The City of New York, New York

With a population of around eight million people New York City is the largest city in the United States.  The first capital of the United States, New York City is truly the "city that never sleeps." The city also has many other nicknames, including "The Big Apple" and "The Financial Capital of the World." New York was first referred to as the Big Apple some time in the 1920's. John Fitzgerald, who was a sportswriter for the Morning Telegraph, overheard stablehands in New Orleans refer to the racetracks in New York City as "The Big Apple." He then changed the name of his daily column to "Around the Big Apple." Later, jazz musicians used the term to refer to the city. The old saying was that in this world, there were many apples on the tree of success, but when you pick New York City, you pick the big apple. Decades later, this saying still rings true. It is also said that if you can make it in New York City, you can make it anywhere. 

Because of the city's location at the junction of the Hudson River, Long Island and the Atlantic Ocean, it serves as an important port. The city is actually divided into five separate mini-cities called boroughs. The five boroughs that compose New York City are: Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island. Brooklyn and Queens make up Long Island. Manhattan and Staten Island are actually islands, and the Bronx is actually part of New York's mainland. 

Probably the most popular borough is Manhattan. Manhattan is the location of the first European settlement in New York. The Dutch settled what is now Manhattan in the 1620's.  They named the city New Amsterdam. In 1664, the British took over and named the city New York. Most of the city's famous landmarks are located in Manhattan. Times Square, The Empire State Building, Macy's and Central Park can all be found there. Times Square was originally called Longacre Square. Then, in the early 1900's, the New York Times moved from Newspaper Row, which is downtown, to the square. The paper celebrated moving in on New Year's Eve, 1904, with a fireworks display, which started the tradition of Times Square as the place to be on December 31. The ball, which used to drop from Trinity Church downtown, has been dropping from there since 1908. The New York Times moved off of the square in 1913, but the name has stuck. The world's first illuminated news ticker was built in Times Square. It circles the old Times building. It began its service by reporting the 1928 election results. The election was won by President Hoover. Its report of Japan's surrender at the end of World War II set off a spectacular celebration in the square. Even for all of its history and culture, if you're looking for Main Street, you won't find it in Manhattan. There is, however, a Main Street in all of the other four boroughs. 

The Bronx, which is the only borough that is actually part of the New York mainland, was settled in 1639. It is named after Jonas Bronck. The Bronx contains more than 60 landmarks and historic districts. Places to visit in the Bronx include: the Edgar Allen Poe Cottage on the Grand Concourse and the stately Van Cortlandt House Museum in Van Cortlandt Park. The Bronx is also home to "The House That Ruth Built," which is more commonly known as Yankee Stadium. 

Queens, which makes up part of Long Island, has long been considered "the home of jazz." Since the 1920's, it has been the residence of choice for hundreds of the nation's most famous jazz musicians. Among the musicians who have called Queens home are: Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Dizzy Gillespie. Queens is also home to the Queens Museum of Art. The museum houses the world's largest architectural model. It is a panorama of the entire city of New York. The model contains 850,000 individual structures at a scale of 1 inch equals 100 feet. 

Brooklyn was founded in 1646. It was originally named the Village of Breuckelen. It was authorized by the Dutch West India Company to become the first municipality in what is now New York State. Probably the most famous landmark in Brooklyn is the Brooklyn Bridge. The bridge opened in 1883. The bridge connects Manhattan and Brooklyn and accommodates nearly 150,000 vehicles a day. Brooklyn is also home to the Brooklyn Museum, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the Regina Opera. 

Staten Island is often referred to as "the forgotten borough." The island is the third largest of the five boroughs (60 square miles), but it is the least populated. Staten Island is the most geographically separate of the city's boroughs. It is not connected to Manhattan by any direct tunnel, bridge, or subway. It is  connected to Brooklyn by the Verrazanno-Narrows Bridge, and to lower Manhattan by the Staten Island Ferry.

The 16th century Florentine explorer Giovanni Da Verrazano is commonly considered to be father of Staten Island because he sailed into New York Harbor in 1524 and landed on the Island. In 1687 the Duke of York offered the island as a prize in a sailing competition which the team from Manhattan won. Since that time, Manhattan has claimed the island as its own. Until 1713, when the first public ferry was started to the island, there was no way to get back and forth unless you had a boat. Among the many attractions on Staten Island is the Staten Island Zoo.

New York City has 578 miles of waterfront. The harbor area has just as many attractions as the city itself. Among the attractions in the harbor area are Battery Park, Ellis Island and of course, the Statue of Liberty. In Battery Park, one can catch the Staten Island Ferry. One can also take tours of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. The Statue of Liberty stands 101 feet tall from base to torch and 305 feet tall from foundation to torch. She has a 35-foot waist and an 8-foot index finger, and weighs 450,000 pounds. 

Ellis Island opened its doors to immigrants in 1892. A 15-year old girl, named Annie Moore, was the first immigrant to be questioned in the immigration station's second-floor Registry Room. From 1892-1924, 12 million immigrants entered the United States through Ellis Island. Some of the more famous ones include: Irving Berlin, from Russia; Marcus Garvey, from Jamaica; Bob Hope, from England; Knute Rockne, from Norway; and the Von Trapp family from Austria. 

New York City is also considered to be the financial capital of the world. Every day, billions of dollars change hands on Wall Street and the New York Stock Exchange. The New York Mercantile Exchange is the world's largest physical commodity futures exchange. Until 2001, New York City was the location of the World Trade Center. All of these things allow New York City to live up to one of its many nicknames. 

The city is also home to many sports, pastimes and cultural activities. There is never a shortage of activities. New York is home to 20,000 restaurants, 150 museums and 10,000 stores. Several professional sports teams make their home in New York City. The Mets and Yankees of Major League Baseball, the Knicks of the NBA, the Rangers and the Islanders of the NHL, and the Giants and Jets of the NFL, all make their home in the Big Apple. 

Whether it is history, culture or a mixture of both, it can be found in New York City. It truly is "the city that never sleeps."