This book tells the story of the Big Apple's meteoric ascent; its people, great moments, and awe inspiring feats of architecture. From the earliest European maps of the region to superb photography of its most famous buildings, the book picks out images that best represent key points in the development of New York as we know it today. It includes photographs of the city's best loved sights, such as the Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, Brooklyn Bridge, and Central Park, as well as less well known, but fascinating fragments f the past, such as vintage photos of St. Mark's in the Bowery, said to be haunted by the ghost of New Amersterdam's first governor, Peter Stuyvesant; the Five Points district, which inspired Gangs of New York; and the Algonquin Hotel where Dorothy Parker and other members of New York's literary "Round Table" once met.