The Rise of American Cities

As people from around the world began to emigrate to America in vast numbers during the 19th century, the cities of the east coast grew nearly beyond belief. In New York City what had been rolling farmlands was eventually covered by a grid of streets, and before long the same phenomenon was being played out in all corners of the growing nation.

The Lower East Side Tenement Museum
The Lower East Side Tenement Museum, which is housed in a New York tenement building constructed in 1863, can only be visited on a guided tour. However, Web visitors can take a virtual tour of the tenement building.

New York City: Moving Uptown
A fascinating display from the New York Public Library about the expansion of New York City northward in the 19th century. The various pages provide enormous detail about life in New York, and the selection of images is especially noteworthy.

New York City in the 19th Century Became the Metropolis Known as Gotham
During the 19th Century New York City became America's largest city as well as an economic powerhouse, thanks to improvements such as the Erie Canal and characters including John Jacob Astor, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Archbishop Hughes, and Boss Tweed.

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