Страница: 2/5
The Financial District .
The Dutch were the first Europeans to settle Manhattan. To protect themselves from attack, they built a sturdy wooden wall. Although it’s now long gone, this wall gave its name to a street in Lower Manhattan and the street, in turn, became synonymous with American capitalism. The street, of course, is Wall Street. The New York Stock Exchange and the American Stock Exchange are both in the Wall Street area. So are many stockbrokers, investment blanks and others bank, and headquarters of many large corporations.
To escape the commotion of Wall Street you can visit the nearby South Street Seaport, an open area of low buildings on the East River. In addition to many shops and restaurants, the seaport has a museum.
Appropriately, the very first business deal in Manhattan was made in what became the financial district. As every American schoolchild knows, the Dutch bought Manhattan from the Indians, for the ridiculously low price of 24 dollars worth of beads and trinkets. There is, however, another, less known side of this: evidently, the Indians who had sold Manhattan did not themselves live there or in any sense own it. The Dutch and the Indians alike walked away pleased.
Greenwich Village and the East Village.
Greenwich Village and the East Village have always been at the center of New York’s excitement. Both have been places for people with different and creative ideas. Both have an active nightlife with plenty of bars, restaurants and clubs.
In the early 1900s the charm Greenwich Village attracted bohemians - writers and artists. By the 1920s, the streets of the Village were filled with other people, curious to see how these odd Villagers lived. The artists and writers began moving out, some to the East Village. Today, the Village has many elements : students attending New York University ; an active jazz scene; and in Washington Square - it’s center - street performers, police. Drug dealers, joggers, roller skates, and just about everyone else.
When bohemians moved to the East Village 1920s, they found an area similar to the Lower East Side. There were many immigrants, much dirt and grime. The East Village has changed very little. Over the years it has been a center for many movements - for the beat poets of the 1950s, the hippies of the 1960s, and, more recently, for New York’s punk scene.
Statue of Liberty History
The Statue of Liberty National Monument officially celebrated her 100th birthday on October 28, 1986. The people of France gave the Statue to the people of the United States over one hundred years ago in recognition of the friendship established during the American Revolution. Over the years, the Statue of Liberty has grown to include freedom and democracy as well as this international friendship. Sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi was commissioned to design a sculpture with the year 1876 in mind for completion, to commemorate the centennial of the American Declaration of Independence. The Statue was a joint effort between America and France and it was agreed upon that the American people were to build the pedestal, and the French people were responsible for the Statue and its assembly here in the United States. However, lack of funds was a problem on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. In France, public fees, various forms of entertainment, and a lottery were among the methods used to raise funds. In the United States, benefit theatrical events, art exhibitions, auctions and prize fights assisted in providing needed funds. Meanwhile in France, Bartholdi required the assistance of an engineer to address structural issues associated with designing such as colossal copper sculpture. Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (designer of the Eiffel Tower) was commissioned to design the massive iron pylon and secondary skeletal framework which allows the Statue's copper skin to move independently yet stand upright. Back in America, fund raising for the pedestal was going particularly slowly, so Joseph Pulitzer (noted for the Pulitzer Prize) opened up the editorial pages of his newspaper, "The World" to support the fund raising effort. Pulitzer used his newspaper to criticize both the rich who had failed to finance the pedestal construction and the middle class who were content to rely upon the wealthy to provide the funds. Pulitzer's campaign of harsh criticism was successful in motivating the people of America to donate.
Реферат опубликован: 12/09/2007