New York is geographically defined by its boroughs. Cultural mixes fan-out across the five bridges in all aspects of life. Influences from every area of the globe have blended seamlessly over time to create the city’s eclectic mis-en-scene. Chinatown, Little Italy, Little India, Harlem, Greektown and Koreatown are just a few local testaments to the city’s backbone of diversity.
Pioneering music genres from jazz to rap are like a soundtrack for the city’s creative activity. Museums, cultural, social and artistic movements are woven into the urban fabric. Famous universities and conservatories draw incomparable international talent. Whole city districts are dedicated to galleries and the stage.
Colonization was anything but peaceful and conflict marked much of the city’s comparably brief history. Nevertheless, New York City has leveraged its defining multiculturalism into a fast-paced commercial and social harmony uniquely suited to investment, research and diplomacy. The term “a New York minute” expresses well the city’s intensity.
The city essentially invented the concept of a skyline. Marvels of architectural expression and construction range in styles from Gothic Revival and Art Deco to Saltbox and Modern. Examples include the Chrysler, Empire State and Woolworth buildings as well as the Guggenheim Museum and One World Trade Center.
New York City was founded by Dutch in 1624 as New Amsterdam. The city of New York served as the capital from 1785 to 1790. Prior to colonization, bands of the Native American Algonquin tribe lived in what are now the five boroughs of Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island.
Iconic buildings and bridges fan out from the harbour where the Statue of Liberty greets immigrants with an ideal of social tolerance. The city is the most linguistically diverse in the world with over 800 languages. The United Nations is headquarted here and Broadway is synonymous with theatre. New York City sets global trends in art, fashion, finance and entertainment.