Historic Travel US – Arteries of New York

Ever wondered why New York is called the melting pot of cultures? This Video tells you why and provides a moving account of life in New York in the middle of the 20th century. Although the history of New York is a long one, the modern city, as we know it today was established only in 1898, with the merging of New York with Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island. The city retained the title of the world’s busiest port until 1985. Symbolized by its towering skyscrapers, the city continues to attract people form all over the world, earning it the coveted tile of “Melting Pot of the World”. Culturally, New York has become a truly international city with the influx of intellectual, musical and artistic refugees from Europe since the 1930s. NY has replaced Paris as the center of the art world and rivaled London as an art market. The present day city owes a lot to two great visionaries – Mayor Fiorello La Guardia and city planner Robert Moses – who gave the city its wide roads, spacious parks and adequate housing. The “Big Apple” has had its share of great moments and some forgettable ones as well. This Video presents an exhilarating picture of the many ethnic groups that have made New York their home and contrasts these with some pathetic visuals of New Yorkers who lived in pitiful conditions under the shadows of the mighty skyscrapers in the first half of the 20th century.