Statue of Liberty - New York

The Statue of Liberty is one of the most significant and well-known landmarks of the United States. Officially named Liberty Enlightening the World, the statue represents the centennial of the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence.

It’s a statue of a woman wearing a stola, a radiant crown and sandals, trampling a broken chain. Her right hand, holding a torch is raised high while her left hand carrying a tabula ansata table written on it the date of the Declaation of Independence.

The statue is a central figure in the Statue of Liberty National Monument, managing by the National Park Service.

The idea of the statue to be given as a gift to the United States to celebrate the Centennial of the American Declaration of Independence belonged to the politician and sympathetic writer of the history of the United States, Édouard René de Laboulave.

Participation in fundraising for the establishment of the statue took both French and American people. With this purpose, in France were organized public donations, a number of entertainments, among which the great performances of La liberté éclairant le monde (Liberty enlightening the world) by composer Charles Gounod at Paris Opera as well as 2,250,000 francs (250,000$) were collected by a charitable lottery. In the United States, the required funds were provided through art exhibitions, benefit theatrical events, auctions and prize fights.

The construction of the Statue of Liberty was entrusted to the French sculptor Frédéric Bartholdi. The creation of the iron pylon and the secondary skeletal framework on the statue were assigned to the designer Gustave Eiffel who also used the help of structural engineer Maurice Koechlin in implementation of the detailed work.

The statue building process was finished in France in July 1884. Because of lack of money the pedestal of the tower was not completed at that time. The following year, aboard the French frigate Isère , the statue was transported to the United States. On April 22, 1886 the pedestal was finally constructed and on October 28 the Statue of Liberty was officially unveiled by President Grover Cleveland in front of thousands of spectators.

The whole statue is made of pure copper, standing at a height of 93 metres.

Address:
Statue of Liberty
Liberty Island
New York City
NY 10004
United States

Tel: +1 212 363 3200

Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, also known as The Met, is located on the eastern edge of Central Park in New York City, USA. The wide range of displays recognised the museum as one of the largest in the world.

It was established in 1870 with the support of the American citizens including businessmen, financiers, famous artists and thinkers of the day. Their main purpose in creating the museum was to serve as an educational centre for all the American people.

On February 20, 1872, the museum was officially opened at 681 Fifth Avenue in New York City. For its first president was appointed John Taylor Johnston. Luigi Palma di Cesnola became the museum’s first director. The publisher George Palmer Putnam served as museum’s founding Superintendent and the artist Eastman Johnson was considered as Co-Founder of the museum.

In 2007 the size of the museum was already 20 times bigger than it was in 1880, occupying over two million square feet and a length of nearly quarter mile.

The Metropolitan Museum holds art collection from classical antiquity, Ancient Egypt, American and modern art, African, Asian, Oceanic, Byzantine and Islamic art, collections of musical instruments, costumes, accessories, antique weapons and armor as well as a number of paintings and sculptures from almost all the European masters.

Egyptian art is represented by more than 36,000 displays from the Paleolithic era through the Roman era. Among the most significant of them is a set of 24 wooden models of boats, gardens and scenes depict the Egyptian daily life in the early Middle Kingdom. Here is also the Temple of Dendur as well as one of the oldest item a set of Archeulian flints from Deir-el-Bahri.

The American decorative arts department is consisted of about 12,000 displays from the late 17th to the early 20th century. Here is the amazing collection of American stained glass including pieces by Louis Comfort Tiffany, the silver collection represents by a great number of pieces by Paul Revere and also many works by Tiffany & Co.

The Modern art galleries host a collection of Picasso’s portrait of Gertrude Stein, Jasper John’s White Flag, Max Beckmann’s triptych Beginning, Jackson Pollock’s Autumn Rhythm as well as forty paintings by Paul Klee.

The Asian Art collection contains over 60,000 items among which are displays of Chinese calligraphy and paintings, Nepalese and Tibetan works as well as a Ming Dynasty-style garden court.

The Islamic art department includes a collection of miniature paintings from Iran and Mughal India, ceramics and textiles items, different styles of calligraphy and a number of interior pieces representing the renovated Nur Al-Din Room from an early 18th century house in Damascus.

Among the most interesting musical displays at the Met museum are the collections of Stradivari violins and Asian instruments made from precious metals as well as the oldest piano, a 1720 model by Bartolomeo Cristofori.

The department of Arms and Armor is one of the museum’s largest collections. It consist weapons and armor from dynastic Egypt, the Roman Empire, the ancient Greece, Near East, Africa, Oceania as well as variety of items belonged to kings and princes such as Henry VIII of England, Henry II of France and Ferdinand I of Germany.

The museum has paintings by Monet, Cézanne, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Van Gogh, Georges de La Tour, El Greco, Botticelli and many more.

The European Sculpture and Decorative Arts collection is house to more than 50,000 displays, mainly focused on Renaissance sculpture and decoration.

Address:
Metropolitan Museum of Art
1000 Fifth Avenue
Fifth Ave at 82nd Street
New York
10028-0198
United States

Tel: 212 535 7710

Niagara Falls

The Niagara Falls are amazing waterfalls located on the Niagara River, between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of New York

The waterfalls are distinguished not so much with height but more by their width. They are the most powerful waterfalls in North America, serving as a highly esteemed source of hydroelectric power.

It’s not quite sure how the waterfalls have received their present name. The Iroquoian scholar Bruce Trigger claims that the name “Niagara” was borrowed from the name of a group of local residents known as the “Niagagarega”.

It is supposed that the very first people who observed and gave a detailed description of the waterfalls were Samuel de Champlain, Pehr Kalm, Paul Ragueneau, Louis Hennepin and Jean de Brébeuf.

After the American Civil War, the Niagara Falls were described by the New York Central as a lovely place for pleasure and honeymoon visits.

In 1897, the first steel archway bridge called Whirlpool Rapids Bridge was established near the waterfalls.

After the First World War the access to the Niagara Falls became possible for automobiles.
The Niagara Falls was formed by the Wisconsin Glaciation about 10,000 years ago. Similarly, the North American Great Lakes and the Niagara River were created.

Due to the process of erosion the original Niagara Falls shifted about 6.8 miles southward instead of being closer to the sites of present-day Queenston, Ontario and Lewiston, New York.

The Horseshoe Falls and the American Falls are the two divisions of the Niagara Falls.
The width of the Horseshoe Falls is about 2,600 feet and the height is approximately 173 feet.
The width of the American Falls is 1,060 feet while the height varies between 70-100 feet.

During the peak flow season, the quantity of the water is usually about 202,000 cubic feet per second. It reaches 100,000 cubic feet per second during the summer months but in the winter the amount of water reduces to about 50,000 cubic feet per second.

The various indicators of the power of water are managed by the International Niagara Board of Control.

Times Square - New York

Times Square is one of the world’s most visited attractions and is located in Manhattan, New York City.

Times Square is an area that is found at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue, stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets.

The Times Square is a significant landmark of the city of New York and it is known for its spectacular animated and digital advertisements.

Previously named Longacre Square, Times Square got its present name in 1904.

Along with the growth of New York City Times Square enjoy a growing stature as well. It gradually became a cultural centre, hosting a number of theatres, music halls and hotels. It also became a place where important events are held, such as a World Series and a presidential election.

During the 1910s and 1920s, the Times Square was among the most visited areas in Manhattan. This was the reason that it got the nickname The Tenderloin. It was also the time when Times Square became a place of crime and corruption, represented by gambling and prostitution.

In the mid-1990s, the mayor of the New York City Rudolph Giuliani marked the beginning of the programme, which seeks to eliminate the existing bad reputation of the city by increasing the security and opening many more tourist attractions as well as many upscale establishments.

Times Square is the only neighbourhood in Manhattan which is authorized to demand from the building owners to set illuminated signs.

The signs in Times Square are known as “spectaculars” and the greatest of them are called “jumbotrons”.

In 1992 the Times Square Alliance took a decision to make the quality of commerce and cleanliness in the area much better.

Today, Times Square hosts ABC’s Times Square Studios, a Toys "Я" Us store, Hershey’s and M&M stores also a great number of theatres and several restaurants such as Ruby Foo’s, the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, Carmine’s as well as Planet Hollywood Restaurant and Bar. There are also headquarters of many media, publishing and financial firms.

At Times Square on the 2002 New Year’s celebration, the new mayor of the city of New York became Michael Bloomberg.