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New York City: The Crossroad of World Trade
Megan Walsh Hist. 141

Episode 6. City of Tomorrow, 1931-1940

New York was a demanding city, forcing changes on the landscape especially after the invention of the car and its continous populationgrowth.

Over the course of 300 yrs NYC started as a trading post and became the economic capital of the world.

The Great Depression in the early 1930's resulted in house evictions, encampments, broke banks, suicides, breadlines, and Hoover Villes

Hoover villes, named after President at the time Herbert Hoover, were shanytowns by the east river, the hudson, and central park.

Major Industries were collapsing.

Women and children sorted through trash for food.

1931-1933 paralyed city of meeting the hope of the 20th century

City of Tomorrow:Fiorello LaGuardia
No More Free Lunch

Radical congressman

Person of the people serving 3 terms.

Mayor of New Yorkat its worst time.

Changed the city governemnt, reestablished merit employment in place of patronage jobs, built city structures, parks, airports, and even cleaned up the corruption in the police force.

Left NYC with infrastructure, and raised expectations of new levels of urban possibility.LaGuardia's public works were cut short when resources were used towards the arrival of the war and expenses were no longer for city construction but for the military.

City of Tomorrow:
Racial Segregation

In 1935 the first race riot broke out in Harlem on 125th street after a rumor of a boy accused of shoplifting was beaten.

-125 people arrested; 3 killed; over 100 injured Home Loaners Corporation in the 1940s altered the makeup of Brooklyn.

Banks create standards when providing home loans & housing value drops.

Redlines: city & state ratings of communities create racial segregation.

-Damaged black communities - Harlem becomes racial slum by the 50's & 60's

Cosmopolis

The 2nd industrial revolution bringing glamour, wealth, and consumer capitalism.

American economy was at a high as morals loosened, trends changed in fashion, alcohol cost was at a low, and New York was the skyscraper capital and center of the entertainment world.

People began to abuse the benefits of 1920's, leading to The Stock Market Crash on October 29, 1929 or Black Tuesday.

After the market crashed, panic spread and The Great Depression rolled over to the new decade of the 1930's.

Cosmopolis
The Sky is the Limit-Henry Ford

Empire State Building1931: named tallest structure in the world

102 stories

57,000 tons of steel

13 months to construct

Nicknamed: Empty Space building because it was built on the outskirts of the business & financial districts; districts where the money was.

By the 1950's it began to bring profit and became a tourist attraction with its city site overlook.

It marked the turning point of New York City Life; a sign of hope during an economic downfall.

The Chrysler BuildingWorlds tallest building for 11 months until the Empire State uilding was built.

Owned by Walter P. Chrysler.

Headquarters of the Chrysler Corporation in the 1930's till the 1950's.

77 stories

One of America's favorite buildings of all time.

Cosmopolis
Music Has No Color

After WWI, African Americans migrated to North America in search of better employment and opportunities.

By 1924 Harlem city had became the capital of African Americans, the start of the Harlem Renaissance.

Multiculturalism was happening amongst Blacks & Whites, embracing one anothers art,dance, literature and music.

Famous Jazz composers such as Louis Armstrong: trumpeter, cornet player, and singer; Duke Ellington: Composer and Pianist & Benny Goodman: The King of Swing

The Jazz Era may have ended in 1930 but helped generate a cultural shift.

Mike Clough
A Merger That Puts New York on Top

The Worlds Leading Internet Company merges with the Worlds Leading Media-Entertainment Company: AOL TIME WARNER

This merge assured New Yorks position of Global &Eeconomic Prominence over the West Coast.

New York had (2) advantages to dominate the future of national economy: Growing Capital Markets & Port Location. - The Erie Canal: built to control exports between Europe and U.S. - Triangle Trade commercial interests to control cotton trade between The South and England.

NY, Boston, & Philadelphia battle to emerge as the Commercial Capital of the Next American Century.

During the late 19th century The Discoveries of Electricity,Tthe Telephone, Motion Pictures, Wireless Radio & Television solidify New Yorks hegemony in terms of economy.

New Yorks advantages may run short as the digital-Internet Revolution creates new industries & sources of wealth and nature of the economy.

The City in the Land of the Dollar
City Beautiful

Architect, professor, and writer,Witold Rybczynski, states that every city is unique and explains how America came to be. The Great Fire of 1871 in Chicago, destroyed everything, igniting the rebirth of Chicago as theCity of the Future.City Beautifulwas a movement most associated with Chicago, Detroit, and Washington D.C. Architects' wanted to incorporate beauty and monumental grandeur to cities with a major influence from Paris, France. Originated from the slogan for an urban improvement campaign in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

City in the Land of the People

For cities, the 19th century was a period of growth.

In 1923 Building Codes were initiated, guiding city development and regulating urban development.

North Michigan Avenue was the site of the worlds tallest structures including John Mead Howell and Raymond Hood's 450 ft high Tribune Tower, which won an international competition.

The introduction of elevators revolutionized building structures to be vertical, reducing urban clutter.

Following the Civil War, business skyrocketed & the construct of railroads helped Chicago and other cities industrialize and expand economically.

SOURCES

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiorello_La_Guardia

Palomar Blackboard Episode Films

Blackbaord Articles: "A Merger That Puts New York on Top": New York City and the US Economy & Immigrants & Cities