Page 53 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - New York City

NE W Y ORK CIT Y A T A GLANCE  51

the famous duo Richard emerged in the South Bronx,
Rodgers (1902–79) and Oscar with pioneers such as DJ Kool
Hammerstein, Jr. (1895–1960). Herc and Afrikaa Bambaataa.
Thousands of movies and TV Mos Def, Nas, 50 Cent, and Jay-Z
shows have been filmed in the are all still based here. Live rock
city since the 1930s. Audrey venue CBGB opened in 1973,
Hepburn moved audiences with launching the careers of punk
her role in Breakfast at Tiffany’s bands including the Ramones
(1961), as did Al Pacino in Dog as well as Blondie and the
Day Afternoon (1975), and Robert Talking Heads. In the early 1980s
De Niro in Taxi Driver (1976). The Madonna lived in the East Village
1980s saw classics such as Fame, and by 2001 the neighborhood
Ghostbusters, and When Harry was the epicentre of the garage
Met Sally. In 2006, The Devil Wears rock revival scene, led by groups
Prada offered a critical look at the such as The Strokes, Interpol, and
city’s fashion industry, while the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
more recently, Amy Schumer’s
Trainwreck (2015) was a break
from the traditional romantic
comedy. Iconic TV shows, such Rapper 50 Cent at the Billboard Music
as Friends, Sex and the City, Gossip Awards, Las Vegas
Girl, and Lena Dunham’s Girls,
have all been based and often as the grandfather of Wall Street,
filmed on location in New York. while property magnate John
Jacob Astor (1763–1848) was
once the richest man in America.
Musicians Modern entrepreneurs
Leonard Bernstein (1918–90) include Donald Trump, who
followed a long line of great became US President, Michael
conductors at the New York Bloomberg, three-time mayor of
Philharmonic, including Bruno Tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt the city, and George Soros, well-
Walter (1876–1962), Arturo Industrialists and known hedge-fund manager.
Toscanini (1867–1957), and
Leopold Stokowski (1882–1977). Entrepreneurs Architects
The soprano Maria Callas (1923– Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919),
77) was born in New York but “the steel baron with a heart Cass Gilbert (1858–1934),
moved to Europe. of gold,” started with nothing who built such Neo-Gothic
Harlem’s Cotton Club featured and died having given away sky scrapers as the Woolworth
Duke Ellington and other greats $350 million. His beneficiaries Building of 1913 (see p85), was
in the 1920s, while the Village included public libraries and one of the men who literally
Vanguard opened in the 1930s. universities through out America. shaped the city. His caricature
Sonny Rollins made a legendary Many other foundations can be seen in the lobby,
recording here in 1957, and John are the legacies of wealthy clutching a model of his
Coltrane followed in 1961. Bob philanthropists. Some, such as masterpiece. Stanford White
Dylan had his first professional Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794– (1853–1906) was as well-known
gig at Gerde’s Folk City in 1961, 1877), tried to shake off for his scandalous private life
while Jimi Hendrix began his their rough begin nings by as for his fine Beaux Arts
career at Café Wha? in Greenwich patronizing the arts. In business, buildings, such as The Players
Village and Lady Gaga was a New York’s “robber barons” did club (p124). For most of his life,
regular on the Lower East Side. what they liked with apparent Frank Lloyd Wright (1867–1959)
In the early 1970s, hip-hop impunity. Financiers Jay Gould spurned city architecture. When
(1836–92) and James Fisk he was persuaded to leave
(1834–72) beat Vanderbilt his mark on the city, it was in
in the war for the Erie Railroad the form of the Soloman R.
by manipu lating stock. In Guggenheim Museum (pp184–
September 1869 they caused 5). German-born Ludwig Mies
Wall Street’s first “Black Friday” van der Rohe (1886–1969),
when they tried to corner the who built the Seagram Building
gold market, but fled when (p173), did not believe in
their fraud was discovered. “inventing a new architecture
Gould died a happy billionaire, every Monday morning,”
while Fisk was killed in a fight although some might argue that
over a woman. J. P. Morgan this is just what New York has
Musical producer Florenz Ziegfeld (1837–1918) was referred to always done best.

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