The Manhattan Area

Manhattan is the smallest and most densely populated borough of the City of New York. Manhattan has been described as the economic and cultural center of the United States. Anchored by Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City functions as one of the financial capitals of the world, and is home to the New York Stock Exchange.

Important Locations

IMAGE	LOCATION	DESCRIPTION
	Upper Manhattan (East Side)	A place known as the Silk Stocking District, located above 96th Street and between Central Park and the East River. The East Side of Upper Manhattan is one of the most affluent neighborhoods in the City of New York. The Upper East Side is also notable as a significant location of political fundraising in the United States. Most members of New York's high society have made residences on the Upper East Side, including oil-rich tycoons, members of political dynasties, and affluent families built on the foundations of old money.
	Upper Manhattan (West Side)	The Upper West Side is an upscale, primarily residential area that has the reputation of being home to New York City's cultural, intellectual, and artistic brethren. It lies between Central Park and the Hudson River and between West 59th Street and West 110th Street. The Upper West Side is sometimes referred to as the Academic Acropolis with quite a number of educational institutions, including many schools, colleges, universities, and religious centers.
	Uptown Manhattan	Uptown Manhattan is part of the northerly region of Manhattan. Its boundary is defined anywhere between 59th Street and 155th Street. Uptown Manhattan takes in many neighborhoods, including Harlem, a major African-American residential, cultural and business center, and also parts of the Upper West Side. Although Uptown Manhattan is not a major center of tourism in New York, there does lie some tourist attractions, such as The Cloisters.
	Midtown Manhattan	Midtown Manhattan, or simply Midtown, is home to some of the city's most iconic buildings, including the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, and the United Nations Headquarters. It also contains world-famous commercial zones such as Rockefeller Center, Broadway and Times Square. Midtown is commonly defined as the area south of 59th Street, east of the Hudson River, and west of the East River. Midtown Manhattan is the busiest and largest central business district in the United States. The majority of New York City's skyscrapers, including its tallest hotels and apartment towers, lie within Midtown.
	Rockefeller Center	Rockefeller Center, spanning an area between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue, is located in the center of Midtown Manhattan. A sprawling, architectural wonderland, exemplified by the statue of Atlas facing Fifth Avenue and friezes integrated into the designs of its buildings. The centerpiece of Rockefeller Center is the 70-floor, 872-foot RCA Building, also known as the 30 Rock. At the front of 30 Rock is the Lower Plaza, in the very center of the complex, which is reached from Fifth Avenue through the Channel Gardens and Promenade. An ice-skating rink was installed to adorn the central axis, ice-skating becoming a popular activity in the Center.
	Broadway Street	Broadway Street, best known for the portion that runs through the borough of Manhattan, actually runs through Manhattan and The Bronx. Broadway Street is the oldest north–south main thoroughfare in the City of New York, dating back to the first New Amsterdam settlement. A true north–south route that parallels the Hudson River, Broadway is regarded as the heart of the American theater industry and a mecca for its own brand of culture.
	Times Square	Times Square is a commercial intersection in Midtown Manhattan at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretches from West 42nd to West 47th Streets. Times Square is one of the world's busiest pedestrian intersections. Unfortunately, Times Square has also acquired the reputation for being dangerous and seedy. The area is besieged by crime and corruption in the form of gambling and prostitution.
	Madison Square	Madison Square is formed by the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Broadway at 23rd Street in the New York City borough of Manhattan in Midtown. The focus of the square is Madison Square Park, which is bounded on the east by Madison Avenue. Notable buildings around Madison Square include the Flatiron Building, the Toy Center, the New York Life Building, the Appellate Division Courthouse, and the Met Life Tower.
	Pennsylvania Plaza and Madison Square Garden	Adjoined to Madison Square Garden, residing in close proximity to other Manhattan landmarks, including the Empire State Building, Pennsylvania Plaza is an office, entertainment and hotel complex, between 31st and 34th Streets and Seventh and Eighth Avenues in Midtown Manhattan. It includes the current Madison Square Garden and its Theatre. Pennsylvania Station, a major intercity train station and a major commuter rail hub, the busiest passenger transportation facility in the United States, is located in the underground levels of Pennsylvania Plaza.
	Grand Central Terminal	Grand Central Terminal, known colloquially as Grand Central Station, or shortened to Grand Central, is a commuter rail terminal station at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is the largest train station in the world by number of platforms, the total number of tracks along platforms and in rail yards exceeds one-hundred. The terminal covers an area of forty-eight acres. Besides platforms, Grand Central has restaurants, such as the Oyster Bar and various fast food outlets surrounding the Dining Concourse on the level below the Main Concourse, as well as delis, bakeries, newsstands, a gourmet and fresh food market, an annex of the New York Transit Museum, and more than forty retail stores. It has been described as the world's loveliest station.
	Downtown Manhattan	Downtown Manhattan is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the main island and center of business and government, anchored by Wall Street. It is delineated on the north by 14th Street, on the west by the Hudson River, on the east by the East River, and on the south by Upper New York Bay. Wall Street functions as the financial capital of the world and is home to the New York Stock Exchange. City Hall is just to the north of the Financial District. Other places include Little Italy, Chelsea, Union Square, The Manhattan Municipal Building, and south of Canal Street lies most of New York's oldest Chinatown neighborhood. Many court buildings and other government offices are also located in the area.
	Lower East Side	The Lower East Side is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the borough of Manhattan. It is an immigrant, working-class neighborhood, often found to be poor and ethnically diverse, but mostly considered a center of Jewish culture. Some successful boutiques and trendy dining establishments can be found along its restaurant district.
	Chinatown Neighborhood	Manhattan's Chinatown is an ethnic Chinese enclave, home to the largest enclave of Chinese people in the Western hemisphere, with most of its residents Mandarin, Min, or Cantonese-speaking and originating from various regions of China. It is located in the borough of Manhattan, bordering the Lower East Side to its east and Little Italy to its north. Associations or gangs, made up of landsmen, political entities, and crime syndicates, run rampant within Manhattan's Chinatown, offering protection from harassment due to anti-Chinese sentiment and assisting new immigrants by giving out loans and aiding in the starting of businesses. Chinese gang warfare is common throughout but predominantly takes place on Doyers Street.
	Little Italy	Little Italy is a neighborhood in Downtown Manhattan, located on Mulberry Street, extending as far south as Canal Street, as far north as Kenmare Street, as far west as Lafayette Street and as far east as Bowery Street. It borders the Chinatown Neighborhood. Little Italy is known for its large population of Italians and organised crime. Powerful members of the Italian Mafia ostensibly operate within Little Italy, having a hand in many Italian stores, businesses and restaurants, squeezing out and punishing any competition or trespass with cool efficiency.
	Central Park	Central Park is a public park on 843 acres of city-owned land, located in the center of Manhattan, which has been almost entirely landscaped. The park contains several natural-looking lakes and ponds that have been created artificially, extensive walking tracks, bridle paths, two ice-skating rinks (one of which is a swimming pool in July and August), the Central Park Zoo, the Central Park Conservatory Garden, the Pond and Hallett Nature Sanctuary, a large area of natural woods, a billion-gallon reservoir with an encircling running track, the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre, and at the southern end of the park is the famed Michael Friedsam Memorial Carousel.
	Union Square	Union Square is a well-known intersection in Manhattan, located where Broadway, Park Avenue, and Bowery Road come together, further bounded by 14th Street on the south, Union Square West on the west side, 17th Street on the north, and on the east Union Square East. Union Square is noted for its impressive equestrian statue of President George Washington and has been historically noted the start or end point for many political demonstrations. The neighborhoods around the square are the Flatiron District to the north, Chelsea to the west, Greenwich Village to the south, and Gramercy to the east. Many buildings of the New School for Social Research are near the square, as are several dormitories of New York University.
	The Manhattan Wharfs	Upper New York Bay, or Upper Bay, is the traditional heart of the Port of New York and New Jersey, and often called New York Harbor. It is enclosed by the New York City boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Staten Island and the Hudson County, New Jersey municipalities of Jersey City and Bayonne. It is fed by the waters of the Hudson River (historically called the North River as it passes Manhattan), as well as the Gowanus Canal. It contains several islands including Governors Island, near the mouth of the East River, as well Ellis Island, Liberty Island, and Robbins Reef which is supported by a large underwater reef on the New Jersey side of the harbor.