Hollywood Movies, I Miss You So, So, So Much!

(About 2000 words, 4 minutes to read)

Text: Cindy, not Even

Photos: Cindy, not Even

New York is absolutely the undisputed darling of Hollywood movies.

It appears so frequently that almost one in every ten films features it.

Even if you've never actually been to New York, the iconic scenes from movies have already given us a unique memory of this city.

(I) New York, New York.

New York—just one glance makes my heart flutter again. Beside the solitary Statue of Liberty, the raised torch is forever surrounded by bustling tourists. On the quiet, aged Brooklyn Bridge, the reclining structure carries young people from all over the world. In this dazzling city, everything is chaotic yet seamlessly integrated. A native New Yorker friend once said: "New York, a well-organized mess, a beautiful mess."

(II) Times Square and Broadway

If I had to choose one city that best represents America, I'd pick New York. If I had to choose one place that best represents New York, I'd pick Times Square. Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg once said something strikingly bold: "Broadway and Times Square are New York!" So, there are three must-dos for tourists visiting New York: climb the Statue of Liberty, go up the Empire State Building, and watch a Broadway musical.

Times Square was originally called Longacre Square. The name comes from the words "Long" and "Acre," likely due to its elongated shape. In 1904, The New York Times moved its headquarters to Longacre Square, so it was renamed Times Square.

Broadway, in English, originally means "wide street." Geographically, it refers to a 25-kilometer-long street that starts at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx and runs diagonally from the northwest to the southeast across Manhattan Island. Dozens of theaters line the street, with the theater district from 44th to 53rd Streets being the most famous. These theaters host the world's most popular musicals.

(III) The Empire State Never Falls

The top of the Empire State Building has always been a favorite filming location for the arts and entertainment world. Since its completion, over 90 movies have chosen it as a filming spot. Manhattan Island has thousands of skyscrapers, but no matter whether you're in New Jersey or upstate New York, the most striking among the massive buildings visible from dozens of miles away is still the Empire State Building.

Architectural historian Willis said: "Today, the Empire State Building still stands tall, symbolizing American industrial and commercial culture on one hand, and serving as a unique physical entity on Manhattan Island on the other. It is also an eternal landmark of New York, and even the entire United States."

The miracle of the Empire State Building lies not only in its height but also in its use of the lightest building materials available at the time. It was built in just 410 days, averaging 4.5 floors per week, with over 4,000 workers daily. It became one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World.

The historical context of its construction is worth mentioning. In the early 1930s, during the Great Depression, people lived in poverty. But Wall Street tycoons were keen on a skyscraper-building competition. At that time, the Rockefeller Center was the tallest building in the world at 259 meters. But millionaire John J. Rascob refused to accept it and decided to compete. So the Empire State Building rose, standing 381 meters tall upon completion. In the 1950s, an antenna was added to the top, raising the height to 443.5 meters.

(IV) Waiting at Grand Central Terminal

Grand Central Terminal is one of the busiest and most famous railway stations in the United States. It is also an underground railway station where the railroad intersects with New York subway lines 7, 4, 5, 6, and the S line.

Grand Central has a magical little secret: the Whispering Gallery. A few unassuming arched doorways possess a mysterious acoustic property: when two people stand at opposite corners of the arches and whisper, the sound travels as if over a telephone line to the other side. This has made it a popular place for marriage proposals in New York.

The starry ceiling in the main concourse is also dreamlike. Created by French artist Paul Helleu in 1912, the sky depicted is completely reversed, which was once thought to be a mistake. In fact, it was the artist's genius idea: seeing the starry sky from God's perspective, opposite to the human view. The vault contains over 2,500 stars, with their positions marked by lights. When the lights are turned on, the hall shines brilliantly.

(V) That Bridge

The Brooklyn Bridge: over 130 years old, it can be considered an antique. But this antique bridge is not just a display piece for people to admire. As the second-busiest bridge in the modern world-class city of New York, it connects the most populous borough, Brooklyn, with the core of New York: Manhattan Island.

Someone said about New York: you only need to remember one sentence: "Once you were a New Yorker, you can go anywhere."