New York City in the 20th Century
The 20th century began and ended with NYC being the cultural and financial capital of the world. In 1900 the City had 3.4 million inhabitants and it included its five boroughs: the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island, as established in 1898. New York was also the busiest port in the world and the world's second largest city after London. The great waves of European immigrants coming to New York, the development of the city's infrastructure, and the incredible construction boom of the next thirty years all contributed to the city's prominence. By the year 2000, the City's population had grown by 2.4% to eight million.
The City's development momentum shifted to Midtown Manhattan with the opening of the first subway line in 1904, passing through Times Square, also taking the main theaters and initiating a hotel boom in the area. The opening of the Williamsburg Bridge, in 1903, and the Manhattan Bridge, in 1909, further connected Manhattan to Brooklyn.
In the first decades of the 20th century several skyscrapers changed the Manhattan's skyline, some of them were the tallest in the word. This continued until the early 1930s, as the stock market crash of 1929 changed the course of the world economy. The economy improved in the second half of the 1930s, but World War II took over all priorities until 1945.
In the 1950s, civil rights movement gained momentum. New York City's population decreased from 7.89 million residents in 1950 to 7.78 million in 1960, with increasing suburbanization in the New York metropolitan area. The United Nations Headquarters was completed in 1952. Broadway was still glamorous and the cityscape was in continuous transformation.
The sixties were marked by cultural revolution. Social movements for peace took over the streets, civil rights, specially for African American people and women's rights. In 1965, the Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional for the government to prohibit married couples from using birth control.
The oil crisis dictated the economy of the 1970s and big cars left the streets. There was an increase in crime and the City barely avoided defaulting on its fiscal obligations and declaring bankruptcy. In 1977, the New York City blackout lasted for 25 hours, during which black and Hispanic neighborhoods fell prey to destruction and looting.
In the late 20th century, New York City was still great, but not as great as before. Other cities in the world were growing faster and stronger. The century ended with the bursting of the dot-com bubble.
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Times Square in 1938, looking south from 47th St. Vintage postcard.
More pages about NYC in 20th century:
• 20th Century Skylines of NYC ►
• Maps of NYC - 20th Century ►
• New York City in the Fifties ►
• New York City in the Sixties ►
• Lower Broadway, First Half of 20th Century ►
• Broadway, City Hall Park to Union Square ►
• 5th Avenue - Washington to Madison squares ►
• 5th Avenue - Fifth Avenue at Madison Square ►
New York City in the 20th Century