St Patrick's Cathedral, New York

St Patrick's Cathedral is the seat of the Catholic Archbishop of New York. It is the largest decorated Gothic-style Catholic Cathedral in the United States and has been recognised throughout its history as a centre of Catholic life in this country. 

The site of St. Patrick's was purchased in 1810 to build a Jesuit school and the cornerstone of the church was laid on August 15, 48 years later. 

The current Cathedral began in 1858 by Archbishop John Hughes to replace the original church, which is used today as a parish church in New York. 

Work was suspended during the Civil War, but the first American Cardinal, John McCloskey, got construction back underway in 1865, opening the doors in May 1879.  

Extensive work has been taking place until the 1930s, including the installation of the great organ.

The windows were made by renowned artist in Chartres, France; Birmingham, England and Boston Massachusetts. The Cathedral seats nearly 2.200 people. 

The Cathedral is a formidable Midtown landmark, its Gothic facade an intriguing counterpoint to the angular lines and smooth surfaces of the skyscrapers around it.

Th altars are what stand out in the Cathedral, which go all around the Church. Each altar maintains its unique and different style, where for example St. Michael and St. Louis altar was designed by Tiffany and Company.  

Brooklyn Bridge

Brooklyn Bridge connects Manhattan with Brooklyn, New York's most populous borough. It is considered as one of the city's most magnificent landmarks. 

The construction of the bridge commenced in 1869 and was completed in 1883. John Roebling was behind this massive project, a German immigrant who had worked for the Prussian government as a bridge and road builder. He came up with the idea of building a bridge across the East River after he had taken a ferry across the river that ended up stuck in the ice. 

However he did not get to see the bridge he had designed, since he died after crushing his foot in an accident. Another 20 people died during the construction of Brooklyn Bridge. 

The day it was inaugurated, May 24th 1883, nearly 150.000 people crossed the bridge. 

This bridge not only seemed strong, it also turned out to be just as strong. However many New Yorkers were not convinced the bridge was safe. So as to prove the doubters wrong, P.T. Barnum led a caravan of circus animals, including a herd of 21 elephants, across the bridge in 1884. 

Brooklyn Bridge ranks as one of the greatest engineering feats of the 19th century and remains one of New York's most popular and well known landmarks. 

It stretches for a length of about 1.8 km. The length between the large towers is 486 meters, making it the world's largest suspension bridge.

The most noticeable feature of Brooklyn Bridge are the two masonry towers to which the many cables are attached. 

The bridge officially became a national monument in 1964. 

The bridge has an elevated pedestrian footpath, which not only gives the visitor the opportunity to cross the river without interfering with the traffic that rushes past a level below, but it also offers a great view of the bridges towers as well as downtown Manhattan's skyline. 

Trinity Church

At the very top of Wall Street, where it meets Broadway, anyone can easily spot Trinity Church, a serene survivor of early New York.

The congregation of Trinity Episcopal Church is one of the oldest in the USA, having been established in 1697 under charter by King William III. At that time, the crown granted them a prime piece of real estate at the current location, where a church building has stood ever since. 

The current Trinity Church is the third building to stand at that location, being designed by American Institute of Architects co-founder William Upjohn and was consecrated on Ascension Day in 1846. Upjohn was known as a leader of the American Gothic Revival movement. 

His magnificent design made Trinity Church one of the first and finest examples of Neo-Gothic architecture in the United States. 

Upjohn's designs were of "high church" style, much different than many of the simple Protestant churches being erected in and around the city. It was considered "too flashy". However Upjohn had a different view, giving us the rich characteristics the church has to this day. The remainder of the interior conforms to the rubrics of traditional Gothic architecture as well. 

The church's spire soars to a height of 86 metres and for many years it was the highest point in the city. 

Trinity Church graveyard contains some of the oldest graves in the city, including that of Alexander Hamilton, the US's first Secretary of the Treasury, who owned a house at 33 Wall Street and was killed in a duel with Aaron Burt. 

A small museum offers a look at the original charter, among other historic artefacts.

The gates of this historic church have served as an impromptu memorial to the victims of 9/11, with countless tokens of remembrance left by both locals and visitors alike.    

Many probably viewed Trinity Church play an important role in the film National Treasure, starring Nicholas Cage, where it stood over the allegedly largest treasure in the world.  

Empire State Building

One of the most known and recognizable buildings in the world, the Empire State Building, is probably the most famous building in the Big Apple. Featuring in countless films, it is of course known for its iconic role in the classic King Kong. Although not being currently the tallest building in the world, it still receives more than 2 million visitors a year. 

It was considered as the eighth wonder of the world during its construction. The building has 73 elevators and is 381 meters high. It was constructed in just 410 days. 

The Empire State Building is built on a full city block, on 5th Avenue. Construction commenced on March 17, 1930 and the building rose at an average of about four and a half floors a week, faster than any other skyscraper at the first half of the 20th century. The building was officially inaugurated on May 1 1931, in the presence of governor Franklin D. Roosevelt. 

It was designed by William Frederick Lamb, coming up with a fairly simple design, defined by requirements such as the budget, time limit and New York City's 1916 zoning law. 

What makes the design great and unique is that for all its simplicity and sheer bulk it has a perfect composition and massing, giving the building a certain grandeur. 

On the top of the Empire State Building an enormous spire can easily be identified. It was to be used as an anchor so that Zeppelins would be able to embark and disembark passengers. However this idea was not deemed practical , especially after the Hindenburg disaster in 1937. 

The Empire State was one of the last skyscrapers to be completed before the Great Depression in NYC.  As a consequence it held its title of the world's tallest building for more than 40 years. However the Great Depression caused a collapse in the demand for office space. 

The owners had such a difficult time leasing office space that the building became known as the 'Empty State Building', according to an article from the New York Times. Nevertheless in the 1950s it became the most profitable building in New York City.

Every visitor can go up to the 86th floor where the observatory is located. It is the perfect spot to have a 360 degrees view of the city, seeing the financial district downtown, the midtown skyscrapers, most of the bridges connecting Manhattan to the mainland, and the rivers surrounding the island of Manhattan.

Nonetheless the best view of the Empire State Building can be found from the Rockefeller Centre.