Indians had already beaten paths in the wooded wilderness. The most important of them was called Wickquasgeck path, according to one of the sub-tribes of the Delawares, who lived on the southern Hudsongegend. He crossed the island from north to south around swamps and rocky elevations.

The Dutch explorer David de Vries mentioned this path for the first time in writing, as he wrote in 1642: " [ ... ] the Wickquasgeck - way to pass the Indians every day ." The Dutch widened the southern part of the way and built him out to a paved road that they or " Breede away " called " Heere Straat ," from which it was later through the influence of the English language, the name Broadway.

Today's Broadway but no longer meets in its course exactly the original path or the Dutch road. Until the 23rd Street of Broadway still has its original course. But where now the Broadway north, diagonally through the rectangular grid of the remaining streets and then on the west side of the island to the northeast, was the path that was followed by the Indians and later the Dutch, on the eastern side of the island up, and only about at the height of what is now northeastern corner of Central Park, he went in a northerly direction, following the line which corresponds today to the St. Nicholas Avenue. In the area around Washington Heights then meet again original path and today's Broadway and lead to the mainland, in the Bronx today.

Since May 2009 have become on the initiative of Mayor Michael Bloomberg parts of Broadway into a pedestrian zone. Both in the 500 -meter-long area between 42nd and 47th Street, which includes Times Square, and between 33rd and 35th Street were initially limited to September 2009 are no cars. After especially the accidents involving pedestrians had fallen significantly, this provision has been permanently valid. When taxi drivers and suppliers to the plan initially met with resistance.

Today's course

Provided you look at the Bowling Green as the starting point of the Broadway, then today's road begins at the southern end of Manhattan Island in the so-called Downtown, the "old town " of New York. Today's starting point was originally much closer to the coast, through multiple actions of land reclamation ( eg by leftover excavation was poured from the building of houses in the water ) the shoreline of Lower Manhattan, however, steadily moving somewhat into the sea, so that the Broadway quite a bit from the water begins.

A few blocks to the northeast leads past the Broadway at the Trinity Church and the City Hall Park. This section from the south end to the Town Hall is traditionally the route of the so-called " ticker -tape parades " that are used to organize much more often than it is today for special occasions and personalities (eg, after defeating the New York Yankees in the World Series 2000). Stands between the office buildings of the financial district, has survived in the immediate vicinity of the former World Trade Center and today's Ground Zero, the oldest still in use Church of the USA, St. Paul's Chapel, which, amazingly, even several town fires and the collapse of the twin towers.

West of Broadway, to Canal Street, was until 1825 the upmarket residential district of New York. Land reclamation also have substantially increased the area and the banks of the Hudson River is now far behind TriBeCa and Battery Park City. Between Canal Street and Houston Street, SoHo, which is the fourth designer boutiques and art galleries today and still very, goods and commercial buildings reminiscent of the former textile mills, built in the late 19th century with glass cast iron facades ( Italianate style) is were (Cast - Iron Historic District ). The Broadway is here lined by many shops, which serve specifically the tourists shopping, which frequent the numerous there.

The Broadway marks the eastern border of Greenwich Village (also known as West Village ) and at the same time the western border of the East Village and runs close to the Washington Square Park between the New York University in the west and Astor Place and St. Mark's Place (or 8th Street ) through the east. Six blocks further north, at Union Square, and the impact of Broadway to the north, where he, contrary to the Commissioners ' plan of 1811, as the only road obliquely through the otherwise to all of Manhattan ( north of 14th Street ) applied rectangular grid of streets and begins Avenues through runs. The 14th Street is considered a " border" between "downtown" and " Midtown Manhattan ".

Where cross the Broadway and Avenue, lively and bustling plazas were created with small parks and architecturally interesting buildings, such as the intersection of Broadway and 5th Avenue at 23rd Street ( Madison Square ), where the Madison Square Park and find the famous Flatiron Building.

At Herald Square, the intersection of 6th Avenue and Broadway on 34th Street, now stands Macy's, the largest department store in the world, occupying an entire city block (from the 6th to 7th Avenue between 34th and 35th Street ). There was originally the theater district of Manhattan, until it was gradually superseded by the court on Longacre Square, under the name of Times Square enjoys worldwide fame today. The Broadway crosses the Times Square, the center of the drama and theater district ( Theater District ), which is located with its 38 theaters between the 41st and 53rd Street. According to him, the spectacular musical productions were named, which are now generally referred to "Broadway plays". Smaller drama productions have had earlier settled mostly slightly away from expensive location on Broadway and were therefore - later smaller for each theater practice, whether on Broadway or not - the term " Off-Broadway " ( German: " from the Broadway ").

The next intersection of Broadway with Avenue is at 59th Street 8th Avenue. This place is called Columbus Circle, named after the explorer Christopher Columbus. The Columbus Circle forms the southwest corner of Central Park. The running in the north-south direction 8th Avenue forms the western boundary of the park and also give you the name "Central Park West", the 59th Street, the southern boundary of the park is, there sinnigerweise " Central Park South ". At Columbus Circle, the newly built " Time Warner Center", which houses the headquarters of Time Warner company, more expensive luxury homes & businesses and concert halls of " Jazz at Lincoln Center " is located. On the north side of the square of the " Trump International Hotel and Tower ", one of the many skyscrapers is owned by construction magnate Donald Trump with one of the most luxurious hotels in the United States. From Columbus Circle to the north of Broadway is navigable in both directions, which only toward Downtown is south possible. He is now bordered by a tree-lined green median strip, similar to Park Avenue.

Further north, crossing the Broadway Columbus Avenue ( Lincoln Square ) and transferred to the level of the 64th/65th Street also at Lincoln Center over an area that is primarily known for the Metropolitan Opera and in which, among other cultural institutions, the Juilliard School of Music is located. " Gilded :; (Verdi Square, northern crossing Sherman Square, south of the intersection), turn with magnificent buildings from the so-called" Gilded Age "(Eng. about at the 71st Street intersection of Broadway with the Amsterdam Avenue is "cf " Belle Epoque " era originate in Europe), including the former Ansonia Hotel on 73th Street.

Up to 107th Street Broadway now leads relatively parallel to the other Avenues by the more genteel Upper West Side, which is mainly characterized by large houses and due to the comparable quiet location is a coveted and thus expensive residential area today, in which people of the upper middle class have settled and the upper class.

The Broadway united at the 107th Street to West End Avenue and follows the straight line to the northeast by Morningside Heights, on the campus of Columbia University and Barnard College over.

From the junction with the Trans - Manhattan Expressway at the 178th/179th Street to the north of the Broadway as U.S. Highway 9 is reported.

More Broadway in New York City

There are next to the Broadway in Manhattan also each have a street named Broadway in the other four districts of New York: in the Bronx ( the continuation of the old path, and Broadway in Manhattan ), Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Iceland. In addition, there are short, independent from the actual Broadway streets of Manhattan, which bear the name Broadway as East Broadway, West Broadway and Old Broadway.