In 1798 was created a three storey stone theatre "The Park," between Ann and Beekman streets on Park Row, for Hallam and Hodgkinson. This building was a very magnificent one for its time, costing about $18o,000. The story of the theatre in New York for the next 5o years is largely the story of the Park theatre (see DRAMA United States). In 1837 New York had five theatres, the Park, Bowery, Olympic, Chatham and Richmond Hill. Palmer's opera house was built in the '4os as was also the Astor Place opera house, where the Astor Place riot occurred as the result of a dispute between friends of the American actor Forrest and his English rival Macready. Twenty-two persons were killed and about 4o were wounded by the militia called to quell the disturbance. In 185o, P. T. Barnum brought Jenny Lind to America for a series of concerts which began at Castle Garden at the Battery. Similar "pleasure gardens," as Niblo's, the New York, Cold Spring, East River, Vauxhall and Ranleagh, were utilized for concerts and other performances for which the capac ity of theatres was inadequate. The Crystal Palace in Murray Hill was also a great amusement centre in the early '5os. By the middle of the century the theatrical district was well established in the neighbourhood of Union square, which was also the shop ping centre. The Academy of Music, the Union Square, Irving Place and Wallack's were the chief theatres in this area. By 187o 23rd street had become the upper limit of the theatrical and shop ping centre, with the Fifth Avenue theatre and Booth's. Ten years later the theatres had invaded the lower '3os with Daly's, the Standard, Wallack's and the Casino. In 1883 the erection of the Metropolitan opera house at 39th street started an invasion of the and by the end of the century, 42nd street had become the real centre of the theatrical district as it is to-day. The present theatre district comprises roughly a strip of Manhattan extending from 14th to 59th streets, and from Fifth to Eighth avenues. Broadway cuts diagonally across the strip and in the language of the district is the "main stem" to which the cross streets are tributary. In this area there are to-day about 200 theatres, in cluding those in which moving pictures are a part of the pro gram. According to the best available data, there are in all 4,445 theatres in Greater New York, including those exhibiting moving pictures as part of their entertainments. Among the largest are: Radio City Music Hall (5,945), Roxy (5,92o), the Hippodrome (5,190), the Capitol (4,845), the Academy of Music (3,600), Paramount (3,664), and the Metropolitan opera house (3,418). Most of the theatres exhibiting the "legitimate" drama or musical comedies only are of less than 2,000 capacity (see STADIUM). The total seating capacity of places of amusements is about 1,5oo,000. (See THEATRE ; DRAMA.) Clubs.—Club life in New York is less significant now than in the earlier part of the present century before the development of the apartment house hotels, the change in social habits and customs coincident with the expansion of business and trade into former residential districts, and the exodus from the city into suburban areas of so many of the leisured class who formerly sought city clubs for recreation and entertainment. The first social organizations of importance were the authors' Bread and Cheese club (1824), and the artists' sketch club (1829). It was not until 1836, however, that club life in New York really began with the founding of the aristocratic Union and Hone clubs. The Knickerbocker (187r), was also the resort of the descendants of original New York settlers. The St. Nicholas was formed a little later for those whose ancestors were early residents of the colonies. The Metropolitan (1891), with its costly house, was in fact a protest against the exclusiveness of many of the older clubs. The Union League (1863) was established for the purpose of aid ing the Union, and its first work was the organization of regiments of coloured troops. To offset this Republican influence, the Man hattan was organized in 1864 to advance Democratic ideals, although this is not now greatly emphasized.
The chief sport and athletic clubs are the New York Yacht (1844), the New York Athletic (1868) and the Racquet and Tennis. Other important clubs with more or less specialized in terests are the Advertising Club of New York, Automobile Club of New York, the Camera, Century, City, Colony, Engineers, Ex plorers, Harvard, Lambs, Yale, Lawyers, Lotos, Players, and Salmagundi clubs. Many of the great office buildings in down-town New York contain luncheon clubs, such as the Down town Association, the Lawyers, Bankers and Whitehall.
Churches.—The Dutch Reformed Church (1628) was the first church in the city and is to-day known as the Collegiate Church of New York city. The Presbyterians organized here as early as 1638 and were tolerated by the Reformed Church, but it was not until the English occupancy that they made their influence felt. In 1719, the first Presbyterian church was built in Wall street; there are about zoo to-day. It was not until 1847 that a Congre gational church attained great prominence in New York, when the Plymouth Church of Brooklyn was founded with Henry Ward Beecher as pastor. The Congregationalists now number about 5o active churches. In 1664, the Lutherans obtained permission from the English Governor Nicolls to establish a church. The first Lutheran church was at Broadway and Wall street, the site of the present Trinity church; they grew rapidly and now num ber nearly 200 churches and chapels. The Protestant Episcopal Trinity church was built in 1697 at Broadway and Wall street where the present Trinity (1846) now stands. St. Paul's chapel (1766), at Broadway and Vesey street is the oldest church edifice in the city; Grace, St. Thomas's, the Church of the Trans figuration, familiarly known as "The Little Church Around the Corner," and the great Cathedral of St. John the Divine, at 'loth street and Morningside avenue, are other notable Episcopal churches. The first Methodist church (1768) was erected in John street. African Methodist Episcopal churches for negroes have a large membership. The first Baptists in New Amsterdam (1657), received little consideration at official hands and met in a private house in Broad street in 1715. In 1762 they built a church in Gold street. At present, they have about 120 churches, some of the largest being for negroes. St. Peter's (1785) was the first Roman Catholic church and in 1808, New York was made the seat of an Episcopal see. In the years prior to the Civil War the Catholic Church grew rapidly. In 1858, the present St. Patrick's cathedral at Fifth avenue and 51st street was begun, and in 1879 it was dedicated. It is the fourteenth in size among cathedrals and seats about 4,500 persons. There are about 43o Catholic churches. Besides other Christian groups there are numerous flourishing Jewish congregations, some of them of con siderable age. There is also a number of undenominational churches and missions.
New York bay and Hudson river were probably first discovered by Giovanni da Verrazano, an Italian navigator, in 1524, and seen also by Esteban Gomez, a Portuguese, in 1525. It is commonly stated that the first competent exploration of New York bay and its environs was made by Henry Hudson in the "Half Moon" in Sept. 1609. But there is in Paris a map dated (157o) which shows in considerable detail the topography near the mouth of the Hudson. In 1611 Adrien Block came to Manhattan island and returned to trade for furs with the Indians. In 1614 he explored the harbour of Manhattan and its adjacent waters and was prob ably the first European to enter Long Island sound. The States General of Holland granted a charter to the New Netherland Company giving it the exclusive right to trade in New Netherland for four voyages, to be made within three years from Jan. 1, 1615. In 1615 the company built a storehouse and fort on the south end of Manhattan and a few huts sprang up around it. On Jan. I, 1618, the charter expired. In June 1623 New Netherland was formally established as a province of the West India company.