A must read is 'Island at the center of the World - The epic story of Dutch Manhattan and the forgotten colony that shaped America' by author Russel Shorto !!!! The USA's constitution and declaration of independence were modelled after those of the Dutch. Furthermore, stocktrade was invented by the Dutch.
The disclaimer for liberals is insane, then immediately followed by a crazy liberal saying there was natives here there was roads. Like pick a lane be factual or be crazy
@@kevinshea5819 it was worth it, I saw all the sites and ended at battery park. I mean, I was exhausted and it was a full day, but as an Aussie, I wanted to see it all since I came from so far!
Just casually dropping the fact that Wall Street came from the street that was along the outer wall of the original fortifications of New Amsterdam. It both makes so much sense and also something I never even thought about.
@@tomo9126New York's biggest sports franchise was named after the Dutch. Furthermore I don't think the names of the boroughs of Harlem, Brooklyn, Bronx, Flushing, Staten Island, Coney Island, Long Island, etc. sound boring. On top of that, the Dutch gave Manhattan it's name as they heard the natives call the land Mana Hata....
I like how you source your information and conduct interviews with experts. It's really refreshing. You should do other cities like Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, SF, LA, and Seattle. :) edit: removed duplicate Seattle and put SF
Yup, the northernmost part of Manhattan has quite the terrain, which is why the deepest stations on the NYC Subway are in northern Manhattan! 190th Street station on the IND Eighth Ave Line, which lies under Fort Tyron Park, is 140 feet/43 m below street level (it's also a short walk to The Cloisters)! THE deepest station on the NYC Subway system is 191st Street on the IRT Broadway-Seventh Avenue Line at 173 feet/53 m below street level! It was built by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company and opened in January 1911 as an infill station along the city's first subway line. So people could use the station because of the topography, they chose to build a pedestrian tunnel to save people a walk of a quarter to one-third of a mile and a steep climb. The tunnel is used as a connector between western and eastern Washington Heights. Passengers using the 191st Street and St. Nicholas Avenue entrance need to take an elevator to access the station due to that intersection's height, but the elevators at that entrance are outside fare control, so it's considered a convenient way to traverse the neighborhood without walking up a hill! This tunnel was shown in the In the Heights movie! When you mentioned at the end that they widened and straightened the waterway for ships (the Harlem Ship Canal), you didn't mention this led to the geographic oddity that Marble Hill is still considered a part of the borough of Manhattan and New York County despite it now being attached to The Bronx! Because of the canal, Marble Hill became an island in 1895, but then the river on the north side of the island was fully diverted to the canal with landfill, thus connecting the island to The Bronx! The name of Marble Hill was conceived when Darius C. Crosby came up with the name in 1891 from the deposits of dolomite marble underlying it known as Inwood marble. The marble was quarried for the federal buildings in Lower Manhattan when NYC was the national capital in the 1780s. Despite being part of Manhattan, Marble Hill has a Bronx ZIP code and uses Bronx area codes (though they did fight to retain Manhattan's 212 but it would've been too expensive).
A favorite puzzler offered by NYC transit fans is a request to name four railroad stations in Manhattan. Everyone gets Penn Station and Grand Central Terminal. Anyone who knows the city's transit gets 125th Street. But it's a rare trivia nerd who can name the fourth: Marble Hill on Metro North's Hudson Line.
@@harveywachtel1091I had no idea. I use the Harlem and New Haven lines all the time, but I’ve never been on the Hudson line. So much I still haven’t done in this city.
@@gemmamoon5998 A ride on the Hudson Line to Poughkeepsie is not to be missed. You get Twentieth-Century-Limited river views for off-peak commuter fares. Be sure to check out the Walkway Over the Hudson whole you're there. Be sure to sit on the west side of the train.
For that surviving section of Bloomingdale Road that you mentioned, part of that is Hamilton Place, which was originally the address of Alexander Hamilton's house, The Grange. In late 1798, Hamilton wrote to his wife Eliza that he was planning a project in NYC, the details of which he was keeping secret. During the Quasi-War of 1798-1800, Hamilton served as Inspector General of the United States Army, and so he could not devote time to his project. He wrote a letter to the merchant Ebenezer Stevens in October 1799, offering to buy a parcel adjoining Stevens's land from Jacob Schieffelin. Hamilton had wanted the plot west of the Bloomingdale Road, but Schieffelin would only sell the plot to the east of the road. Hamilton bought the eastern site in August 1800 for a plot of 15 acres, and he commissioned leading NY architect John McComb Jr, who also designed the iconic Montauk Point Lighthouse, Castle Clinton, Old Queens at Rutgers, and New York City Hall, to design a country home on the estate. The house was completed in 1802, just two years before Hamilton's death. Originally located near present-day 143rd Street, the house was moved in 1889 to 287 Convent Avenue before being relocated again in 2008 to St. Nicholas Park. Speaking of the Manhattan trolleys you showed at 10:35, it used to have some San Francisco-style operations! Duffy's Hill located on Lexington Ave between 102nd and 103rd Streets, has a grade of 12.6 percent and was named for Michael James Duffy, a Tammany Hall Alderman who built 26 rowhouses there! It was the home of many cable car accidents because the cars had to quickly accelerate and decelerate at this point. The corporation that ran the cable cars had a 24-hour guard stationed at the base of the hill by 1937 to watch over incidents! In Brooklyn, trolleys were once such a part of the Brooklyn scene that the local baseball club was named the Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers, after the people who had to dodge the trolleys to make it to the baseball park, which was then shortened to the Brooklyn Dodgers! Brooklyn once having a streetcar system is even referenced in Pokémon Black/White in Nacrene City!
Thanks for the info, Dear Leader. I lived briefly on what was once Hamilton's driveway. It begins at 137th (?) and Broadway. People don't realize that where he decided to build his summer home, he would have fought at the very same location during the siege of Manhattan. I wonder if during that siege, he thought "Hey, this would be a great place for a house". And it was. That exact location is wonderful in the summer. I also lived on Riverside Drive at 137th, and the breeze coming off the Hudson is such we didn't need air conditioning.
I lived in Manhattan for 21 years, until 2012. Really wish I had this kind of fascinating information. As much as I love the city and cherish my time there, I know I would have appreciated it all just a bit more with this kind of historical foundation. Thank you.
I live in Irvington, about 25 miles North of the city, and I always think it's fascinating that the same Broadway continues through my town and beyond. There's even a mile marker in a stone wall along the street that marks 25 (or maybe 26 i forget) miles from the city. It really shows how important it is to the city's development and the suburbs north.
That old tower on the right by the bridge at 16:33 is the High Bridge Water Tower, which was authorized by the State Legislature in 1863, was designed by John B. Jervis, the engineer who supervised the building of the High Bridge Aqueduct. The bridge next door is the oldest bridge in NYC as it opened as part of the Old Croton Aqueduct in 1848. Both the bridge and the water tower were part of the first reliable and plentiful water supply system in New York City. Water was pumped up 100 feet (30 m) to a 7-acre reservoir next to the tower (now the site of a play center and public pool built in 1934-1936) which then provided water to be lifted to the tower's 47,000 US gallons tank. This high service improved the water system's gravity pressure, necessary because of the increased use of flush toilets. The Old Croton Aqueduct was the first of its kind ever constructed in the United States. The innovative system used a classic gravity feed, dropping 13 inches (330 mm) per mile, and running 41 miles (66 km) into New York City through an enclosed masonry structure crossing ridges, valleys, and rivers! The reason they chose to build an ambitious system is because as the City was devastated by cholera in 1832 and the Great Fire in 1835, the inadequacy of the water system of wells-and-cisterns became apparent, and after they found the Croton River in northern Westchester County was a great source, they wanted to build the delivery system! Today, with three major water systems (Croton, Catskill, and Delaware) stretching up to 125 miles (201 km) away from the city, its water supply system is one of the most extensive municipal water systems in the world! The system's Delaware Aqueduct is the world's longest tunnel as it is 137,000 m or over 85 miles in length!
8:33 Yes! That fence is my favorite spot in the city. I'm so glad you mentioned the fence posts. It incredible that they clearly exist out in public after almost 250 years, When I'm in that area I look for tourists and point it out to them.
@@bpdbhp1632 Québec City turned 400 years old in 2008 and there was a LOT done for that. Québec City went from being part of New France, then part of British North America, and now Canada during that 400 year time. The Canadian Mint even did a beautiful, large scale released two dollar coin (we call it a toonie) commemorating the birthday. I think New York deserves a big fanfare too. Maybe the US is just too polarized and there's too many distractions to focus on such celebrations right now?
@@Mark_Andrew i love both quebec city and new york city. Thats great that they did that and it wouldve been awesome if there was some big celebration for new york citys 400 year birthday.
I'm from near London and visited NY for the first time two weeks ago. I couldn't work out why this road cut across a perfect grid system. Now I know. Thanks for the video. Loved New York by the way.
My ancestor, Isaac Varian in the 1700’s, owned the farm that sat between Broadway and 7th Ave and 29th and 33rd Street. Basically, the property that is between Madison Square Garden and the Empire State building today. His grandson also named Isaac, went on to be the 63rd mayor of New York. His house still stands today and is the Bronx history museum. Loved seeing this video!
You have awakened within me an interest and love for understanding how cities are laid out. I never really cared until stumbling upon your channel. Now I gobble up every video you post! Thanks for the dedication and high quality videos!
Great video, Daniel. I grew up in Washington Heights, and 60+ years later, I'm still learning things about it, as well as other 'features' of Manhattan. I knew of Fort Washington, as it is now Bennett Park, at least in part. We learned as kids that a certain high rock within the park was the highest natural point in Manhattan. I haven't been there in decades. I plan to check out more of your videos. Thanks.
The first ever hydro-electric system was set up in Appleton, WI. For a brief period in history, a year or two at most, more buildings and homes were lit up by electricity in Appleton than any other place in the world. I love imagining this relatively small city being a beacon of the future during this time, even brighter than great New York City.
I've never been a fan of city tourism, but this channel is making me appreciate it to a whole new level. Excited for you to teach me about my own city!
If you look behind El Malecon on 97th Street you'll see a little back garden that matches the East to West dimensions of several buildings on other blocks between Broadway and Amsterdam. That lost gap is the old Bloomingdale road. Modern Broadway was designated next to it to make space for the grid so the blocks could be more equally spaced. While there, go to El Malecon for their roast chicken. Best Dominican food in NYC. Fight me.
An amazing thing about Broadway is that it is above (or below) a Subway line for its entire length (barring a few street blocks in Inwood) in Manhattan. A defining street with a defining mode of transit that made the city what it is today.
I always thought 5th. was faster. Easier to go through the red lights, obviously had to skirt round WSP but still faster I thought. But you are correct that messenging down Broadway was a blast.
Great video. I do have 1 comment about lower Broadway. When I was doing research for a map I made of the Five Points, I found several mentions that, in the early colonial days, the main road North was The Bowery. It was the natural path even back into the days of Native American settlements. The reason for this is there was some natural obstruction that made it hard to travel further along what is today Broadway. Early Manhattan was also quite marshy which also affected early routes North. Canal Street was built, in part, to drain The Collect Pond and the marshy areas around it.
There are several geological faults right under Manhattan Island. Note the crooked shape of Manhattan Island bending towards the East forming Kips Bay. There's probably a fault running in parallel with Broadway under the waterline in Kips Bay. I used to live on Morningside Heights, close to the precipice overlooking Harlem across Morningside Park. The precipice was probably a geological fault which might have uplifted when the huge weight of the glacier up the Hudson River in the Hudson Valley lifted due to melting. The faults tend to run parallel to Broadway because Broadway itself might have been developed in its bent fashion due to its having been an easier way going north avoiding the uplifted natural obstruction in its way. Major earthquakes activating these faults right under Manhattan Island can be devastating. Of course, Manhattan schist (consisting of quartz, feldspar, and mica) forming Manhattan's bedrock is very strong so the buildings anchored firmly in the bedrock should be fairly safe. Central Park has bedrock outcroppings which show embedded mica. Teardrop Park in Battery Park City has a gigantic wall/mound/gateway built out of the excavated bedrock.
One can also see Manhattan schist exposed at the precipice in Morningside Park. The fault runs alongside Morningside Drive. West 125th Street also has a fault. A potential alternate explanation for the formation of the faults may be a tremendous amount of glacial ice weighing on and depressing the area which is now Long Island Sound.
That Collect Pond you mentioned is why Canal Street is called such! Collect Pond was the main water supply system for the first two centuries of European settlement in Manhattan, but it became polluted because in the 18th century, everyone was doing their business there, as well as run-off from all the tanneries and a slaughterhouse that were built by the pond. Pierre Charles L'Enfant, who is of course famous for planning Washington, DC, proposed cleaning the pond and making it a centerpiece of a recreational park, but this plan was rejected and instead they drained and filled in the pond by digging a canal to the north to encourage the water to drain into the river and with soil partially obtained from leveling the hills of Bayard's Mount and Kalck Hoek. Thus as you mentioned, leading to Canal Street, Five Points, and Chinatown. Today in the area there is a Collect Pond Park though to honor the history, which reopened in May 2014 with a pool evocative of the former Collect Pond. Besides the Boston Post Road, there's also the Albany Post Road! In 1669, the then British New York provincial government designated a postal route between NYC and Albany, and it was little more than a narrow path in many places as it followed Wiccoppe and Wappinger tribal trails. Originally stagecoaches headed north started from Cortlandt Street, but this was later moved up to Broadway and 21st Street. In 1703, the legislative body provided for the postal road to be a public and common general highway along the same route, starting in Kingsbridge in The Bronx and ending at a ferry landing in what's now Rensselaer. As you mentioned here, Broadway goes beyond Manhattan, up to Sleepy Hollow, where the name is dropped and becomes Old Albany Post Road and US 9 for the rest of the way. Colonial roads typically had helpful mile markers to help travelers pinpoint where they were. As taverns developed along the road, the mile markers would help locate them. Mile markers were established along the Albany Post Road in 1753, and continued into Manhattan along the Kingsbridge Road. So that mile marker you were talking about for the Boston Post Road at 212th St, was really for the Albany Post Road
Before they stuck in all those pedestrian island breaks Broadway was the quickest way uptown to downtown for a bike messenger. And it was unbelievably quick! What a RIDE!
spontaneously I went to NYC to ride in the 5 boroughs ride - I had no knowledge of the city but after biking throughout it for days my mind was stirred with curiosity - thanks for helping give some context and background to some of what I experienced
I think one underrated aspect that may not have been mentioned is how broadway continues over the bridge into a broadway in the bronx and that road remains somewhat continuous and even called broadway as well as NY-9 all the way up to albany
Mind you, Broadway isn't just limited to Manhattan. It runs through the Bronx and Yonkers as well, and if memory serves, it runs beyond that to the north. I'm not sure how much farther north, but I believe it continues through Tarrytown and Ossining, and it may even go as far up as Peekskill. Maybe in an upcoming video, you can investigate the history of Westchester County, based on Broadway.
This is a long shot, but your video on Tokyo gave me some hope. Istanbul is a very interesting city with it's roads and bridges, especially around the Golden Horn.
I wish I had this knowledge 20 years ago when I visited as a 14 year old tourist. Would have helped me understand the early history of the city better.
Dude, your content is off the charts! I so appreciate the crazy, in-depth work you have put into pieces like this, which makes us all a bit smarter and inspired! Way to go! Being an editor myself, this wasn't a light lift.
Incredible video. This channel deserves way more subs, I fully expected to see a figure in the millions after watching this high quality content! One day soon. Great research and work
This channel is a gem. I think you should make a video on the 'planning' of Cairo. There is a whole course on the city's 'unique' planning taught at harvard.
Ken Burns needs to see this and fund you to make it longer. Personally, I would watch this stuff for a few episodes just so you go into finer detail. Almost a block by block breakdown. As a film/tv location scout in LA, I crave this stuff. We have nothing older than 100 or 125 years of history left standing
Just got back from a trip to NYC and I was geeking out over the measuring post found in Central park, and also the fact that broadway technically continues till Sleepy Hollow up north! Wish i have known about the broken fences in city hall park, would have been a nice addition to the “me geeking out and my wife being bored” events of the trip XDD
I really hope you continue to make these videos. As a New Yorker, it's always great to learn more about my city especially in the past. I love looking at old pics from the 1800s and early 1900s. I'd love to see you do a vid on my fav landmark: The Bethesda Fountain in Central Park.
Fantastic content that stirs the imagination and has detailed historical information. One has to surmise that the blueprint for Broadway was laid out from an original Lenape path . Like most roads in the region and throughout the US thoroughfares laid out by colonists were based upon existing Native American travel routes . It was convenient and they were practical routes to traverse the region for commerce
Your videos are super! 👌 So nicely edited and well scripted. And the facts you tell and dig for us are something that can’t be found on most UA-cam videos (or almost any videos!) in today’s world. As a European I cant wait for you to research some of our age old cities but I understand they are a big task for anyone 😅 Great work! 👏
In regards to lower Manhattan, so much American history withing such small walking distance is astonishing. Realizing that just a couple of acres of land would change the world is amazing.
I visited NYC a couple weeks ago and inspired by some New Yorker who recently walked all of Broadway, I took the subway up to Marble Hill-225th street and did all of Broadway down to Battery Park. I’m not in fully half marathon shape, but ran 10.5 out of the 14 miles! Took 3.5 hrs and was a great way to start my morning! I thought that Manhattan was pretty flat but the first 5 or so miles had steady up and down hill parts. Not even close to as steep as the hills here in San Francisco I walk/jog but like I said, not in my best shape right now so that was a little tougher. So glad I did it!
Recently stumbled upon your channel and I am impressed at the great amount of research you do. Makes these videos very information-dense and interesting! A real standout among all these other lazy channels with crappy scripts and stock footage montages.
follow broadway and watch NY change from hood to haughty; a full story of NY. from harlem showing love. beautiful history and description-wonderful vid!
I am OBSESSED with these videos. I wish you did less well known cities too. Like Hartford, Springfield, MA, etc. I am so curious about these cities and what happened to them that went so wrong.
The topographical aspects of a great deal of Broadway's course also suggests that it does present itself as a subtle kind of spine with slopes on each side east and west. A legend I heard about Broadway cited some animal mythology that may even be true. Bison were described as the road makers and tended to travers great distances choosing to stick close to ridges and spines by default. In winter especially travel through snow is often easier along ridges and spines because the wind tends to sweep them clear.
Lived here all my life and I learned so much. Thank you for such a great vid! Looking forward to more. I paused for that old map and saw my "apartment" was still farmland lol
I discovered this channel and fell in love with it and its use of maps, great videos! One tip tho: please add english subtitles, would help us non-native speakers to better follow the video, thank you
Just found your channel and subbed. Your videos are top notch! Keep up the good work. I'm so surprised your sub count isn't over a million. It will be soon. Cheers
please do explanation of roads in Pittsburgh, PA. I’ve been living here since last October and I do delivery for 8+ every single day, but I’m still confused by roads in Pittsburgh from time to time. 😂
Dan, thank you! I thought you might be interested to know the furthest northern part of Mahattan was separated from the rest when they built the ship canal. It’s called Marble Hill because there was a quarry there. If you see the big blue C on the opposite side of the canal , the northern side, the C stands for Columbia. The Lenape aka. Delaware had a stream called Mosohlu (smooth) stone in Lenape.The stone are smoothed by the current of the stream. I noticed the name Paradise Square in the 5 point video. I found that ironic. I guess we make our own version of Paradise when without revision it was fine. I lived a 2 blocks from Broadway for 20 years and traveled on the Broadway line to 14St 5 days a week. Thanks again!
I would be interested in seeing a history of Greenwich Village. There is so much history there that has not yet been erased. I lived in the top floor of a three story townhouse that had been converted into apartments. When it was built it was set back from the street, far enough that another building was eventually built in front of it. Access was a tunnel-like passageway through the newer building. Lots of old architecture in that area.
Great watch, lots of information and enjoyable narration. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think there're only "about" 4 to 6 single family homes with front, back and side yards with garages left on Manhattan Island. They're on the north/east corner of Park Terrace W & W217 Street. These are not homes that were once former mansions, these are still privately owned average sized homes. I like the one on the very corner...... Thanks for your time, work and posting.
I love this kind of content so so much!! Thank you for this awesome video, really appreciate all the work that went into researching,editing reaching out to professionals, all of it!
Fantastic. Bravo. Well done. Interesting, informative and visually comprehensive. I grew up across the GW Bridge in NJ, but spent much of my youth in Manhattan. Great info. Headed straight over to Tokyo's Map, where I lived for 15 years later in life.
Go to ground.news/danielsteiner to develop a well-rounded worldview. Subscribe through my link for 40% off unlimited access this month.
wow, you are amazing and super detailed. Love it!
A must read is 'Island at the center of the World - The epic story of Dutch Manhattan and the forgotten colony that shaped America' by author Russel Shorto !!!!
The USA's constitution and declaration of independence were modelled after those of the Dutch. Furthermore, stocktrade was invented by the Dutch.
Maggie: "Brain, this is BROADWAY!"
Brain: "I know, I know! The Duke will take 7th Avenue."
Snake Plissken: "What's wrong with Broadway?!"
The disclaimer for liberals is insane, then immediately followed by a crazy liberal saying there was natives here there was roads. Like pick a lane be factual or be crazy
Last trip to nyc, I walked the length of broadway. Took me 12 hours, took my time, checked stuff out. It was awesome ❤
Did you take the 1 back downtown?
12 hour walk is insane.
That is awesome!!
@@kevinshea5819 it was worth it, I saw all the sites and ended at battery park. I mean, I was exhausted and it was a full day, but as an Aussie, I wanted to see it all since I came from so far!
I was in NYC in April... I walked about 7 miles of it too. so many intresting place to see.
Just casually dropping the fact that Wall Street came from the street that was along the outer wall of the original fortifications of New Amsterdam. It both makes so much sense and also something I never even thought about.
The dutch were also the boring street-namers in history.
Wait til you learn about Canal Street 😂
@@tomo9126New York's biggest sports franchise was named after the Dutch. Furthermore I don't think the names of the boroughs of Harlem, Brooklyn, Bronx, Flushing, Staten Island, Coney Island, Long Island, etc. sound boring. On top of that, the Dutch gave Manhattan it's name as they heard the natives call the land Mana Hata....
@@rudivanrooijen7611 I never said they were boring district or sports team namers. Just the most boring street namers. (Also, it's just a joke)
@@tomo9126 I know, but I'm Dutch so maybe a tad too sensitive about making fun of the Dutch of old...... ;-)
I like how you source your information and conduct interviews with experts. It's really refreshing. You should do other cities like Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, SF, LA, and Seattle. :)
edit: removed duplicate Seattle and put SF
Agreed! Do Los Angeles next.
No, please just do NYC forever!!!! Lolll
No do Anchorage first
Seattle twice?
@@ImAnEmergency ugh im dumb.
Yup, the northernmost part of Manhattan has quite the terrain, which is why the deepest stations on the NYC Subway are in northern Manhattan! 190th Street station on the IND Eighth Ave Line, which lies under Fort Tyron Park, is 140 feet/43 m below street level (it's also a short walk to The Cloisters)! THE deepest station on the NYC Subway system is 191st Street on the IRT Broadway-Seventh Avenue Line at 173 feet/53 m below street level! It was built by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company and opened in January 1911 as an infill station along the city's first subway line. So people could use the station because of the topography, they chose to build a pedestrian tunnel to save people a walk of a quarter to one-third of a mile and a steep climb. The tunnel is used as a connector between western and eastern Washington Heights. Passengers using the 191st Street and St. Nicholas Avenue entrance need to take an elevator to access the station due to that intersection's height, but the elevators at that entrance are outside fare control, so it's considered a convenient way to traverse the neighborhood without walking up a hill! This tunnel was shown in the In the Heights movie!
When you mentioned at the end that they widened and straightened the waterway for ships (the Harlem Ship Canal), you didn't mention this led to the geographic oddity that Marble Hill is still considered a part of the borough of Manhattan and New York County despite it now being attached to The Bronx! Because of the canal, Marble Hill became an island in 1895, but then the river on the north side of the island was fully diverted to the canal with landfill, thus connecting the island to The Bronx! The name of Marble Hill was conceived when Darius C. Crosby came up with the name in 1891 from the deposits of dolomite marble underlying it known as Inwood marble. The marble was quarried for the federal buildings in Lower Manhattan when NYC was the national capital in the 1780s. Despite being part of Manhattan, Marble Hill has a Bronx ZIP code and uses Bronx area codes (though they did fight to retain Manhattan's 212 but it would've been too expensive).
A favorite puzzler offered by NYC transit fans is a request to name four railroad stations in Manhattan. Everyone gets Penn Station and Grand Central Terminal. Anyone who knows the city's transit gets 125th Street. But it's a rare trivia nerd who can name the fourth: Marble Hill on Metro North's Hudson Line.
@@harveywachtel1091I had no idea. I use the Harlem and New Haven lines all the time, but I’ve never been on the Hudson line. So much I still haven’t done in this city.
@@gemmamoon5998 A ride on the Hudson Line to Poughkeepsie is not to be missed. You get Twentieth-Century-Limited river views for off-peak commuter fares. Be sure to check out the Walkway Over the Hudson whole you're there. Be sure to sit on the west side of the train.
Fascinating 🤩
Marble Hill is part of New York County, the Borough of Manhattan.
i absolutely love this kind of history that shows how everything is connected across puny human centuries
Same here!
So many intriguing facts in the comments section. Worth it.
For that surviving section of Bloomingdale Road that you mentioned, part of that is Hamilton Place, which was originally the address of Alexander Hamilton's house, The Grange. In late 1798, Hamilton wrote to his wife Eliza that he was planning a project in NYC, the details of which he was keeping secret. During the Quasi-War of 1798-1800, Hamilton served as Inspector General of the United States Army, and so he could not devote time to his project. He wrote a letter to the merchant Ebenezer Stevens in October 1799, offering to buy a parcel adjoining Stevens's land from Jacob Schieffelin. Hamilton had wanted the plot west of the Bloomingdale Road, but Schieffelin would only sell the plot to the east of the road. Hamilton bought the eastern site in August 1800 for a plot of 15 acres, and he commissioned leading NY architect John McComb Jr, who also designed the iconic Montauk Point Lighthouse, Castle Clinton, Old Queens at Rutgers, and New York City Hall, to design a country home on the estate. The house was completed in 1802, just two years before Hamilton's death. Originally located near present-day 143rd Street, the house was moved in 1889 to 287 Convent Avenue before being relocated again in 2008 to St. Nicholas Park.
Speaking of the Manhattan trolleys you showed at 10:35, it used to have some San Francisco-style operations! Duffy's Hill located on Lexington Ave between 102nd and 103rd Streets, has a grade of 12.6 percent and was named for Michael James Duffy, a Tammany Hall Alderman who built 26 rowhouses there! It was the home of many cable car accidents because the cars had to quickly accelerate and decelerate at this point. The corporation that ran the cable cars had a 24-hour guard stationed at the base of the hill by 1937 to watch over incidents! In Brooklyn, trolleys were once such a part of the Brooklyn scene that the local baseball club was named the Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers, after the people who had to dodge the trolleys to make it to the baseball park, which was then shortened to the Brooklyn Dodgers! Brooklyn once having a streetcar system is even referenced in Pokémon Black/White in Nacrene City!
Amazing information Mr President (please don't execute me 🙏😭)
@@munchkin8019 RIP Munchkin8019.
Wow, cuz here in San Francisco, I wondered when I saw the streetcars which I took to be cable cars... 😊
Thanks for the info, Dear Leader.
I lived briefly on what was once Hamilton's driveway. It begins at 137th (?) and Broadway.
People don't realize that where he decided to build his summer home, he would have fought at the very same location during the siege of Manhattan.
I wonder if during that siege, he thought "Hey, this would be a great place for a house".
And it was.
That exact location is wonderful in the summer. I also lived on Riverside Drive at 137th, and the breeze coming off the Hudson is such we didn't need air conditioning.
I lived in Manhattan for 21 years, until 2012. Really wish I had this kind of fascinating information. As much as I love the city and cherish my time there, I know I would have appreciated it all just a bit more with this kind of historical foundation. Thank you.
I live in Irvington, about 25 miles North of the city, and I always think it's fascinating that the same Broadway continues through my town and beyond. There's even a mile marker in a stone wall along the street that marks 25 (or maybe 26 i forget) miles from the city. It really shows how important it is to the city's development and the suburbs north.
Love your videos. Straight-forward, full of information, and well edited. You're always a must-click.
🙏🏻🙏🏻 thank you sm
That old tower on the right by the bridge at 16:33 is the High Bridge Water Tower, which was authorized by the State Legislature in 1863, was designed by John B. Jervis, the engineer who supervised the building of the High Bridge Aqueduct. The bridge next door is the oldest bridge in NYC as it opened as part of the Old Croton Aqueduct in 1848. Both the bridge and the water tower were part of the first reliable and plentiful water supply system in New York City. Water was pumped up 100 feet (30 m) to a 7-acre reservoir next to the tower (now the site of a play center and public pool built in 1934-1936) which then provided water to be lifted to the tower's 47,000 US gallons tank. This high service improved the water system's gravity pressure, necessary because of the increased use of flush toilets.
The Old Croton Aqueduct was the first of its kind ever constructed in the United States. The innovative system used a classic gravity feed, dropping 13 inches (330 mm) per mile, and running 41 miles (66 km) into New York City through an enclosed masonry structure crossing ridges, valleys, and rivers! The reason they chose to build an ambitious system is because as the City was devastated by cholera in 1832 and the Great Fire in 1835, the inadequacy of the water system of wells-and-cisterns became apparent, and after they found the Croton River in northern Westchester County was a great source, they wanted to build the delivery system! Today, with three major water systems (Croton, Catskill, and Delaware) stretching up to 125 miles (201 km) away from the city, its water supply system is one of the most extensive municipal water systems in the world! The system's Delaware Aqueduct is the world's longest tunnel as it is 137,000 m or over 85 miles in length!
The pool is really nice 👍
8:33 Yes!
That fence is my favorite spot in the city. I'm so glad you mentioned the fence posts. It incredible that they clearly exist out in public after almost 250 years,
When I'm in that area I look for tourists and point it out to them.
New York is actually turning 400 just this month or next - right around now. Not much of a party is being thrown but there it is 🫤
if it still belonged to the dutch there would 100% be a citywide party.
There's a party everyday on Dyckman , just like he intended to be
Ooh. So interesting!! 😊
@@bpdbhp1632 Québec City turned 400 years old in 2008 and there was a LOT done for that. Québec City went from being part of New France, then part of British North America, and now Canada during that 400 year time. The Canadian Mint even did a beautiful, large scale released two dollar coin (we call it a toonie) commemorating the birthday.
I think New York deserves a big fanfare too. Maybe the US is just too polarized and there's too many distractions to focus on such celebrations right now?
@@Mark_Andrew i love both quebec city and new york city. Thats great that they did that and it wouldve been awesome if there was some big celebration for new york citys 400 year birthday.
I'm from near London and visited NY for the first time two weeks ago. I couldn't work out why this road cut across a perfect grid system. Now I know. Thanks for the video. Loved New York by the way.
You couldn’t work out how perfect grid systems aren’t actually perfect without this vid? Wow.
Really well done! I liked that it included original research and not just regurgitating other UA-cam information
Love city tourism
Clicked so fast
I’m so glad ur here 🙏🏻🙏🏻
@@DanielsimsSteiner I enjoy all your work! Keep up the exceptional production!
@@DanielsimsSteinerI came so fast lol
@@Doufui came in my pants lol
@@NickIggler1969Damn, you got the whole squad laughin’ 😐
here from tiktok! you’re amazing! i usually don’t like videos like this but your storytelling is so compelling!! love this
Thank you!! So glad you’re here 🙏🏻
Bravo! Your hard work deepens my love and connection with New York City. I hope it is rewarding for you as well.
My ancestor, Isaac Varian in the 1700’s, owned the farm that sat between Broadway and 7th Ave and 29th and 33rd Street. Basically, the property that is between Madison Square Garden and the Empire State building today. His grandson also named Isaac, went on to be the 63rd mayor of New York. His house still stands today and is the Bronx history museum. Loved seeing this video!
throughout the video I kept thinking about what it must have looked like in Assassins Creed 3 only for you to end it with that clip lmao
I used that game to plan a tour of Boston. Fascinating recreations.
I loved learning to navigate NYC with the Godfather game, haha
You have awakened within me an interest and love for understanding how cities are laid out. I never really cared until stumbling upon your channel. Now I gobble up every video you post! Thanks for the dedication and high quality videos!
I will do the same.
Great video, Daniel. I grew up in Washington Heights, and 60+ years later, I'm still learning things about it, as well as other 'features' of Manhattan. I knew of Fort Washington, as it is now Bennett Park, at least in part. We learned as kids that a certain high rock within the park was the highest natural point in Manhattan. I haven't been there in decades.
I plan to check out more of your videos. Thanks.
The first ever hydro-electric system was set up in Appleton, WI. For a brief period in history, a year or two at most, more buildings and homes were lit up by electricity in Appleton than any other place in the world. I love imagining this relatively small city being a beacon of the future during this time, even brighter than great New York City.
This has very quickly become my favorite youtube channel
I've never been a fan of city tourism, but this channel is making me appreciate it to a whole new level. Excited for you to teach me about my own city!
Exceptionally presented and so well produced in a way that current documentaries so many utube attempts obviously lack.
I cannot express verbally how much I appreciate this video. You really have no idea how much I appreciate this video.
I appreciate and I will watch. I appreciate no one can hog it up.
Picked up Broadway: A history of NYC in 13 miles at the Strand along with City on a Grid after your last NYC video!
Haha no way! That worked out perfectly then
If you look behind El Malecon on 97th Street you'll see a little back garden that matches the East to West dimensions of several buildings on other blocks between Broadway and Amsterdam. That lost gap is the old Bloomingdale road. Modern Broadway was designated next to it to make space for the grid so the blocks could be more equally spaced. While there, go to El Malecon for their roast chicken. Best Dominican food in NYC. Fight me.
An amazing thing about Broadway is that it is above (or below) a Subway line for its entire length (barring a few street blocks in Inwood) in Manhattan. A defining street with a defining mode of transit that made the city what it is today.
I always thought 5th. was faster. Easier to go through the red lights, obviously had to skirt round WSP but still faster I thought. But you are correct that messenging down Broadway was a blast.
This was great. I’ve always been fascinated by NYC since my mother/her family were there from the 1880s. Thanks for this.
Great video. I do have 1 comment about lower Broadway. When I was doing research for a map I made of the Five Points, I found several mentions that, in the early colonial days, the main road North was The Bowery. It was the natural path even back into the days of Native American settlements. The reason for this is there was some natural obstruction that made it hard to travel further along what is today Broadway. Early Manhattan was also quite marshy which also affected early routes North. Canal Street was built, in part, to drain The Collect Pond and the marshy areas around it.
There are several geological faults right under Manhattan Island. Note the crooked shape of Manhattan Island bending towards the East forming Kips Bay. There's probably a fault running in parallel with Broadway under the waterline in Kips Bay.
I used to live on Morningside Heights, close to the precipice overlooking Harlem across Morningside Park. The precipice was probably a geological fault which might have uplifted when the huge weight of the glacier up the Hudson River in the Hudson Valley lifted due to melting.
The faults tend to run parallel to Broadway because Broadway itself might have been developed in its bent fashion due to its having been an easier way going north avoiding the uplifted natural obstruction in its way.
Major earthquakes activating these faults right under Manhattan Island can be devastating. Of course, Manhattan schist (consisting of quartz, feldspar, and mica) forming Manhattan's bedrock is very strong so the buildings anchored firmly in the bedrock should be fairly safe. Central Park has bedrock outcroppings which show embedded mica. Teardrop Park in Battery Park City has a gigantic wall/mound/gateway built out of the excavated bedrock.
One can also see Manhattan schist exposed at the precipice in Morningside Park. The fault runs alongside Morningside Drive. West 125th Street also has a fault.
A potential alternate explanation for the formation of the faults may be a tremendous amount of glacial ice weighing on and depressing the area which is now Long Island Sound.
Your work is so quality! Always impressed with your videos!
That Collect Pond you mentioned is why Canal Street is called such! Collect Pond was the main water supply system for the first two centuries of European settlement in Manhattan, but it became polluted because in the 18th century, everyone was doing their business there, as well as run-off from all the tanneries and a slaughterhouse that were built by the pond. Pierre Charles L'Enfant, who is of course famous for planning Washington, DC, proposed cleaning the pond and making it a centerpiece of a recreational park, but this plan was rejected and instead they drained and filled in the pond by digging a canal to the north to encourage the water to drain into the river and with soil partially obtained from leveling the hills of Bayard's Mount and Kalck Hoek. Thus as you mentioned, leading to Canal Street, Five Points, and Chinatown. Today in the area there is a Collect Pond Park though to honor the history, which reopened in May 2014 with a pool evocative of the former Collect Pond.
Besides the Boston Post Road, there's also the Albany Post Road! In 1669, the then British New York provincial government designated a postal route between NYC and Albany, and it was little more than a narrow path in many places as it followed Wiccoppe and Wappinger tribal trails. Originally stagecoaches headed north started from Cortlandt Street, but this was later moved up to Broadway and 21st Street. In 1703, the legislative body provided for the postal road to be a public and common general highway along the same route, starting in Kingsbridge in The Bronx and ending at a ferry landing in what's now Rensselaer. As you mentioned here, Broadway goes beyond Manhattan, up to Sleepy Hollow, where the name is dropped and becomes Old Albany Post Road and US 9 for the rest of the way. Colonial roads typically had helpful mile markers to help travelers pinpoint where they were. As taverns developed along the road, the mile markers would help locate them. Mile markers were established along the Albany Post Road in 1753, and continued into Manhattan along the Kingsbridge Road. So that mile marker you were talking about for the Boston Post Road at 212th St, was really for the Albany Post Road
How have I seen you comment in so many videos!?
I just found your channel from one of your shorts. Your videos are exceptional! Thank you.
Wow thank you!! So glad you’re here
Before they stuck in all those pedestrian island breaks Broadway was the quickest way uptown to downtown for a bike messenger. And it was unbelievably quick! What a RIDE!
spontaneously I went to NYC to ride in the 5 boroughs ride - I had no knowledge of the city but after biking throughout it for days my mind was stirred with curiosity - thanks for helping give some context and background to some of what I experienced
I think one underrated aspect that may not have been mentioned is how broadway continues over the bridge into a broadway in the bronx and that road remains somewhat continuous and even called broadway as well as NY-9 all the way up to albany
Mind you, Broadway isn't just limited to Manhattan. It runs through the Bronx and Yonkers as well, and if memory serves, it runs beyond that to the north. I'm not sure how much farther north, but I believe it continues through Tarrytown and Ossining, and it may even go as far up as Peekskill. Maybe in an upcoming video, you can investigate the history of Westchester County, based on Broadway.
Based on Google Maps, it goes up to Sleepy Hollow and then turns into Albany Post Rd/South Highland Ave when it intersects with Phelps Way.
And Brooklyn !!!
This is a long shot, but your video on Tokyo gave me some hope. Istanbul is a very interesting city with it's roads and bridges, especially around the Golden Horn.
Great video. I've lived all over Manhattan for 20 years and it's just full of endless history. Never gets old
I wish I had this knowledge 20 years ago when I visited as a 14 year old tourist. Would have helped me understand the early history of the city better.
Dude, your content is off the charts! I so appreciate the crazy, in-depth work you have put into pieces like this, which makes us all a bit smarter and inspired! Way to go! Being an editor myself, this wasn't a light lift.
Wow thank you so much!! 🙏🏻 that means a lot, especially from another editor!
This is another amazing video. I have really been enjoying this series. This is bona fide research being done
This is so kind! Thank you 🙏🏻🙏🏻
Incredible video. This channel deserves way more subs, I fully expected to see a figure in the millions after watching this high quality content! One day soon. Great research and work
You produce such high quality videos - this channel is going to grow so fast and I can’t wait to be along for the ride!
Did not know about the British emblems being ripped off the fence. I think I passed by that fence in NY last year. So fascinating
This channel is a gem. I think you should make a video on the 'planning' of Cairo. There is a whole course on the city's 'unique' planning taught at harvard.
Amazing vid. As a New Yorker myself, I love learning about the city this way... These vids are great.
Ken Burns needs to see this and fund you to make it longer. Personally, I would watch this stuff for a few episodes just so you go into finer detail. Almost a block by block breakdown. As a film/tv location scout in LA, I crave this stuff. We have nothing older than 100 or 125 years of history left standing
Yeah, this would be a great fit for a Ken Burns doc.
Just got back from a trip to NYC and I was geeking out over the measuring post found in Central park, and also the fact that broadway technically continues till Sleepy Hollow up north! Wish i have known about the broken fences in city hall park, would have been a nice addition to the “me geeking out and my wife being bored” events of the trip XDD
Actually,Broadway reaches up to Albany.
I really hope you continue to make these videos. As a New Yorker, it's always great to learn more about my city especially in the past. I love looking at old pics from the 1800s and early 1900s. I'd love to see you do a vid on my fav landmark: The Bethesda Fountain in Central Park.
Fantastic content that stirs the imagination and has detailed historical information. One has to surmise that the blueprint for Broadway was laid out from an original Lenape path . Like most roads in the region and throughout the US thoroughfares laid out by colonists were based upon existing Native American travel routes . It was convenient and they were practical routes to traverse the region for commerce
Here before a million views. These vids are super engaging, you're doing a great job man
Your videos are super! 👌 So nicely edited and well scripted. And the facts you tell and dig for us are something that can’t be found on most UA-cam videos (or almost any videos!) in today’s world. As a European I cant wait for you to research some of our age old cities but I understand they are a big task for anyone 😅 Great work! 👏
In regards to lower Manhattan, so much American history withing such small walking distance is astonishing. Realizing that just a couple of acres of land would change the world is amazing.
What a treat to wake up and see you have a new video posted!
Excellent video. I sense there is still more here you could do a whole documentary about this one road!
Your videos remind me a lot of Johnny Harris i was surprised to see how few subscribers you had! youtube just recommended me and i'm a fan now.
I just discovered this channel and I immediately loved it and subscribed. Congratulations and thanks!
I visited NYC a couple weeks ago and inspired by some New Yorker who recently walked all of Broadway, I took the subway up to Marble Hill-225th street and did all of Broadway down to Battery Park. I’m not in fully half marathon shape, but ran 10.5 out of the 14 miles! Took 3.5 hrs and was a great way to start my morning! I thought that Manhattan was pretty flat but the first 5 or so miles had steady up and down hill parts. Not even close to as steep as the hills here in San Francisco I walk/jog but like I said, not in my best shape right now so that was a little tougher. So glad I did it!
Another NYC video and I’m soooooo here for it. Officially obsessed. 🎉
Recently stumbled upon your channel and I am impressed at the great amount of research you do. Makes these videos very information-dense and interesting!
A real standout among all these other lazy channels with crappy scripts and stock footage montages.
follow broadway and watch NY change from hood to haughty; a full story of NY. from harlem showing love. beautiful history and description-wonderful vid!
You're storytelling and editing style reminds me of two of my favorite creators on UA-cam: Johnny Harris and Max Joseph.
Great video Daniel! 👏🏾
I am OBSESSED with these videos. I wish you did less well known cities too. Like Hartford, Springfield, MA, etc. I am so curious about these cities and what happened to them that went so wrong.
I love your channel! I've been binge watching your videos for hours now!
WHOOL WHOOP NEW VIDEO ALERT … just finished watching the video SO GOOD
The topographical aspects of a great deal of Broadway's course also suggests that it does present itself as a subtle kind of spine with slopes on each side east and west. A legend I heard about Broadway cited some animal mythology that may even be true. Bison were described as the road makers and tended to travers great distances choosing to stick close to ridges and spines by default. In winter especially travel through snow is often easier along ridges and spines because the wind tends to sweep them clear.
When a city is primarily gridded and uniform, it’s no surprise that the deviations are the things to inspire intrigue.
this channel is gonna get big
Love your videos, but a HUUUUUGE thanks for the intro to Ground News. Very useful this year
Love to hear history of my hometown 👌🏽you did mail it.
Lived here all my life and I learned so much. Thank you for such a great vid! Looking forward to more. I paused for that old map and saw my "apartment" was still farmland lol
I discovered this channel and fell in love with it and its use of maps, great videos! One tip tho: please add english subtitles, would help us non-native speakers to better follow the video, thank you
I live very near Times Square so i am on Broadway a lot!
I would love to see more videos on NYC! Maybe even a series on each road?
This is so well produced! I’m about to binge all of your videos
Just found your channel and subbed. Your videos are top notch! Keep up the good work. I'm so surprised your sub count isn't over a million. It will be soon. Cheers
Your maps and animations are excellent!
Such a fantastic look. I love the on the street stuff you do.
Great video! Glad this came up on my feed.
Thank YOU so much for this great video. So much to learn about the roads we walk.
The visuals are stellar!
please do explanation of roads in Pittsburgh, PA. I’ve been living here since last October and I do delivery for 8+ every single day, but I’m still confused by roads in Pittsburgh from time to time. 😂
Visitor : "Can you please give us directions to Presby Hospital ? "
Pittsburgher : "Yinz can't get there from here. "
Great work instant subscribe. Love your down to earth attitude. No ring that bell BS.
Great video. I love NYC history and have been living here almost 20 years and didn’t know some of this.
Dan, thank you! I thought you might be interested to know the furthest northern part of Mahattan was separated from the rest when they built the ship canal. It’s called Marble Hill because there was a quarry there. If you see the big blue C on the opposite side of the canal , the northern side, the C stands for Columbia.
The Lenape aka. Delaware had a stream called Mosohlu (smooth) stone in Lenape.The stone are smoothed by the current of the stream.
I noticed the name Paradise Square in the 5 point video. I found that ironic. I guess we make our own version of Paradise when without revision it was fine.
I lived a 2 blocks from Broadway for 20 years and traveled on the Broadway line to 14St 5 days a week.
Thanks again!
I would be interested in seeing a history of Greenwich Village. There is so much history there that has not yet been erased. I lived in the top floor of a three story townhouse that had been converted into apartments. When it was built it was set back from the street, far enough that another building was eventually built in front of it. Access was a tunnel-like passageway through the newer building. Lots of old architecture in that area.
Excellent video on the history of Broadway.
Woah i was visiting NYC about 3 weeks ago, and had this exact question. You read my mind
Excellent work! Love your references. This is truly a master class on NY. Thank you for your service sir.
Great watch, lots of information and enjoyable narration. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think there're only "about" 4 to 6 single family homes with front, back and side yards with garages left on Manhattan Island. They're on the north/east corner of Park Terrace W & W217 Street. These are not homes that were once former mansions, these are still privately owned average sized homes. I like the one on the very corner...... Thanks for your time, work and posting.
I love this kind of content so so much!! Thank you for this awesome video, really appreciate all the work that went into researching,editing reaching out to professionals, all of it!
Fantastic. Bravo. Well done. Interesting, informative and visually comprehensive. I grew up across the GW Bridge in NJ, but spent much of my youth in Manhattan. Great info. Headed straight over to Tokyo's Map, where I lived for 15 years later in life.
Absolutely fascinating! I enjoyed every minute.
I was born and raised in Seattle. Love seeing this video! Thank you for telling the story of kink of Seattle :P
Never knew that I would be so interested in this history. Great video!
I love this city so much, always great to learn more about it