240 



NEW YORK. 



solid and costly viaducts, and its tunnel of 600 feet in length, cut through a hard granite rocK 

 The proposed JVetw Yo7-k and Jllbany Railroad is to follow the route of this work. The 

 J^eiv York and Erie Railroad^ the greatest undertaking of the kind in the world, if we except 

 the Charleston and Cincinnati Railroad, is to extend from Tappan on the Hudson, 24 miles 

 above New York, through the southern border counties to Dunkirk on Lake Erie, 350 

 miles ; the cost of the work is estimated at 5,473,000 dollars, and beside numerous valuable 

 donations of land in the most important villages and town-shes, the company has received a 

 loan of 3,000,000 dollars from the State. Several sections of the road are already in a 

 forward condition. 



4. Cities and Toions. The city of JVew York occupies the first rank among llie cities of 

 the western world for population, wealth, and trade. Situated upon s- noble harbor, at the 

 mouth of one of the finest navi- 

 gable rivers in the world, it enjoys 

 a monopoly of the trade of a large 

 and wealthy district of the interior. 

 Hence the increase cf the city 

 has kept pace with the devclope- 

 ment of trade and industry in ii:e 

 neighboring States. "J'he rapid 

 augmentation of population, com- 

 merce, and every iiiaterial ot 

 prosperity which New 1 ork has 

 witnessed in recent years, is al 

 most without a parallel. Founded 

 by the Dutch, in 1614, by the 

 name of .A'eiti Jlrnslerdam^ it did 

 not for a century exceed Boston 

 in point of numbers ; but with 

 the settlement of the interior of 

 the State, and the opening of the 

 navigation of the great lakes, New- 

 fork has received an impulse, which, added to other advantages, has established its present and 

 occured its future preeminence. In respect to commerce, it is already the second city in the 

 world. It stands on the southern point of an island at the mouth of the Hudson ; on the east, 

 the shore of this island is watered by a deep channel, called East River, which separates it 

 from Long Island, and affords a navigable communication between New York harbor and Long 

 Island Sound. The harbor extends 8 miles south of the city lo the Narrows. The ground on 

 which the city is built rises with a moderate ascent from both rivers, which gives it a more 

 imposing exterior than the uniform level of Philadelphia, although it by no means equals the 

 bold and commanding aspect of Boston. The view of New York in approaching it by the 

 Narrows from the sea is particularly fine. The bay contains many small islands, with forts and 



castles upon them, and the lofty spires 

 of the city are visible at a great distance. 

 The bay is everywhere deep, and the 

 current rapid ; it has not been frozen 

 over for 50 years. The first settlement 

 w-as made at the southern extremitj", 

 consequently that portion of the city is 

 composed of narrow, crooked, incon- 

 venient streets, and unsightly old build- 

 ings ; but the more modern parts, and 

 especially those which have gro\\n up 

 within 20 years, are regular and commo- 

 dious. The finest street is Broadway, 

 which traverses the whole city in a 

 straight line from north to south, being 

 3 miles in length and 80 feet in breadth. 

 The City Hall It is occupied by shops, elegant houses, 



View nf JVciD York, 



