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This white marble, 1911 Beaux Arts edifice is magnificent inside and out. Imposing stairways, terraces, and fountains inspire awe; Periodicals Reading Rooms invite repose. Events and talks are held here.

Built in 1903 and reminiscent of a Roman temple, the façade of this 17-story edifice is appropriately monumental for the building at the center of the U.S. economy. The figures on the pediment represent Commerce. “Black Thursday,” the start of the Depression, began here in 1929.

A charming pocket of 19th-century houses that later attracted ee cummings, John Masefield, and Eugene O’Neill, among others.

Sent from the Netherlands in 1626 to govern New Amsterdam, Peter Minuit (1580–1638) was so disliked by his subjects that they welcomed British occupation.

Isamu Noguchi’s 1967 red, 28-ft (9-m) high, metal cube balances on a corner defying gravity.

Powerful and controversial, as construction supervisor and parks commissioner from the 1930s–1950s, Moses (1888–1981) vastly enlarged and upgraded the city’s recreational areas, but he also covered the city with highways rather than develop a public transport system and was responsible for urban renewal projects that razed many neighborhoods in favor of high-rises.

Mayor Rudy Giuliani (b. 1944) is widely credited with reducing crime, making the city cleaner, and upgrading quality of life for most New York citizens during his tenure, 1993 to 2001. Once controversial for his strong personality, and for getting rid of anyone who disagreed with him, his leadership following the attack on the World Trade Center rallied a stunned city and won praise at home and abroad.

Louise Nevelson’s 1977 figures enliven the traffic island they inhabit. The largest is rooted to the ground, others are on stilts.

This Neo-Gothic church has a painted vaulted ceiling.

A contemporary church built in Byzantine style.