Not long after, plans were set to build an even more “Grand” station, with construction beginning in 1903.īy 1913, Grand Central Terminal was completed, and New York was changed forever.

The original Grand Central Station was completed in 1871 and was known as Snook’s Depot and its completion started reshaping Uptown into the Midtown we know now. This semi-prosperous time was short lived, as the Second Avenue Elevated Train threw soot into the air, causing breathing issues among the area’s citizens, forcing many to move and causing the neighborhood to decline. Middle-class rowhouses started to show up on what was then called Prospect Place. Steps Forward, Steps Back | In the 1870’s, things began to look up. One of the impacts was the end of Prospect Hill and Corcoran’s Roost.ĭevelopment and progress brought order to New York City, and provided the template on which Tudor City would soon rise in Midtown Manhattan East. Inspired by “The Wise Men of Gotham,” a folk tale where residents of “Gotham village” pretended to suffer a contagious madness to get the King to go to a different town, Irving was commenting on the foolish behavior of city folk.Ĭoupled with a Goat Town nickname and known for unchecked crime, it was perhaps inevitable that Bill Finger and Bob Kane would settle on Gotham as Batman’s home.Ĭhanging Times, Changing City | The 1811 New York Commissioner’s Plan ended farming in Manhattan and introduced the grid system of roadways to bring order to the city. But there’s more to it than that….Ī Nickname Becomes Legend | Washington Irving first used “Gotham” in 1807 to refer to New York. Since the word “Gotham” originally meant “Goat Town,” a city known for neighborhoods like Goat Hill was all you really needed to give it the nickname. Prospect Hill also took on the nickname Goat Hill thanks to the goats freely roaming the dirt roads, weaving between houses. The shantytown that was to become Tudor City was run by Jimmy “Paddy” Corcoran and his Rag Gang (referenced in Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York), and was home to rampant thievery and murder.

Westgate Myrtle Beach Oceanfront Resortġ0 Reasons to Stay in Tudor City When You Visit NYC!Ģ | The Birth of the Real Gotham? | During the American Civil War, times were tough.

River Terrace Resort and Convention Center.

Westgate Smoky Mountain Resort & Water Park.

Batman Archives, Vol. 1 by Bill Finger