0:00:02 > 0:00:04I have crossed the Atlantic,
0:00:04 > 0:00:07to ride the railroads of America...
0:00:07 > 0:00:10with a new travelling companion.
0:00:12 > 0:00:17Published in 1879, my Appletons' General Guide will steer me
0:00:17 > 0:00:20to everything that's novel...
0:00:20 > 0:00:23beautiful...memorable
0:00:23 > 0:00:26or curious in the United States.
0:00:26 > 0:00:27- ALL:- Amen.
0:00:29 > 0:00:33As I cross the continent, I'll discover America's Gilded Age,
0:00:33 > 0:00:37when powerful tycoons launched a railway boom
0:00:37 > 0:00:39that tied the nation together
0:00:39 > 0:00:44and carved out its future as a superpower.
0:01:06 > 0:01:08I'm beginning my American adventure
0:01:08 > 0:01:12in New York, the Empire State.
0:01:12 > 0:01:16Starting in New York City, I'll continue up the Hudson
0:01:16 > 0:01:20to Poughkeepsie and the New York State capital of Albany.
0:01:20 > 0:01:24From here, I'll turn west to the Great Lakes,
0:01:24 > 0:01:26taking in Rochester and Buffalo.
0:01:26 > 0:01:31I'll finish my journey on the Canadian border at Niagara Falls.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42Today, I'll explore New York's Manhattan Island
0:01:42 > 0:01:48using the subway, the busiest rail transit system in the United States.
0:01:51 > 0:01:56I'll start at the magnificent Grand Central Terminal.
0:01:56 > 0:01:58In the financial district,
0:01:58 > 0:02:02I'll hear about the robber barons of America's Gilded Age.
0:02:02 > 0:02:06I'll take in that most theatrical of streets, Broadway,
0:02:06 > 0:02:09and visit the tenements of the Lower East Side.
0:02:09 > 0:02:11I'll finish this first leg of my journey
0:02:11 > 0:02:14at the new World Trade Center.
0:02:18 > 0:02:19Along the way,
0:02:19 > 0:02:24I visit the gateway to the nation for millions of immigrants...
0:02:24 > 0:02:27People would be sitting on the benches, anxiously shuffling
0:02:27 > 0:02:31their feet, awaiting their trains that would take them to new lives,
0:02:31 > 0:02:32to a new adventure.
0:02:32 > 0:02:37..uncover shady deals and crooked politicians...
0:02:37 > 0:02:39Railroads could not have been built without federal support,
0:02:39 > 0:02:41and they relied very, very heavily
0:02:41 > 0:02:43on sort of corrupt political connections.
0:02:46 > 0:02:48# Pardon me, boy
0:02:48 > 0:02:51# Is that the Chattanooga Choo Choo...? #
0:02:52 > 0:02:55..I'm thoroughly choo-chooed on Broadway...
0:02:55 > 0:02:59# ..Chattanooga Choo Choo Won't you choo-choo me home?... #
0:02:59 > 0:03:01APPLAUSE
0:03:01 > 0:03:05..and I witness the future for transport in New York City.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08The sun will shine directly into this building
0:03:08 > 0:03:12at the moment the last tower fell. We call that the wedge of light.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24Like the 19th-century tourist following my guide book,
0:03:24 > 0:03:27I'm starting in New York City.
0:03:32 > 0:03:37"Grand Central Depot, the largest and finest in the country,
0:03:37 > 0:03:40"built of brick, stone and iron,
0:03:40 > 0:03:44"692 feet long and 240 foot wide."
0:03:44 > 0:03:46That was written in 1879,
0:03:46 > 0:03:50and now it's been replaced by a lofty temple,
0:03:50 > 0:03:53a building of such elegance, sophistication
0:03:53 > 0:03:55and grandeur that the Big Apple says,
0:03:55 > 0:03:58"I don't care where you've been before,
0:03:58 > 0:04:02"this city admits no near equal."
0:04:09 > 0:04:13In the foyer of this awe-inspiring building,
0:04:13 > 0:04:16I'm meeting Dan Brucker, who's been guiding tourists
0:04:16 > 0:04:19around Grand Central Terminal for over 25 years.
0:04:20 > 0:04:23- Hi, I'm Dan Brucker. - Hello, Dan, I'm Michael.- Hi.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26I was just obviously admiring Grand Central Station,
0:04:26 > 0:04:29and this is an amazing bit of architecture.
0:04:29 > 0:04:31So when was this finally opened to the public?
0:04:31 > 0:04:34Right, this opened up in February of 1913.
0:04:34 > 0:04:40It was then and remains to this day the world's largest train terminal.
0:04:40 > 0:04:44Also, every single day, coming through Grand Central Terminal,
0:04:44 > 0:04:48pass more than 750,000 people.
0:04:48 > 0:04:50I can believe it.
0:04:51 > 0:04:55The mastermind behind this railroad cathedral was the industrial
0:04:55 > 0:04:58magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01He built the first station on the site in 1871.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04It stood until 1902,
0:05:04 > 0:05:06when a catastrophic collision
0:05:06 > 0:05:09between two steam-powered passenger trains in an approach tunnel
0:05:09 > 0:05:12led the New York Central Railroad Company
0:05:12 > 0:05:15to switch to electricity,
0:05:15 > 0:05:19and Grand Central was completely redesigned for a new age,
0:05:19 > 0:05:22with 49 platforms over two levels.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26The steam railyards north of the station were built over.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29Above them rose Park Avenue,
0:05:29 > 0:05:32offering some of the most prestigious real estate
0:05:32 > 0:05:35in the world, whose revenues flowed to Vanderbilt.
0:05:37 > 0:05:38He was a shrewd man.
0:05:38 > 0:05:42And so shrewd he made sure that his mark was going to be literally
0:05:42 > 0:05:44engraved throughout here.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47On the very tippy top of that clock,
0:05:47 > 0:05:50that is an acorn, and throughout this terminal
0:05:50 > 0:05:54you'll see acorns and oak leaf clusters aplenty.
0:05:54 > 0:05:56It was a Vanderbilt family symbol,
0:05:56 > 0:06:00- because from the acorn rose a mighty oak.- It certainly grew.
0:06:05 > 0:06:09In its heyday, Grand Central was the gateway to the nation,
0:06:09 > 0:06:13a place from where millions of eager migrants set out west
0:06:13 > 0:06:17to forge a new life in the New World.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31- Vanderbilt Hall.- Yes.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34It has...quite a history to it.
0:06:35 > 0:06:37Because here on this magnificent floor,
0:06:37 > 0:06:41you will notice that there are little scoops.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44People would be sitting on the benches, awaiting their trains
0:06:44 > 0:06:47that would take them to new lives, to a new adventure.
0:06:47 > 0:06:51So they'd be sitting here, anxiously shuffling their feet,
0:06:51 > 0:06:55as they were about to begin an entire new life
0:06:55 > 0:06:57across these United States.
0:07:01 > 0:07:05Today, distances travelled from the terminal are more modest.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09How many people on this train?
0:07:09 > 0:07:12Right, we've got 1,200 people on this train alone.
0:07:12 > 0:07:14Now, we have more tracks and track platforms
0:07:14 > 0:07:16than any other station in the world.
0:07:16 > 0:07:21We have 42 tracks, serving 63 track platforms,
0:07:21 > 0:07:24and trains are arriving here every 47 seconds
0:07:24 > 0:07:27during the morning rush hour and these numbers are greater than ever.
0:07:27 > 0:07:29It's an unbelievable building.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33- Do you ever lose your sense of awe for it?- No, I never do.
0:07:33 > 0:07:34My favourite part of the terminal
0:07:34 > 0:07:36is not the building in and of itself,
0:07:36 > 0:07:39but people's expressions as they come from out of town,
0:07:39 > 0:07:41from the Midwest, Europe,
0:07:41 > 0:07:44and they come in here and they see this place, wide-eyed.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47- And that includes my face? - Yes, there's that too.
0:07:48 > 0:07:52For strangers passing through the imposing Terminal Hall,
0:07:52 > 0:07:55the challenge is how to find the right track
0:07:55 > 0:07:57and information on their train.
0:08:01 > 0:08:06- Hello.- Hi.- So my name's Michael, what's yours?- Michael, I'm CP.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09Great to see you, CP. How did you learn all these train times?
0:08:09 > 0:08:14- Do you sit down and study?- Sometimes I do. If they do change us...
0:08:14 > 0:08:18- Just a moment.- OK.- Hi, excuse me. - Can you point me to...?
0:08:18 > 0:08:22- I need track 29.- 29 what? - Um, it's rail, to Poughkeepsie.
0:08:22 > 0:08:24Oh, you want to go to Poughkeepsie.
0:08:24 > 0:08:28- All right, young lady, hurry up, one minute, right behind me.- OK.- Mm-hm.
0:08:28 > 0:08:30So, New Yorkers, of course, have a worldwide reputation
0:08:30 > 0:08:33for being THE most polite people in the world, is that right?
0:08:33 > 0:08:37- No, that's not polite. No, they're not polite.- No?
0:08:37 > 0:08:40Sometimes, they can be very rude, but you go with it.
0:08:40 > 0:08:41- Yeah?- We're dealing with people.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44But you're trained to be polite back, are you?
0:08:44 > 0:08:45I'm born polite, I can't help it.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48All those people pouring into New York,
0:08:48 > 0:08:51the human fuel that makes this motor run.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54Yes. Yes, yes. But it's fun.
0:08:58 > 0:09:00And like so many before me,
0:09:00 > 0:09:05I leave these majestic marble halls to begin my adventure.
0:09:26 > 0:09:30Before I explore today's Manhattan at ground level,
0:09:30 > 0:09:33an eagle-eyed view is in order.
0:09:33 > 0:09:35A short journey north from Grand Central
0:09:35 > 0:09:37takes me to the Rockefeller Center.
0:09:37 > 0:09:39This vast complex was constructed
0:09:39 > 0:09:43by the oil tycoon and philanthropist John D Rockefeller,
0:09:43 > 0:09:45during the Great Depression,
0:09:45 > 0:09:48and opened in 1933.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50I'm heading to the top.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55Appletons' map of New York City, 1879,
0:09:55 > 0:09:58and it's all completely recognisable.
0:09:58 > 0:10:02There's the Hudson River to my right, the East River to my left.
0:10:02 > 0:10:04Down there where the Freedom Tower is,
0:10:04 > 0:10:05that was old colonial New York,
0:10:05 > 0:10:08and you could recognise it on the map
0:10:08 > 0:10:10because all the streets are higgledy-piggledy.
0:10:10 > 0:10:15But the city had planned its expansion on a grid system
0:10:15 > 0:10:18and you can see the grid from here.
0:10:18 > 0:10:21You can't maybe see the streets, but you can tell that all the buildings
0:10:21 > 0:10:25are in the same orientation, they're facing me directly.
0:10:25 > 0:10:27But you have to remember, when this map was published,
0:10:27 > 0:10:29there were no skyscrapers.
0:10:29 > 0:10:33It was all little houses and warehouses and storehouses,
0:10:33 > 0:10:37and everything that's happened since has transformed the city,
0:10:37 > 0:10:41but - it's all developed according to plan.
0:10:51 > 0:10:57Bounded by water, Manhattan Island had limited space to grow.
0:10:57 > 0:11:02The answer? Push the limits of technology and build up.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08Here, you can see how skyscrapers began.
0:11:08 > 0:11:11This is the wonderful Flatiron Building.
0:11:11 > 0:11:15They were made possible by a new way of producing steel,
0:11:15 > 0:11:18patented by an Englishman, Henry Bessemer.
0:11:18 > 0:11:22And that meant that you could have a building that was elegant
0:11:22 > 0:11:24and slim from bottom to top.
0:11:24 > 0:11:26And then the decoration, well,
0:11:26 > 0:11:29that's drawn from Classical Greece and from the Renaissance.
0:11:29 > 0:11:35And so, the technology was British, the decoration was European,
0:11:35 > 0:11:40but the boldness, the chutzpah, was all American.
0:11:45 > 0:11:49One early investor in the Bessemer steel-making process
0:11:49 > 0:11:53in the United States was Scottish-born Andrew Carnegie.
0:11:53 > 0:11:59Steel rails were more durable than iron, and in 1875, Carnegie built
0:11:59 > 0:12:04a steel plant devoted to the needs of the expanding railroad industry.
0:12:05 > 0:12:09He became one of the wealthiest men in America.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19100 years before Carnegie left Britain
0:12:19 > 0:12:21to seek his fortune in the New World,
0:12:21 > 0:12:24New York was a British colony.
0:12:24 > 0:12:29I'm heading to Bowling Green to find out what the city was like then
0:12:29 > 0:12:32from historian Jessica Baldwin Phillips.
0:12:34 > 0:12:37- Hello.- Hello, Jessica. Good to see you.- Good to see you as well.
0:12:37 > 0:12:43Ah, I, um... I'm pursuing my travels with my Appletons' and it tells me
0:12:43 > 0:12:46that Bowling Green is the cradle of New York City.
0:12:46 > 0:12:50"In colonial times it was the heart of highest fashion of the colony,
0:12:50 > 0:12:53"having been successively the residence and headquarters
0:12:53 > 0:12:56"of Lords Cornwallis and Howe,
0:12:56 > 0:12:59"General Sir Henry Clinton and General Washington."
0:12:59 > 0:13:01So tell me about the place in those days.
0:13:01 > 0:13:04It was bustling. There were homes, people lived here,
0:13:04 > 0:13:08there were peddlers, there was livestock, it was quite the centre.
0:13:08 > 0:13:10It was the first park of New York City.
0:13:10 > 0:13:13What was the architecture like in those days?
0:13:13 > 0:13:16- A lot smaller than it is today. - Well, that's for sure.
0:13:16 > 0:13:18So Trinity Church would have been the tallest building,
0:13:18 > 0:13:21and you had a lot of wood-framed buildings,
0:13:21 > 0:13:23not as much stone, no skyscrapers.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26Before the Revolution, how much of Manhattan was built upon at all?
0:13:26 > 0:13:30Hardly much at all. Just the lower portion of Manhattan, the tip,
0:13:30 > 0:13:34really, was where there were streets and building after building,
0:13:34 > 0:13:38but after you got maybe 15, 20 blocks in, it's farmland.
0:13:38 > 0:13:42- And this is all because of the port, the natural harbour?- Correct.
0:13:42 > 0:13:46So before the Revolution, these big names of the British establishment
0:13:46 > 0:13:47that I've mentioned,
0:13:47 > 0:13:51- they lived a British establishment life away from home.- Correct.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54These were the colonies. This technically was their home
0:13:54 > 0:13:56and they had a vested interest
0:13:56 > 0:13:58in making sure that it was prosperous for the crown.
0:13:58 > 0:14:03And after the war, a lot of the loyalists either left the city
0:14:03 > 0:14:05or they stayed here and made do.
0:14:05 > 0:14:07What happened to those who stayed?
0:14:07 > 0:14:10They became the Americans of today.
0:14:15 > 0:14:17Three blocks east of Bowling Green
0:14:17 > 0:14:21I find a restaurant that regularly hosted grand Americans
0:14:21 > 0:14:22of Appletons' day,
0:14:22 > 0:14:24and which is still thriving.
0:14:27 > 0:14:29Delmonico's, according to Appletons',
0:14:29 > 0:14:32is "One of the best restaurants in the world
0:14:32 > 0:14:35"and famous for its elaborate dinners".
0:14:35 > 0:14:40This is where those with the Midas touch would meet and eat.
0:14:42 > 0:14:45Open since 1837,
0:14:45 > 0:14:48some 40 years before the publication of my guide book,
0:14:48 > 0:14:52Delmonico's was the first restaurant in the United States
0:14:52 > 0:14:54to feature tablecloths.
0:14:54 > 0:14:59And it claims to have invented many dishes, including Eggs Benedict.
0:14:59 > 0:15:03On the menu tonight is their famous Lobster Newburg.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06- Ah, here it is.- Here we go. - Wow.- Beautiful Lobster Newburg.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09- Thank you.- That is impressive.
0:15:09 > 0:15:11'My dining companion is a historian
0:15:11 > 0:15:16'from the City University of New York, Nora Slonimsky.'
0:15:16 > 0:15:18Oh, that's delicious.
0:15:19 > 0:15:21Nora, I suggested this restaurant
0:15:21 > 0:15:24because apparently it was very popular during the Gilded Age.
0:15:24 > 0:15:25What was the Gilded Age?
0:15:25 > 0:15:28The Gilded Age was a period in American history
0:15:28 > 0:15:32from about 1870 to 1890, and the phrase basically expresses
0:15:32 > 0:15:36sort of the paradox of the changes that are happening in this moment,
0:15:36 > 0:15:39that on the one hand you have this incredible technological innovation,
0:15:39 > 0:15:42innovation really is personified by the railroads
0:15:42 > 0:15:45and railroad expansion, in which incredible wealth
0:15:45 > 0:15:48and incredible economic expansion is happening,
0:15:48 > 0:15:51but on the other, that wealth is very misleading
0:15:51 > 0:15:54because there are a lot of people who are not benefitting.
0:15:54 > 0:15:56So in that sense, it's gilded.
0:15:56 > 0:15:58After the Civil War,
0:15:58 > 0:16:03the railroads bring together this vast single economy
0:16:03 > 0:16:06but they also, I suppose, unite the country metaphorically,
0:16:06 > 0:16:09- after the Civil War. Is that true? - Yes, I would say they do.
0:16:09 > 0:16:13So the railroad sort of had to be sold, in a lot of ways,
0:16:13 > 0:16:16to the American people in this period, and one of the issues
0:16:16 > 0:16:19they were selling was that "we can truly unite the country."
0:16:21 > 0:16:26In 1869, four years after the end of the American Civil War,
0:16:26 > 0:16:31the first trans-continental railroad was completed in Utah.
0:16:31 > 0:16:34By the end of the century, the railways were by far
0:16:34 > 0:16:37the biggest business in the United States,
0:16:37 > 0:16:41whose tentacles connected every sizable community.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44Much like the internet, I think, is today,
0:16:44 > 0:16:48the railroad was sort of this transformative moment for modernity,
0:16:48 > 0:16:52for nationalism, for sort of society as a whole in this time.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55Who were the big figures in this period?
0:16:55 > 0:16:56Oh, well, there's several,
0:16:56 > 0:16:59but I would say perhaps the most iconic figure, definitely someone
0:16:59 > 0:17:02who would probably eat here, would've been Jay Gould.
0:17:02 > 0:17:04And Jay Gould is from New York and he started his career
0:17:04 > 0:17:07as a book-keeper to a blacksmith, actually.
0:17:07 > 0:17:09And then, relatively quickly, right before the Civil War,
0:17:09 > 0:17:12began investing in New York railroads, local railroads.
0:17:12 > 0:17:14And after the Civil War,
0:17:14 > 0:17:16when that opportunity...
0:17:16 > 0:17:19for, really, just westward expansion exploded,
0:17:19 > 0:17:22he really capitalised on that very quickly and began,
0:17:22 > 0:17:24through a series of business connections
0:17:24 > 0:17:28and government relations, to invest very heavily in railroads.
0:17:28 > 0:17:32At the height of Gould's power in the 1880s,
0:17:32 > 0:17:37he controlled one seventh of the entire American rail network.
0:17:37 > 0:17:39Although tycoons' business practices
0:17:39 > 0:17:41and their treatment of workers varied,
0:17:41 > 0:17:44Gould and fellow industrialists like Vanderbilt
0:17:44 > 0:17:49and Carnegie were popularly labelled "robber barons."
0:17:49 > 0:17:53It's not a flattering name, by any means,
0:17:53 > 0:17:56and what it basically combines
0:17:56 > 0:18:00is a pretty longstanding American scepticism about aristocracy
0:18:00 > 0:18:04with a dislike for sort of common criminality.
0:18:04 > 0:18:08- And were they? Were they dishonest? - Yes, I would say a lot
0:18:08 > 0:18:10of the practices they engaged with were pretty dishonest.
0:18:10 > 0:18:12They were very brutal to their employees,
0:18:12 > 0:18:16they were very ruthless with their competitors and they relied very,
0:18:16 > 0:18:19very heavily on sort of corrupt political connections
0:18:19 > 0:18:22to ensure that their enterprises succeeded.
0:18:22 > 0:18:26The railroads could not have been built without federal support
0:18:26 > 0:18:28and someone like Gould knew that.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31And Gould's most probably infamous relationship
0:18:31 > 0:18:35was with a New York City politician, William or "Boss" Tweed,
0:18:35 > 0:18:37and their dynamic was very close.
0:18:37 > 0:18:42When Boss Tweed was finally caught for embezzlement charges,
0:18:42 > 0:18:46Gould paid his, I believe, 1 million bond.
0:18:46 > 0:18:51Do you think it's conceivable, then, that a robber baron met here
0:18:51 > 0:18:55- with a corrupt politician, over a Lobster Newburg?- I would...
0:18:55 > 0:18:58I would absolutely say that there's a very strong possibility that
0:18:58 > 0:19:01Jay Gould and William Boss Tweed could have sat right over there.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04No money has changed hands this evening, but it has been a pleasure
0:19:04 > 0:19:06- dining with you. Thank you. - Thank you so much.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16New York might be the city that never sleeps,
0:19:16 > 0:19:21but after that fine dinner, I won't attempt to keep up.
0:19:21 > 0:19:25I'll let the 24-hour hum of Manhattan continue without me.
0:19:42 > 0:19:46This morning, I'm starting the day in Manhattan's Central Park,
0:19:46 > 0:19:48with the morning papers.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55New York newspaper review, 1879.
0:19:55 > 0:20:00In The New York Times, under the heading "John Smith Cannibal",
0:20:00 > 0:20:04we learn that the Massachusetts herdsman, who eats reptiles
0:20:04 > 0:20:09and would like to eat human flesh, is a former marine.
0:20:09 > 0:20:11There's a report from London, England,
0:20:11 > 0:20:15that a Parliamentary committee's report on electric lighting
0:20:15 > 0:20:18says that sufficient progress has been made
0:20:18 > 0:20:23to encourage the belief that electricity has an important future,
0:20:23 > 0:20:28for illuminating and as a source of mechanical power.
0:20:28 > 0:20:32The New York Herald covers its front page with an advertisement for ale,
0:20:32 > 0:20:38but inside, a harrowing description of a railroad accident.
0:20:39 > 0:20:43It seems that one of the most remarkable accidents of the age
0:20:43 > 0:20:47occurred on the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50The train was going at 30mph when it jumped the track
0:20:50 > 0:20:54and the coupling of the rear first class coach snapped in two
0:20:54 > 0:20:58and the coach went rolling over and over,
0:20:58 > 0:21:03down the declivity, a distance of 30 feet, to the Greenbrier River.
0:21:03 > 0:21:09So...gory tales of crime, predictions of the future,
0:21:09 > 0:21:11and accidents.
0:21:11 > 0:21:13Nothing changes much.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19Appletons' tells me that Central Park is one of the largest
0:21:19 > 0:21:21and finest parks in the world.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24And indeed it's an urban oasis.
0:21:24 > 0:21:27Not many parks have an official historian,
0:21:27 > 0:21:30but Sara Cedar Miller of the Central Park Conservancy
0:21:30 > 0:21:32holds that honour.
0:21:33 > 0:21:37Sara, why did New York City want a big park?
0:21:37 > 0:21:41Well, there were really two factors in why it needed a park.
0:21:41 > 0:21:43Number one was that, in the 1840s,
0:21:43 > 0:21:46America was getting its first wave of immigration
0:21:46 > 0:21:51and people were not getting along. There were riots, lots of tension,
0:21:51 > 0:21:55and people decided, "You know what? If we make a beautiful park,
0:21:55 > 0:21:58"everyone will come with their families,
0:21:58 > 0:22:01"they'll see we're all just alike." And it worked.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04- And the second reason?- The second reason has to do with New York,
0:22:04 > 0:22:07which was not a world capital at the time,
0:22:07 > 0:22:09but it desperately wanted to be.
0:22:09 > 0:22:13And so they decided that we should have a big park
0:22:13 > 0:22:16just like London and Paris.
0:22:18 > 0:22:22In 1857, the state of New York announced a competition
0:22:22 > 0:22:27to design America's first landscaped public park.
0:22:27 > 0:22:30The superintendant in charge was Frederick Law Olmsted.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33He teamed up with a British architect, Calvert Vaux,
0:22:33 > 0:22:35to produce the winning design.
0:22:35 > 0:22:39It was a hugely ambitious project.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43How difficult was it to make a park here in the centre of Manhattan?
0:22:43 > 0:22:46Well, it was a rocky, swampy mess,
0:22:46 > 0:22:49and in order to make it, it took
0:22:49 > 0:22:52almost 11 million,
0:22:52 > 0:22:55which in the 1860s and '70s
0:22:55 > 0:22:58was an enormous amount of money.
0:22:58 > 0:23:03And it took 1,600 people a year to build the park
0:23:03 > 0:23:05and it took 16 years.
0:23:15 > 0:23:17At the eastern edge of Central Park,
0:23:17 > 0:23:20on 5th Avenue and 82nd Street,
0:23:20 > 0:23:22Appletons' says that I'll find,
0:23:22 > 0:23:27"the spacious building of the Metropolitan Museum of Art,
0:23:27 > 0:23:30"a fine collection of the Old Masters,
0:23:30 > 0:23:33"loaned by the wealthy virtuous of the city."
0:23:37 > 0:23:41Many of the robber barons who played hardball in the boardroom
0:23:41 > 0:23:44proved generous philanthropists outside it.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47Today, the museum is the third most visited
0:23:47 > 0:23:52in the United States, and the seventh most popular globally.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56I'm meeting Jim Moske, archivist at the Met,
0:23:56 > 0:24:00to find out how the riches of the railway trade provided a boon
0:24:00 > 0:24:02for the city's art lovers.
0:24:05 > 0:24:09Jim, what is so striking to me, as a European,
0:24:09 > 0:24:14is that this amazing collection of art is not a national gallery.
0:24:14 > 0:24:16- How did it all start?- That's right, it's not a national gallery.
0:24:16 > 0:24:20The Metropolitan, it was founded in 1870
0:24:20 > 0:24:23by a group of public-spirited citizens of New York
0:24:23 > 0:24:26who were art collectors, businessmen,
0:24:26 > 0:24:28financiers and bankers and the like.
0:24:28 > 0:24:32Railroads were a big way of making a fortune in the 19th century.
0:24:32 > 0:24:34Are they strongly connected with the origins of the museum?
0:24:34 > 0:24:37Many of the early trustees of the museum
0:24:37 > 0:24:39were involved in the railroad industry.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42In fact, the museum's first president
0:24:42 > 0:24:44was a man named John Taylor Johnston,
0:24:44 > 0:24:47who was an art collector and a patron of the arts,
0:24:47 > 0:24:49but he was also a businessman
0:24:49 > 0:24:52who was the president of the Central New Jersey Railroad.
0:24:52 > 0:24:55And do we have a good feel for what kind of a man he was?
0:24:55 > 0:24:58Yeah, Johnston was a very curious man in his business matters
0:24:58 > 0:25:02and did lots of research before he leapt into any investment,
0:25:02 > 0:25:07and so, as a person interested in financing railroad construction,
0:25:07 > 0:25:10he travelled the rails quite often himself.
0:25:11 > 0:25:16Johnston remained president of the Met from 1870 to 1889.
0:25:16 > 0:25:18As well as running the museum,
0:25:18 > 0:25:22he seeded its galleries from his personal art collection.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27Now, I know you're obsessed with railroads, so I'd like you to take
0:25:27 > 0:25:31a look at this picture by American genre artist Edward Lamson Henry.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34And this was actually commissioned by John Taylor Johnston.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37He wanted a scene like this to decorate his home, to remind him
0:25:37 > 0:25:39of how he was making his money, I guess.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42Johnston paid Henry 500 for this painting.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45Henry at that time was quite a young artist,
0:25:45 > 0:25:49and it was a tidy sum for him at that point in his career.
0:25:49 > 0:25:51And as a European, may I just say,
0:25:51 > 0:25:54that is the archetypal United States locomotive.
0:25:58 > 0:26:02So I'd like to show you a painting by the artist John Singer Sargent
0:26:02 > 0:26:06of the second president of the Metropolitan Museum, Henry Marquand.
0:26:06 > 0:26:08- How had HE made his money? - In railroads.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11Yeah, if you were a millionaire in New York,
0:26:11 > 0:26:13it was the thing to do to have your portrait painted by Sargent
0:26:13 > 0:26:15or another prominent artist of the day.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18Any idea what Sargent might have got for a portrait like that?
0:26:18 > 0:26:22- They paid Sargent 3,100 American dollars for this picture.- Wow.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25That's a lot of money at the time, but, er,
0:26:25 > 0:26:28- a mere nothing compared with a railroad fortune.- That's true.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33As the Gilded Age reached its zenith,
0:26:33 > 0:26:38the Metropolitan benefitted from lavish bequests made by tycoons.
0:26:40 > 0:26:44James, what an extraordinary work of art that table is.
0:26:44 > 0:26:47How did it find its way to the Metropolitan Museum?
0:26:47 > 0:26:49It was originally made in the 19th century
0:26:49 > 0:26:52for the Vanderbilt family, and it was displayed prominently
0:26:52 > 0:26:54in the library of their Fifth Avenue mansion.
0:26:54 > 0:26:59Many of these tycoons actually made great donations of art.
0:26:59 > 0:27:01Some of them were known as robber barons.
0:27:01 > 0:27:04I'm wondering, why did they make donations?
0:27:04 > 0:27:06Is there a paradox here, or is there an explanation?
0:27:06 > 0:27:08Well, I think for many of them who had longstanding ties
0:27:08 > 0:27:11to the Metropolitan and other institutions,
0:27:11 > 0:27:16they felt genuine senses of wanting to share their aesthetic experience
0:27:16 > 0:27:18with the general public.
0:27:18 > 0:27:19Others of them, frankly, I think
0:27:19 > 0:27:23were motivated by wanting to enhance their public image
0:27:23 > 0:27:25by making sizable, you know,
0:27:25 > 0:27:28substantial contributions of artworks to places like the Met.
0:27:28 > 0:27:31And now these tycoons are perhaps better remembered for their virtues
0:27:31 > 0:27:35- than for what may have been their sins.- That's very true.
0:27:51 > 0:27:55In my Appletons' Guide, even in 1879,
0:27:55 > 0:27:57when it comes to theatres and amusements,
0:27:57 > 0:28:00there's one street name that occurs again and again.
0:28:00 > 0:28:02They say the neon lights are bright,
0:28:02 > 0:28:05they say there's magic in the air...
0:28:05 > 0:28:07on Broadway.
0:28:19 > 0:28:23After the advent of electric light in the early 20th century,
0:28:23 > 0:28:27theatres on Broadway dazzled audiences with their signage,
0:28:27 > 0:28:30hence its name, The Great White Way.
0:28:32 > 0:28:37Today, bright lights still draw the crowds to Times Square.
0:28:37 > 0:28:40I've arranged to meet urban historian Timothy R White.
0:28:41 > 0:28:45- Tim, how nice to see you.- Nice to see you. Welcome to Times Square.
0:28:45 > 0:28:49My Appletons' Guide lists many theatres on Broadway,
0:28:49 > 0:28:52is it talking about this part of town?
0:28:52 > 0:28:55Well, you would think so because of all the history here, but most
0:28:55 > 0:28:59of the theatres in the mid-19th century were closer to Union Square,
0:28:59 > 0:29:02and a little bit later, toward Herald Square.
0:29:02 > 0:29:05Was there quite a vigorous theatre scene in those days?
0:29:05 > 0:29:08Quite active. But different. Different types of shows
0:29:08 > 0:29:11and a different relationship to the rest of the United States.
0:29:11 > 0:29:13Are we talking about classical theatre,
0:29:13 > 0:29:16or are we talking about music hall...?
0:29:16 > 0:29:21There were both of those but they did many melodramas,
0:29:21 > 0:29:25that was very popular, and they were easy to produce.
0:29:25 > 0:29:27Did these shows go on tour?
0:29:27 > 0:29:31Not really until the latter half of the 19th century,
0:29:31 > 0:29:35because that's when you've got more railroads available.
0:29:35 > 0:29:40And the shows that made a hit in New York could then go to another city.
0:29:40 > 0:29:42Once you get into the proper railroad age,
0:29:42 > 0:29:46the number of tours increases and the capacity to go from,
0:29:46 > 0:29:50as we say in the States, sea to shining sea,
0:29:50 > 0:29:52is quite expanded.
0:29:52 > 0:29:54In the 1870s, when Appletons' Guide was published,
0:29:54 > 0:29:56what's the scene in New York?
0:29:56 > 0:30:00People liked to get a bit of spectacle in their theatre
0:30:00 > 0:30:02and there was quite a sensation
0:30:02 > 0:30:05when the British Blondes arrived here stateside.
0:30:05 > 0:30:07They wore quite form-fitting costumes.
0:30:07 > 0:30:11They were revealing the shape of the female to their audiences
0:30:11 > 0:30:14and they did quite well at the box office.
0:30:24 > 0:30:26Without a ticket for a show,
0:30:26 > 0:30:30I've heard of a place where resting Broadway actors
0:30:30 > 0:30:36keep their song and dance routines sharp - Ellen's Stardust Diner,
0:30:36 > 0:30:37the singing waiters.
0:30:39 > 0:30:42We have something very special for you this evening.
0:30:42 > 0:30:45It's for a special guest who's here today, Michael...
0:30:45 > 0:30:48- ALL:- ..who loves trains.
0:30:48 > 0:30:49This one's for you, Michael.
0:30:49 > 0:30:53MUSIC BEGINS
0:30:53 > 0:30:58# Pardon me, boy Is that the Chattanooga Choo Choo?
0:30:58 > 0:31:00# Right on track 29
0:31:02 > 0:31:04# Boy, you can give me a shine
0:31:07 > 0:31:10# When you hear the whistle blowin' eight to the bar
0:31:10 > 0:31:13# Then you know that Tennessee is not very far
0:31:13 > 0:31:17# Shovel all the coal in Gotta keep it rollin'
0:31:17 > 0:31:20# Whoo-whoo, Chattanooga There you are
0:31:20 > 0:31:23# So, Chattanooga Choo Choo
0:31:23 > 0:31:28# Won't you choo-choo me home?
0:31:28 > 0:31:30# Climb aboard
0:31:30 > 0:31:32# Choo-choo
0:31:32 > 0:31:36# Chattanooga Choo Choo Won't you choo-choo me home? #
0:31:36 > 0:31:38APPLAUSE
0:31:38 > 0:31:40Thank you.
0:31:47 > 0:31:51There is nothing you can name that is anything like a Manhattan dame.
0:31:51 > 0:31:53Choo-choo!
0:32:03 > 0:32:07The New York City that was briefly capital of the United States
0:32:07 > 0:32:09under President George Washington
0:32:09 > 0:32:12was a small cluster of low-rise streets
0:32:12 > 0:32:15at the southern tip of Manhattan.
0:32:15 > 0:32:18A century later, at the time of my Appletons',
0:32:18 > 0:32:22buildings and railroads had swarmed uptown.
0:32:22 > 0:32:26And then, following a Gilded Age of super-rich tycoons,
0:32:26 > 0:32:29the city sprouted skyscrapers,
0:32:29 > 0:32:32Grand Central Terminal and an art museum.
0:32:32 > 0:32:35The growth of New York City
0:32:35 > 0:32:40has been more dramatic than anything that's yet appeared on Broadway.
0:32:53 > 0:32:54It's a new day
0:32:54 > 0:32:59and I'm continuing my exploration of New York City's Manhattan Island
0:32:59 > 0:33:01using the subway.
0:33:03 > 0:33:06I'm drawn into a drama of my own
0:33:06 > 0:33:09on the Lower East Side,
0:33:09 > 0:33:12and scale the heights of the city's most elevated park,
0:33:12 > 0:33:17before taking to the water to visit the gateway to America for millions,
0:33:17 > 0:33:18Ellis Island.
0:33:18 > 0:33:23I end this part of my journey at the new World Trade Center.
0:33:25 > 0:33:27During the late 19th century,
0:33:27 > 0:33:30the American railroad industry grew rapidly.
0:33:30 > 0:33:31In 1860,
0:33:31 > 0:33:35there were just 30,000 miles of tracks across the continent.
0:33:35 > 0:33:41By 1900, 200,000 miles of railroad connected the states
0:33:41 > 0:33:44and tied the nation together.
0:33:44 > 0:33:47But profits from the booming new business
0:33:47 > 0:33:49were concentrated in very few hands.
0:33:51 > 0:33:56New York City was the starting point for many wanting a new life.
0:33:56 > 0:33:58SIREN WAILS
0:34:06 > 0:34:09I'm taking the subway to the Lower East Side,
0:34:09 > 0:34:13a part of town definitely not mentioned in my guide book.
0:34:15 > 0:34:19In a Gilded Age that began around the time of my Appletons' Guide,
0:34:19 > 0:34:22tycoons who'd made their fortunes from railroads
0:34:22 > 0:34:25and steel and banking,
0:34:25 > 0:34:28dined and danced and smoked their cigars
0:34:28 > 0:34:31by the light of countless chandeliers
0:34:31 > 0:34:35and travelled in private railway cars -
0:34:35 > 0:34:38but how did the other half live?
0:34:45 > 0:34:48In the last decades of the 19th century,
0:34:48 > 0:34:52the city's population grew from 1 million to 3.5 million.
0:34:52 > 0:34:57Thousands of immigrants crowded into insanitary buildings
0:34:57 > 0:34:59in Lower Manhattan.
0:35:02 > 0:35:04To get an idea of those conditions,
0:35:04 > 0:35:09I'm meeting Annie Polland at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum.
0:35:12 > 0:35:15- Annie, hello. - Hi. Welcome.
0:35:15 > 0:35:18- I find you in this rather gruesome tenement.- Yes.
0:35:18 > 0:35:21How many people would have lived in a place like this?
0:35:21 > 0:35:25Around 1870, about 80 people lived in a tenement,
0:35:25 > 0:35:28so about four to five people per apartment.
0:35:28 > 0:35:31- One room or several rooms? - Three small rooms.
0:35:31 > 0:35:34They called them railroad apartments because there was no hallway
0:35:34 > 0:35:38within the actual apartment, so one room led to another room.
0:35:38 > 0:35:42There was no running water in the building at this time.
0:35:42 > 0:35:45All running water was outside, so, if you needed water to clean,
0:35:45 > 0:35:48to wash, you're going to go down the stairs,
0:35:48 > 0:35:50out into what was called the rear yard.
0:35:50 > 0:35:53And then next to the water faucet, basically,
0:35:53 > 0:35:56is about four outdoor toilets.
0:35:56 > 0:35:58And, presumably, people were carrying their waste
0:35:58 > 0:36:01- down from their apartments. - Absolutely.
0:36:01 > 0:36:04Have we any idea how many New Yorkers lived in tenements?
0:36:04 > 0:36:09By 1900, you have about 75% of New Yorkers living in tenements.
0:36:09 > 0:36:10Heavens.
0:36:12 > 0:36:17'On the floor above, a tenement from the 1900s has been recreated.'
0:36:18 > 0:36:21- What are the differences?- First of all, you have many more people
0:36:21 > 0:36:25living in the tenements by the end of the 19th century.
0:36:25 > 0:36:29By 1900, we have about 111 people, according to the Census.
0:36:29 > 0:36:31There might have been even more than that.
0:36:31 > 0:36:34The majority of people living here are East European Jews
0:36:34 > 0:36:36who've come over in large numbers to make New York
0:36:36 > 0:36:38the largest Jewish city in the world.
0:36:40 > 0:36:43The tenements became the heart of the garment industry.
0:36:43 > 0:36:46Manufacturers used home workers,
0:36:46 > 0:36:48avoiding the expense of running a factory.
0:36:50 > 0:36:52So, in this very apartment,
0:36:52 > 0:36:56a man named Harris Levine lived with his wife, Jenny,
0:36:56 > 0:36:58would end up having five children -
0:36:58 > 0:37:01and every day at least three workers
0:37:01 > 0:37:04would come and sit with him and make dresses.
0:37:04 > 0:37:07And the irony, I suppose, is that a pretty pink dress like that
0:37:07 > 0:37:10was not something that these people could have afforded.
0:37:10 > 0:37:12No, this dress would go to Macy's
0:37:12 > 0:37:15or would go in a catalogue and be shipped elsewhere.
0:37:17 > 0:37:19The harsh conditions in the tenements
0:37:19 > 0:37:23were captured by the pioneering photojournalist Jacob Riis
0:37:23 > 0:37:28in his ground-breaking work of 1890, How The Other Half Lives.
0:37:29 > 0:37:34So what impact did the publication of How The Other Half Lives make?
0:37:34 > 0:37:37It was very important because it showed people who did not live
0:37:37 > 0:37:39in the tenements what tenement life was like
0:37:39 > 0:37:43and one of the goals of the Progressive Reform Movement
0:37:43 > 0:37:48was to persuade people that it was not immigrants or the working-class
0:37:48 > 0:37:52moral disposition that caused the problems they were in,
0:37:52 > 0:37:55but rather it was the conditions they lived in,
0:37:55 > 0:37:58and so they argued for a series of laws and reforms
0:37:58 > 0:38:00that would improve the conditions
0:38:00 > 0:38:03and therefore improve the life for people in the city.
0:38:03 > 0:38:05We all live in the city together and therefore the conditions
0:38:05 > 0:38:09of the people who live downtown are going to affect the conditions
0:38:09 > 0:38:12of the people who live uptown and therefore these laws and standards
0:38:12 > 0:38:15are good not only for the tenement dwellers but for the whole city.
0:38:18 > 0:38:20Riis' work shocked many Americans
0:38:20 > 0:38:25and prompted the city to pass the 1901 Tenement House Act.
0:38:25 > 0:38:30It stipulated indoor bathrooms and running water,
0:38:30 > 0:38:34and appointed inspectors to push landlords to comply with the law.
0:38:43 > 0:38:47Irish immigrants were recruited to a corrupt political machine
0:38:47 > 0:38:49known as Tammany Hall,
0:38:49 > 0:38:51which, by means of ballot rigging,
0:38:51 > 0:38:54helped to maintain Democratic Party control in the city
0:38:54 > 0:38:57under leader William "Boss" Tweed.
0:38:58 > 0:39:00Please!
0:39:00 > 0:39:02What are you doing? Please, please!
0:39:04 > 0:39:06- Joseph, is that your name? - Yes.
0:39:06 > 0:39:08I want you to listen to me close, all right?
0:39:08 > 0:39:11Now, I asked you to deliver votes, right?
0:39:11 > 0:39:14If you can't deliver the votes for me, you're no good to me,
0:39:14 > 0:39:16you're no good to Boss Tweed, you're no good to Tammany Hall,
0:39:16 > 0:39:18you're no good to the Regular Democratic Party.
0:39:18 > 0:39:19Do you understand me? Yes.
0:39:19 > 0:39:22- Do you love your family? Do you want to keep them safe?- Yes.
0:39:22 > 0:39:25All right. Remember what I told you and be on your way.
0:39:26 > 0:39:29What's going on here? Who are you people?
0:39:29 > 0:39:30What was all that about Tammany hall?
0:39:30 > 0:39:34It's the organisation what looks after these folks around here.
0:39:34 > 0:39:36Tammany Hall is the seat of democratic power
0:39:36 > 0:39:39- here in the city of New York. - It didn't sound very democratic.
0:39:39 > 0:39:41- I heard you mention Boss Tweed. - Right.
0:39:41 > 0:39:44He's the head of the Democratic Party.
0:39:44 > 0:39:46I used to be in politics myself, actually.
0:39:46 > 0:39:48- Did you now? - Yes, I did, I did.
0:39:48 > 0:39:51But I didn't buy any votes. Didn't buy any votes.
0:39:51 > 0:39:53Well, neither did I, did I now?
0:39:53 > 0:39:56- We don't buy votes. - OK.
0:39:56 > 0:39:58Gentlemen, I'm so sorry. A misunderstanding.
0:39:58 > 0:40:00You certainly did misunderstand.
0:40:00 > 0:40:03I thought you said something about buying votes. I'm so sorry.
0:40:03 > 0:40:06I think you better head back north where you came from.
0:40:06 > 0:40:09- That was the way I was going.- The streets down here can be dangerous
0:40:09 > 0:40:12- if you don't know your way around. - Very nice to meet you, gentlemen.
0:40:14 > 0:40:15Come on!
0:40:17 > 0:40:20I'm no stranger to bruising political battles,
0:40:20 > 0:40:23but city government in 19th century New York
0:40:23 > 0:40:28was a particularly rough-and-tumble business and often alcohol-fuelled.
0:40:30 > 0:40:34After that encounter, I need a good stiff drink -
0:40:34 > 0:40:36and at The Dead Rabbit bar,
0:40:36 > 0:40:40named after one of the most notorious Irish gangs in the city,
0:40:40 > 0:40:43I'm meeting cocktail historian David Wondrich.
0:40:49 > 0:40:50David.
0:40:50 > 0:40:54- Hello, Michael. Welcome. - What are we mixing today?
0:40:54 > 0:40:56We thought we'd make some whiskey cocktails.
0:40:56 > 0:41:00The original, the precursor to the Manhattan,
0:41:00 > 0:41:03what the gents were drinking in all the saloons of New York
0:41:03 > 0:41:05in the early 19th century.
0:41:05 > 0:41:07So, we'll just take a glass,
0:41:07 > 0:41:11then you're going to take your sugar syrup - just a spoonful,
0:41:11 > 0:41:14- and that goes in your glass. - Thank you.
0:41:14 > 0:41:18So how did cocktails really get going?
0:41:18 > 0:41:20This was originally a morning drink,
0:41:20 > 0:41:22an eye-opener as it were -
0:41:22 > 0:41:24which is a little bit frightening -
0:41:24 > 0:41:26and it comes from the English tradition
0:41:26 > 0:41:30but with that special American brashness added to it.
0:41:30 > 0:41:32Like so many things that are American,
0:41:32 > 0:41:35we took something that somebody else had invented
0:41:35 > 0:41:37and we put extra spin on it and made it our own.
0:41:37 > 0:41:39In England, it was a tonic,
0:41:39 > 0:41:43in America, it was the foundation of our culture, let's say.
0:41:43 > 0:41:45A little bit of orange liqueur just to make it tasty,
0:41:45 > 0:41:47maybe half a spoonful.
0:41:47 > 0:41:50We're going to dash... three dashes of bitters.
0:41:50 > 0:41:52The bitters is what make it the cocktail, originally.
0:41:52 > 0:41:56- And who were the big inventors of cocktails?- Bartenders.
0:41:56 > 0:41:58If you wanted a drink, you didn't make it yourself,
0:41:58 > 0:42:00you went and saw a professional.
0:42:00 > 0:42:02You went and saw somebody who knew how to mix.
0:42:02 > 0:42:07Somebody who would take rye whisky, like our big bottle here.
0:42:07 > 0:42:10This is the original jigger we're using -
0:42:10 > 0:42:12the original spirits measure.
0:42:12 > 0:42:15And who was the most famous bartender?
0:42:15 > 0:42:20Jerry Thomas in the 19th century was the most famous bartender.
0:42:20 > 0:42:23In 1862, he wrote the first bartender's guide.
0:42:23 > 0:42:25- Wow.- Cocktails...
0:42:25 > 0:42:28- Was that a first? - It was the first of its kind.
0:42:28 > 0:42:30And was he a flamboyant man?
0:42:30 > 0:42:33He would consider you a little underdressed.
0:42:33 > 0:42:36He tended bar with a bowler hat on and a pair of white rats
0:42:36 > 0:42:39on his shoulder that would scamper around on his hat
0:42:39 > 0:42:43and on his shoulders while he talked to people.
0:42:43 > 0:42:45Could you make much money as a barman in those days?
0:42:45 > 0:42:48Jerry Thomas made more money than the Vice President
0:42:48 > 0:42:50of the United States at the peak of his career.
0:42:50 > 0:42:52He was doing extremely well.
0:42:52 > 0:42:56And why is this place called The Dead Rabbit?
0:42:56 > 0:43:00It's named after the Irish gang that John Morrissey led.
0:43:00 > 0:43:03Irish gang leader, bare-knuckle pugilist
0:43:03 > 0:43:05and United States Congressman.
0:43:05 > 0:43:08My day has been plagued by Irish gangs.
0:43:08 > 0:43:12New York is as Irish a city as it is anything else, that's for sure.
0:43:19 > 0:43:21I will cut us a couple of lemon twists.
0:43:23 > 0:43:25Beautifully done. All right.
0:43:25 > 0:43:28You have made your first whisky cocktail. Let's see how it is.
0:43:28 > 0:43:3019th century style.
0:43:33 > 0:43:35Boy-oh-boy, that's lovely.
0:43:35 > 0:43:36To oblivion.
0:43:56 > 0:43:59After an evening of indulgence,
0:43:59 > 0:44:03this morning I'm heading to the far West side of Manhattan Island
0:44:03 > 0:44:06to visit a park known as the High Line.
0:44:16 > 0:44:19In the 19th and early 20th centuries,
0:44:19 > 0:44:25freight trains servicing the port were routed down Tenth Avenue.
0:44:25 > 0:44:28A rather terrible death toll
0:44:28 > 0:44:31when trains used to run along here at street level
0:44:31 > 0:44:36led first to a horseman having to ride in front of each train,
0:44:36 > 0:44:38waving a red flag,
0:44:38 > 0:44:41and then to the creation of this elevated railway
0:44:41 > 0:44:45which literally pierced the buildings on its path.
0:44:48 > 0:44:50When it eventually fell out of use,
0:44:50 > 0:44:53it was narrowly saved from demolition
0:44:53 > 0:44:56and this beautiful linear park was created.
0:45:05 > 0:45:09This sliver of leafy serenity above the crowded Manhattan streets
0:45:09 > 0:45:12is nearly a mile and a half long
0:45:12 > 0:45:16and the first section opened in 2009.
0:45:17 > 0:45:20It's a magnificent example of railway heritage
0:45:20 > 0:45:23adapted to bring greenery to the city.
0:45:37 > 0:45:41A journey downtown takes me to Battery Park,
0:45:41 > 0:45:43the southernmost tip of Manhattan.
0:45:47 > 0:45:49The world at the time of my Appletons' Guide
0:45:49 > 0:45:52bore some similarities to today's.
0:45:52 > 0:45:56There were wars and massacres and persecutions
0:45:56 > 0:46:01and terrified and impoverished migrants set out for a new life.
0:46:01 > 0:46:07But, unlike nowadays, here, there was a vast, underpopulated continent
0:46:07 > 0:46:09with a government willing to receive them
0:46:09 > 0:46:12and New York City, as its gateway,
0:46:12 > 0:46:16took in up to a million in a single year.
0:46:22 > 0:46:25A short boat trip across the harbour
0:46:25 > 0:46:30will take me to the first port of call for New York-bound immigrants.
0:46:30 > 0:46:34- TANNOY:- Welcome aboard. Our next stop will be Ellis Island.
0:46:40 > 0:46:45Immigrants were greeted by the towering Statue of Liberty -
0:46:45 > 0:46:49a gift from the people of France to the United States.
0:46:49 > 0:46:51Dedicated in 1886,
0:46:51 > 0:46:54seven years after the publication of my guide book,
0:46:54 > 0:46:58Liberty's outstretched torch signified landfall,
0:46:58 > 0:47:03new opportunities and freedom from persecution.
0:47:04 > 0:47:06The settlers were processed at Ellis Island.
0:47:06 > 0:47:10Between 1892 and 1924,
0:47:10 > 0:47:13it was the nation's busiest immigration station.
0:47:25 > 0:47:30I'm meeting genealogist Megan Smolenyak in the main hall.
0:47:31 > 0:47:34Megan, this hall, with its vaulted ceiling,
0:47:34 > 0:47:37I suppose, for immigrants coming from European villages,
0:47:37 > 0:47:40would have been impressive - and intimidating, too.
0:47:40 > 0:47:43I think absolutely. It was intended to impress.
0:47:43 > 0:47:45Most of them were coming from villages
0:47:45 > 0:47:48with populations of maybe 500 or 1,000 people.
0:47:48 > 0:47:52This hall was designed to process 4,000 people
0:47:52 > 0:47:54and sometimes, at its peak,
0:47:54 > 0:47:57it processed as many as three times that per day.
0:47:57 > 0:47:59So just imagine the cacophony of echoes,
0:47:59 > 0:48:03you're hearing all the sound, all these languages, just chaos,
0:48:03 > 0:48:07and it's right when you're on the cusp of starting your new life.
0:48:07 > 0:48:09At the end of the 19th century, beginning of the 20th,
0:48:09 > 0:48:11where were they coming from, principally?
0:48:11 > 0:48:13Well, we were starting to get a shift.
0:48:13 > 0:48:16Previously had been mostly from western Europe,
0:48:16 > 0:48:18from the British Isles, Germany, that kind of thing.
0:48:18 > 0:48:20Now, all of a sudden, we were getting lots of people
0:48:20 > 0:48:22from southern and eastern Europe.
0:48:22 > 0:48:25So, lots of Italians, Poles, Slavs,
0:48:25 > 0:48:28lots of people who were Jewish escaping the pogroms,
0:48:28 > 0:48:29that kind of thing.
0:48:29 > 0:48:33And the thing about immigrants is they're all survivors and strivers.
0:48:33 > 0:48:38They didn't all get in. What was the process of weeding them out?
0:48:38 > 0:48:41Basically, the process started as soon as you came up the stairs.
0:48:41 > 0:48:44Whether you knew it or not, you were already being watched.
0:48:44 > 0:48:47What the inspectors were looking for were medical conditions.
0:48:47 > 0:48:50If they saw something, what happened is they would chalk you,
0:48:50 > 0:48:52and that would be an indication
0:48:52 > 0:48:54that you had to go for a further inspection.
0:48:54 > 0:48:57Fortunately, not too many people did get sent home.
0:48:57 > 0:48:59It was less than 2%.
0:48:59 > 0:49:02Roughly half of that was for medical reasons
0:49:02 > 0:49:03and half was for legal reasons.
0:49:06 > 0:49:12On January 1st, 1892, the main building on Ellis Island
0:49:12 > 0:49:16opened its doors to the world's tired and poor.
0:49:16 > 0:49:20"Huddled masses yearning to breathe free."
0:49:20 > 0:49:24Those words are from the sonnet by Emma Lazarus.
0:49:24 > 0:49:27You can find them engraved at the Statue of Liberty.
0:49:29 > 0:49:32How many immigrants passed through Ellis Island?
0:49:32 > 0:49:36It's estimated that about 12 million people came through Ellis Island
0:49:36 > 0:49:39and that translates into about 40% of Americans today
0:49:39 > 0:49:43having at least one Ellis Island immigrant in their family tree.
0:49:43 > 0:49:47Did any of those millions become American celebrities?
0:49:47 > 0:49:48I would say so.
0:49:48 > 0:49:52You might have heard of a fellow by the name of Bob Hope, perhaps,
0:49:52 > 0:49:55but also Bela Lugosi, Cary Grant also came here.
0:49:55 > 0:49:59This was the place where they took their first step on American soil.
0:50:02 > 0:50:06Unlike British-born Cary Grant and Bob Hope, most immigrants
0:50:06 > 0:50:11passing through Ellis Island didn't become household names.
0:50:11 > 0:50:17As they stepped onto the island, they started new lives as Americans.
0:50:17 > 0:50:20Today, their descendants come from across the country
0:50:20 > 0:50:24and the world to search for them on a computerised database.
0:50:25 > 0:50:29- Hello, ladies. Excuse me.- Hi. - Are you simply tourists here
0:50:29 > 0:50:32or do you have a family connection with Ellis Island?
0:50:32 > 0:50:35We do have a family connection. We're looking for our grandfather.
0:50:35 > 0:50:38- Where did your grandfather come from?- He came from Greece.
0:50:38 > 0:50:41Do you know which bit of Greece? Do you know what became of him?
0:50:41 > 0:50:43He came from the island of Crete.
0:50:43 > 0:50:46He was a well-known pharmacist in New York City.
0:50:46 > 0:50:50- Really?- And he married an immigrant family from Irish descent.
0:50:50 > 0:50:55It is exciting because to know that our ancestors came here
0:50:55 > 0:50:59and started their life and we have what we have today because of them.
0:50:59 > 0:51:02They were brave enough to come here. It gives me tingles.
0:51:02 > 0:51:05Well, I hope it's a really successful day
0:51:05 > 0:51:09and in the nicest sense of the word an emotional one for you, too.
0:51:09 > 0:51:11- Thank you very much.- Thank you.
0:51:14 > 0:51:18Of the millions of immigrants who arrived here at Ellis Island,
0:51:18 > 0:51:20some lived in poverty,
0:51:20 > 0:51:22some did OK,
0:51:22 > 0:51:25others became notorious gangsters,
0:51:25 > 0:51:27some film stars,
0:51:27 > 0:51:29others begat presidents.
0:51:29 > 0:51:33Altogether, US immigration has been one of the greatest
0:51:33 > 0:51:36social experiments in human history.
0:51:50 > 0:51:55Back in Lower Manhattan, I'm drawn to visit the site
0:51:55 > 0:51:57where the World Trade Center stood
0:51:57 > 0:52:02until destroyed on September 11th, 2001.
0:52:18 > 0:52:20We all remember where we were
0:52:20 > 0:52:24when we heard about the terrorist attack of 9/11
0:52:24 > 0:52:27and the horror that we felt and the fear.
0:52:27 > 0:52:32And here at the pools that have been built in the footprint
0:52:32 > 0:52:37of the Twin Towers, water pours ceaselessly into a void
0:52:37 > 0:52:43whose depths are invisible, with a symbolism that I find very moving.
0:52:43 > 0:52:47And here is the place to remember what we felt that day
0:52:47 > 0:52:49and those who perished.
0:52:55 > 0:52:58Here, very close to where the Twin Towers once stood,
0:52:58 > 0:53:01they have built the Oculus -
0:53:01 > 0:53:04the future transportation hub of Lower Manhattan.
0:53:04 > 0:53:07An extraordinary piece of architecture.
0:53:07 > 0:53:11What is it? It reminds me of a human rib cage,
0:53:11 > 0:53:14perhaps a reminder of the frailty of the body.
0:53:14 > 0:53:16Or is it, maybe, a bird?
0:53:17 > 0:53:20I think that's it. I think it's a bird taking off.
0:53:20 > 0:53:25It's a reminder that New York, once laid low by terrorism,
0:53:25 > 0:53:28is now taking flight again.
0:53:33 > 0:53:37Designed by the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava,
0:53:37 > 0:53:41the transportation hub will link 11 subway lines
0:53:41 > 0:53:45with trains to New Jersey and the Hudson River Ferry Terminal.
0:53:49 > 0:53:52Underground, the walls are covered with Italian marble
0:53:52 > 0:53:55and one borders the original retaining wall
0:53:55 > 0:53:58from the fallen North Tower.
0:53:59 > 0:54:02The exterior ribs rise triumphantly
0:54:02 > 0:54:05160 feet above ground level,
0:54:05 > 0:54:09giving New York a new public space beneath.
0:54:10 > 0:54:14I'm meeting Steven Plate, the deputy chief of capital planning
0:54:14 > 0:54:17at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey,
0:54:17 > 0:54:21who is giving me a rare glimpse inside the ongoing construction.
0:54:22 > 0:54:23Wow!
0:54:29 > 0:54:31What an extraordinary building.
0:54:31 > 0:54:36The skylight up above you, consisting of 40 pieces of glass,
0:54:36 > 0:54:40will open so when you look down from up above
0:54:40 > 0:54:43you'll see something looking like an eye looking at you.
0:54:43 > 0:54:46The significance is, we went to great pains to turn the building
0:54:46 > 0:54:49to the exact alignment of the sun
0:54:49 > 0:54:53as it appears on September 11th at 10:28am,
0:54:53 > 0:54:57that precise time the sun will shine directly into this building
0:54:57 > 0:55:01at the moment the last tower fell. We call that the wedge of light.
0:55:02 > 0:55:05It truly is one of a kind.
0:55:05 > 0:55:07It is really a wonder.
0:55:10 > 0:55:13The project has not been without difficulty.
0:55:13 > 0:55:17Costs have doubled to almost 4 billion.
0:55:17 > 0:55:21But no recent addition to New York's transit infrastructure
0:55:21 > 0:55:24has dared to combine public utility
0:55:24 > 0:55:27with such architectural flair.
0:55:27 > 0:55:30It's a 21st century Grand Central.
0:55:33 > 0:55:36The centrepiece of Ground Zero's redevelopment
0:55:36 > 0:55:41is the nearly complete One World Trade Center,
0:55:41 > 0:55:43once known as the Freedom Tower.
0:55:48 > 0:55:51I'm taking the lifts at 23mph
0:55:51 > 0:55:55to a part of the building normally off-limits to the public.
0:55:55 > 0:55:59LIFT BEEPS RHYTHMICALLY Floor, floor, floor.
0:55:59 > 0:56:03Every second, another floor, all the way up to 102.
0:56:11 > 0:56:15- 102.- Thank you very much.
0:56:15 > 0:56:16My ears are popping.
0:56:28 > 0:56:31This is certainly a very special place,
0:56:31 > 0:56:37here at the base of the mast that rises to 1,776 feet.
0:56:37 > 0:56:40And a privileged few who have been able to visit here
0:56:40 > 0:56:42have added their signatures.
0:56:42 > 0:56:46Here's one from a survivor of 9/11.
0:56:46 > 0:56:50And, in tribute, I'll add mine too.
0:57:06 > 0:57:10A century ago, when New York City had already astonished the world
0:57:10 > 0:57:12with its skyscrapers,
0:57:12 > 0:57:16it proclaimed its greatness with an iconic gateway.
0:57:16 > 0:57:20A railroad temple - Grand Central Terminal.
0:57:20 > 0:57:23In the attack on the city on 9/11,
0:57:23 > 0:57:26the terrorists symbolically mutilated the city
0:57:26 > 0:57:29by destroying its two tallest buildings
0:57:29 > 0:57:32as they murdered thousands of its citizens.
0:57:32 > 0:57:37Here, rising 1,776 feet above their memorial,
0:57:37 > 0:57:41the city has defiantly created and even taller building
0:57:41 > 0:57:46while below it announces its comeback with a transport hub -
0:57:46 > 0:57:49a latter-day railway cathedral.
0:58:05 > 0:58:08Next time, I'll see how tourists following my guide book
0:58:08 > 0:58:11glimpsed soaring views.
0:58:11 > 0:58:13People thought they were just flying with the birds
0:58:13 > 0:58:15walking across this bridge.
0:58:15 > 0:58:19I'll discover how America's biggest infrastructure project
0:58:19 > 0:58:23is reshaping both Manhattan and Long Island.
0:58:23 > 0:58:26- You were literally blasting. - We were literally blasting.- Wow.
0:58:26 > 0:58:29- And their Martinis didn't even shake.- No, definitely not.
0:58:29 > 0:58:32James Bond would have liked it!
0:58:32 > 0:58:36And I'll relive the fun and the decadence of the Roaring Twenties.
0:58:36 > 0:58:39CHARLESTON DANCE MUSIC