Manhattan, New York City
Manhattan is a small island that is one part of New York City. New York City, “the Big Apple”, is actually made up of five sections called boroughs. These boroughs are Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island, and the Bronx. Manhattan has the most people of all the boroughs, about 1.5 million, even though it is the smallest borough by size. If you send a letter to someone who lives on Manhattan, don’t write Manhattan on the envelope. You should write “New York, New York”, like the famous Frank Sinatra song.
Because the island is so small, most people live and work in tall buildings. Some of these buildings are called skyscrapers because it looks like they are touching the sky. Some famous skyscrapers in Manhattan are Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, 70 Pine Street, Trump Building, GE Building, and Citigroup Center. Manhattan is connected to the other boroughs by a series of bridges and tunnels. The most famous bridge may be the Brooklyn Bridge because of its brick arches. The New York City subway, a massive mass transit system that mostly runs underground, also connects the island to the rest of the boroughs.
Manhattan, like the other boroughs, has many different neighborhoods, many of which are named for the ethnic communities that first lived there. Some of these neighborhoods include Little Italy, Little Germany, Little Brazil, Chinatown, and Koreatown. One of the most famous parts of Manhattan is Times Square. Times Square is called the crossroads of the world. Every year millions of people gather there on New Year’s Eve to watch an illuminated crystal ball drop. There are many theaters around Times Square. Most of these theaters are on Broadway, a famous street considered the home of the American theater industry. Another famous Manhattan street is Fifth Avenue. A part of the avenue features expensive designer stores like Tiffany’s. Fifth Avenue is also famous for its Museum Mile.
