Press

RAILROADS REMAKE NEW YORK

September 18, 2017

Trade and banking energized New York in the early 1800s, drawing new businesses and people. Growth fueled prosperity, and prosperity fueled more growth.

Railroads were a vital part of this dynamic cycle—both a response to and catalyst for the city’s expansion. Freight and passenger lines blossomed, and in the 1830s New York City’s first railroad line connected Prince Street to the Harlem River, accelerating the city’s expansion northward from Lower Manhattan.