New York is the most populous as well as most densely populated city in the United States. also, New York City is the most diverse, religiously varied, commercially driven and the most attractive urban centre in the country of the United States of America. New York City is also known as ” The Big Apple” or “The City that Never Sleeps”.In general, it is referred to as New York City(NYC) or only as New York(NY).In the year 2018, it was estimated that the population if New York is about 8,398,748. The land area of New York City is approximately 302.6 square miles. Its urban area extends into adjoining parts of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. This city comprises five boroughs sitting where the river Hudson meets the Atlantic Ocean. Those five boroughs are namely Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island.

New York is a city full of beautiful and marvellous places to visit. Those places can be listed as follows.

• The Statue of Liberty 
• Brooklyn Bridge 
• The Central Park
• Times Square 
• Midtown Manhattan 
• The Unisphere
• The Headquarters of the United Nations
• Lower Manhattan with One World Trade Center 

All the places mentioned earlier are the most important places which are situated in New York City. This article will provide you with further information about a few of the sites mentioned previously. They are the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge, Central Park and Times Square.    

The Liberty Statue

The Statue of Liberty is located in the Liberty Island, Manhattan in New York City. The Statue of Liberty commemorated the American Declaration of Independence and was a gift from the people of France. The statue represents a woman holding a torch in her raised right hand. 

• Construction 

 That statue was dedicated on the 28th of October 1886. On the morning of the dedication, a parade was held in the City of New York. On the 17th of June,1885, a French steamer arrived in New York City. It brought the disassembled statue on board. The people who live in New York displayed their new-found enthusiasm for the figure. They collected funds from donors, and then reassembly of the statue began.

The sculptor was Frederic Auguste Bartholdi. When we consider the height of the statue; the height of copper statue (to torch) is 151 feet 1 inch( It means 46 m).

From ground level to the torch 305 feet 1 inch (93 m). This statue is a figure of Libertas, a robbed Roman Liberty Goddess.    

• Historical Designation 

In the year 1924, President Calvin Coolidge officially designated the Statue of Liberty as part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. In the year 1984, the Statue of Liberty was selected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The UNESCO “Statement of Significance” describes the statue as a ” Masterpiece of the Human Spirit “.

• Physical Characteristics of the Statue

Height of the copper statue is 46 m while the foundation of the pedestal to the tip of the torch is 93 m. From heel to top of the head is 34 m. Height of the foundation of the statue is  19.81 m. Height of the hand is 5 m. The length of the nose is 1.48 m. The width of the mouth is 0.91 m. Weight of the copper used in the statue is 27.22 tonnes. Weight of the steel used in the figure is 113.4 tonnes. Then the total weight of the figure is 204.1 tonnes. The medias used in the Statue are copper, gold, steel and cast iron.

So it was evident that the Statue of Liberty is a place that each and every visitor must visit in the City of New York.

Central Park.

Central Park is the largest and most prestigious public park in Manhattan, New York. It has a land area of 834 acres. Central Park has a fascinating history. The type of this park is urban parks.

It is owned by the NYC parks and operated by Central Park Conservancy. The park was opened to the public from 6 a.m. to 1 a.m.

• Design and Layout

Central Park is roughly divided into three parts. They are the ” North End”, ” Mid-Park” and the ” South End “.The park contains five visitor centres. They are as follows;

1. Charles A. Dana Discovery Center
2. Belvedere Castle 
3. Chess and checkers House 
4. The Diary 
5. Columbus Circle 

The Central Park occupies the fifth place in the list of natural parks in New York City to their sizes. The first five parks in that list are as follows;

1. Flushing Meadows-Corona Park
2. Van Cortlandt Park
3. Staten Island Greenbelt
4. Pelham Bay Park
5. Central Park

It contains seven lakes and ponds which have been created artificially. This park is one of the greatest achievements in artificial landscaping. The park’s terrain and vegetation are highly varied.

• Visitors

About 37-38 million visitors visit there annually. It is the most visited national park in the USA. It is famous worldwide. Some estimations have been done to count the number of visitors. According to that report, nearly two-thirds of visitors are regular park users who enter the park at least once a week. Most of the summer weekends a large number of visitors visit this park.

• Landscape Features

There are three wooded areas in Central Park. They are as follows;

1. The North Woods
2. The Ramble 
3. The Hallett Nature Sanctuary 

The vegetation is highly varied and ranges from flat grassy swords, gentle slopes, rocky ravines and shady glens.

Central Park consists of eight bodies of water.

Namely;

1. The Harlem Meer
2. The Loch

The Pool

1. The Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir 
2. The Turtle Pond
3. The Lake 
4. Conservatory Water
5. The Pond

Central Park is also rich in flora and fauna.

• Things to do in Central Park

If you visit Central Park, there are a large number of things to do. Some of them are;

1. Have a picnic on Great Lawn
2. Take a boat and paddle around the Lake
3. There are at least five man-made waterfalls around the park. Visit those.
4. Try your luck bird watching at the Loch.
5. See at the Statue of Balto.
6. Check out the Cherry Blossom Trees in full bloom between April and May.
7. Have some fun at Victorian Gardens.
8. Take a stroll down the Mall.

From all the above activities you will be able to have great fun.

Times Square

Times Square is the leading tourist destination, entertainment centre and a commercial intersection in the Midtown Manhattan section of the New York City. The boundaries of the Times Square are the Broadway, 7th Avenue,42nd and 47th Streets. It was formerly known as Longacre Square. It was named as Times Square after “The New York Times” moved its headquarters to the newly erected Times Building. According to the estimations, 50 million visitors visit Times Square each year. It is not a geometrical square but is a town square.

• The main building on or near the Times Square

1. 1 Astor Plaza 
2. 810 Seventh Venue 
3. 1500 Broadway 
4. 1585 Broadway 
5. Bank of America Tower
6. The New York Times Building 
7. The Orion 
8. Paramount Theatre

Times Square is sometimes known as;

1.  “The Crossroads of the World”
2. “The Center of the Universe”
3. “The Heart of the Great White Way”
4. “The Heart of the World”

• New Year’s Eve Celebration 

Times Square is the site the annual New Year’s Eve ball drops. About one million revellers crowd Times Square for the celebration of New Year’s Eve Celebration.

Times Square is used for celebration on special days such as Valentine’s Day and Halloween etc. It is also a fantastic place to visit in the City of New York.

See you next week with a new Road Trip, Bye