New York City. Is there a more iconic place in the United State of America? The site of so many our country’s historical and cultural moments, New York City is the American spirit in physical form. The area was first establish nearly 5,000 years ago by Native American tribes like the Mohawk, Cayuga and Seneca. In 1624, the Dutch created a colony, on what is now Manhattan Island, that they proceeded to call New Amsterdam. Once overtaken by the British in 1664, New Amsterdam was renamed to New York. After the 1776 American Revolution, New York officially became a U.S. colony. That colony became a state in 1788. One year after that, George Washington was sworn in as the very first United States president in New York City. Interested in knowing more? Read below for more New York City wall art facts!
Geography
Wondering about the geography both surrounding and inside of New York? New York is bordered by both Canada and Lake Ontario in the northmost part of the state. New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and the Atlantic Ocean are on the southern side of the state. Lake Erie sits on the west; Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont sit on the east. A section of land called the St. Lawrence-Champlain Lowland is situated along the edge of the Adirondack Mountains and the Canadian border. If you were to walk along this hillside area, you would be able to see Lake Champlain and Thousand Islands, a small collections of islands located between New York and Canada. The Adirondacks also include the Appalachian Mountains and forests, including New York’s highest peak, Mount Marcy. Read below for more New York City wall art facts.
Wildlife
New York is home to all kinds of interesting animals. Within the state, you can find black bears, bobcats, moose, weasels, raccoons and skunks. If you’re more interested in birds, New York has: golden eagles, peregrine falcons, wild turkeys, blue jays, cardinals and woodpeckers. Some of the reptiles include: snapping turtles, diamondback terrapins and queen snakes. Oaks, pines and maple trees are also all native to New York! If you’re interested in flowers, azaleas, rhododendrons and New England asters are all very common sites. Did you know that in addition to wildlife, New York is known for supplying lots of natural resources? New York is known for giving the rest of the United States construction materials like limestone, salt, sand and gravel. Read below for more New York City wall art facts.
Secession
Most people who are familiar with United States history know about the American Civil War; a war during which southern states tried to separate themselves from the rest of the country. Did you know that New York experienced a similar period, just without wartime battles? In the 1980s, State Island politicians began to campaign for secession from the rest of New York City! Angry about the limited representation that they received on the City Council, these politicians wanted to form an independent “City of Staten Island.” A large majority of residents within Staten Island liked the sound of secession, with many publicly supporting the cause. That said, the City Council ultimately voted against it. Years later in 1993, the secession cause was ignited again and failed once more. Since then, Staten Island has remained a New York city borough. Read below for more New York City wall art facts.
Apartments
Even if you’ve never been to NYC, you know just from watching or reading any kind of media that most people there live in apartments. Did you know that from the state’s inception through the 1920s, there was a designated apartment moving day? That’s right, there used to be one single day per year when New York residents would move to a new home. May 1st was the day that anyone who wanted to move, did. This custom New York holiday often caused mass chaos and huge traffic jams as the streets became flooded with horse-drawn vans and falling furniture. This moving day eventually began to lose steam due to the many frustrations it caused. Now modern New Yorkers move whenever they want! Read below for more New York City wall art facts.
Cowboys
When you think of cowboys, what environments do you usually associate with them? Ranches and farms? Mountains? Wide, open plains and meadows? How about city streets? Yeah, we know, that’s odd! New York used to have its own set of cowboys from 1850 to 1941. These cowboys were named the West Side Cowboys and patrolled 10th Avenue in Manhattan. Now, what were they in charge of? If you’re thinking that they were there to wrangle loose livestock running amok in New York’s streets, well, you’d be wrong. The point of the West Side Cowboys was to wrangle people! They used to ride ahead of large freight trains that ran down 10th Avenue in order to warn people around the tracks that they were coming. Back in those days, many people were oblivious to the dangers to train tracks! We hope you enjoyed these New York City wall art facts!
Conclusion
Well, now that you know so much about New York, how do you feel? Do you think you’re going to make a visit to the Big Apple one day? Maybe these esoteric New York facts have scared you off? No matter what you think about the city that never sleeps, we hope you learned something! Thanks for reading these New York City wall art facts!