New York is known as the city that never sleeps. But in 2020, Times Square which usually sees 360 000 pedestrians every day dropped its visitor count to a record low. As restaurants, bars, and theatres shut their doors with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, people wondered if New York would ever return. Yet this city was built upon resilience, grit, and ambition, and is no stranger to challenges. Over decades, this metropolitan area has continued to prove its mettle.
In the early 1800s, New York’s population began to grow, creating the need for a recreational space. A location was identified and plans were drawn. But the landscape was rocky in parts and swamp-like in others. Fertile soil had to be brought in from Long Island and New Jersey, while rocks had to be blasted by gunpowder and transported away. It took 20 000 labourers to transform this into a landmark of New York. Spanning over 340 hectares from Harlem to the Upper East Side, Central Park is now the most visited urban park in the United States.
The expansion of New York reinforced the city’s reputation as an economic hub. Wall Street developed into a booming financial district by the 1900s, spurring on the construction of skyscrapers to accommodate the traders. As the buildings rose higher and higher, a race ensued between developers to construct the tallest of them all. Then came the Wall Street Crash of 1929. While the effects rippled across the world, plunging people into poverty and bringing development to a grinding halt, construction of the Empire State Building continued in the midst of the Great Depression. When it opened in 1931, it was the tallest skyscraper in the world at a height of 380 metres.
The Empire State Building would remain at the top until the arrival of the Twin Towers. Built in 1970, their respective heights of 417 metres and 415 metres trumped the skyscrapers around it. But in 2001, it was the site of one of America’s most historic tragedies as two hijacked jets flew into the pair. Elements of the current World Trade Center complex were designed in memory of those who died in the attack. The Oculus skylight is aligned to allow sun in and cover the floor in a beam of light between 8:46am and 10:28am on 11 September, coinciding with the specific times that the first plane struck and the second tower fell. What was once a disaster remembered only by images of destruction is now honoured in a place of reflection where light triumphs over darkness.
New York is filled with beacons of hope. For over a century, people have been welcomed by the Statue of Liberty on Ellis Island – a lasting symbol of freedom and optimism. Lady Liberty stands tall among the most well-known attractions of the city that endure today despite, or sometimes because of, difficult circumstances. Time and again, New York and its people have proven that even amid crisis and despair, this city of skyscrapers will remain on the rise.
