Quick & Fun Facts about NYC
- The first American chess tournament was held in New York in 1843.
- The 641 mile transportation network known as the Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway is the longest toll road in the United States.
- A brewer named Matthew Vassar founded Vassar College in Poughkeepsie in 1861.
- In 1979 Vassar students were the first from a private college to be granted permission to study in the People's Republic of China.
- The Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan is the only school in the world offering a Bachelor of Science Degree with a Major in Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing.
- Union College in Schenectady is regarded as the Mother of Fraternities because Delta Phi is the oldest continually operating fraternity and Kappa Alpha and Sigma Phi Societies were started on the campus.
- The Woodstock Music and Arts Fair was actually held in Bethel.
- Dairying is New York's most important farming activity with over 18,000 cattle and or calves farms.
- In 1807 The Clermont made its maiden voyage from New York City to Albany making the vessel the first successful steamboat.
- Sam Schapiro began the Kosher wine industry on New York's Lower East side with their famous extra heavy original concord wine in 1899.
- New York City has 722 miles of subway track.
- Power Mill Park situated outside Rochester has a house on Park Road shaped like a group of mushrooms.
- Chittenago is the home of L. Frank Baum, author of the "Wizard of Oz". It features a yellow brick inlaid sidewalks leading to Aunti Em's and other Oz-themed businesses. Chittenago is the location of an annual Munchkins parade.
- Oneida has the world's smallest church with the dimensions of 3.5' X 6'.
- The first daily Yiddish newspaper appeared in 1885 in New York City.
- The first international sports hero, boxer Bill Richmond of Staten Island, was born August 5, 1763.
- The "New York Post" established in 1803 by Alexander Hamilton is the oldest running newspaper in the United States.
New York City's main attractions and the years founded
| Attraction |
Year completed or founded |
| Empire State Building |
1931 |
| Chrysler Building |
1931 |
| Museum of Modern Art |
1929 |
| Grand Central Terminal |
1913 |
| Statue of Liberty |
1886 |
| American Museum of Naural History |
1869 |
Information courtesy of Wikipedia.