3 Reel Set and Booklet
| OCR SAMPLE FROM VIEWMASTER
A650 NEW YORK STATE "SEAT OF EMPIRE" To a Virginian, George Washington, goes the credit for the prophecy which gave the Empire State its name. And it was in upper New York State's forests and on its lakes that were fought the battles which decided whether the great new empire was to be ruled by men who spoke French or men who spoke English. Elsewhere in the state were fought some of the decisive battles of the American Revolution. Through the state's Hudson-Mohawk Valley, with its system of waterways followed by the Indians since time immemorial passed the commerce—by river, turnpike, canal, railroad, and finally by motor highway—that shaped the course of empire. In the teeming steel-and-concrete canyons of Lower Manhattan, symbolized by Wall Street, is the seat of yet another empire—the world-wide empire of finance. A FEW FACTS AND FIGURES. Whoever called New York "the state that has everything" would no doubt get an argument in any of the other 49. But nobody will deny it has New York City at one end and Niagara Falls at the other, neither of which any other state can duplicate. It is only the 30th state in area (about 50,000 square miles) but by any measurement the first in wealth. Until recently, when unofficial figures gave first place to California, it was also first in population, with nearly 18 million people. One of the original 13 colonies, New York has historic sites galore, not to mention rivers, mountains, and lakes as lovely as any in the world. GEOGRAPHICALLY SPEAKING. New York is roughly triangular in shape, extending 300 miles from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and the Atlantic on the south to Lake On- tario, the St. Lawrence River, and the province of Quebec on the north, and 600 miles from the New England states on the east to Lake Erie and Pennsylvania on the west. Its highest point is Mt. Marcy (5,344 ft.) in the Adirondacks. THE HUMAN SIDE. While the 15 per cent of New York's population living in rural areas is predominantly of British and Dutch ancestry, the 85 per cent living in the big industrial cities—particularly New York City—represent every race and nation on earth. VIEW-MASTER REEL ONE $24 WORTH OF TRINKETS Setting off on our View-Master Guided Picture Tour of New York, we look down on the most expensive piece of real estate in the world—lower Manhattan Island. If doughty old Peter Stuyvesant, whose predecessors bought the island from the Algonquins for $24 worth of beads, knives, and trinkets in 1626, could share this view with us he would no doubt believe he had gone mad. The tiny settle- ment of New Amsterdam which he was forced to turn over to the English in the name of the Duke of York bore scant resemblance to this multi-billion-dollar forest of skyscrapers. From an old view of New York, 1626-1628 HISTORIC RIVER Moving northward along the Hudson River, we come to the Bear Mountain Bridge, near Peekskill. From the top of nearby Bear Mountain the traveler sees one of the state's magnificent panoramas. Near the metropolis, this area is a favorite summer and winter recreation spot. FUTURE GENERALS A few miles to the north the river forms a bend and on the heights above it, known as West Point, the Revolutionary army built one of its principal bastions of defense against the invading British. Since July 4, 1802, this Promontory has been the site of the U.S. Military Academy. Here the twelve companies of cadets stand at attention in the precise drill formation for which they are famous. GEORGE WASHINGTON WORKED HERE In Washington Park at Newburgh stands this house which Washington made his headquarters from the spring of 1872 until August 1873. It is a Dutch farmhouse built in 1750 by Jonathan Hasbrouck. In this room, with its typical Dutch open-hearth fireplace, Washington wrote the letter of rebuke to one of his colonels for proposing that he proclaim himself king of the United States. ETC ETC |