Times Square and the Theater District just west of Midtown contain the world-famous theaters and numerous restaurants. North and west is Hells Kitchen, in the “40’s” (most Manhattan area locations are so approximated by their east-west numbered streets) is an old ethnic area and warehouse district enjoying a residential renaissance, to soon be aided by an elevated bikeway and commercial corridor along an old rail line. “Hip” residential areas lie east and west, mainly popular with young single professionals. The in-between area is dominated by older ethnic enclaves like Chinatown and Koreatown and the more famous artsy areas of Greenwich and Soho. Large skyscrapers dominate Lower Manhattan, then retreat as does hard bedrock to build on in those areas, then reemerges in Midtown. Midtown is the commercial center, with corporate headquarters, various media businesses, and world-class shopping along Fifth Avenue. Lower Manhattan contains the Financial District.

(Broadway, another exception, moves at a gentle diagonal across the city.)įilling out the island are distinct districts. With the exception of older areas, such as Greenwich Village, the rest of the city follows an orderly grid pattern of avenues and streets laid out in 1811. Much of Lower Manhattan consists of narrow, haphazard streets, dating back to the city’s earliest days as a Dutch colony. The borough of Manhattan, a 10-mile-long, 2-mile-wide island, is the financial, commercial, and entertainment core. Boroughs, districts, and neighborhoods define the city.

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