The New York Skyline

When they think of New York City, many people have in mind just the congested area of Manhattan Island. Previous to 1898, this was all there was to New York City. It was on January 1, 1898, that the Greater New York of today came into existence. The city now consists of the five boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens and Richmond. It covers an area of 198,330 acres on which lives one-twentieth of the population of the United States. Of this one-twentieth population, 1,079,129 live in the Borough of Queens.

It is from the community of Astoria in Queens that we obtain this most interesting but less familiar view of the skyline of upper Manhattan. The tallest building at the left is, of course, New York's famed Empire State Building. Beyond the flag staff rise the buildings of Radio City. The bridge in the foreground is the notable $60,000,000 Triborough that connects the boroughs of Manhattan, Bronx and Queens. This bridge is a toll structure and provides for eight lanes of traffic from Queens to the Bronx and six lanes to Manhattan.

New York City is well endowed with parks and playgrounds, the total system comprising nearly 9,000 acres. There are beach parks, parks with tennis courts, golf courses and swimming pools. The Astoria Municipal Swimming Pool is situated along the East River between the Triborough Bridge and the almost equally famous Hell Gate Railway Bridge. It was erected at an estimated cost of $1,500,000 and can accommodate 8,500 bathers. The Astoria pool offers entertainment the year round. In the summer bathing and swimming meets are popular, while in the fall and winter months the pool floor is converted into a games area.