And then, there's the city, the Big Apple...

New York City, the one and only. Shop on Fifth Avenue, feel the excitement of Times Square, the world of Wall Street, the vitality of Carnegie Hall. See the city from atop the Empire State Building, and feel the emotion of history and the hope of the future at the Statue of Liberty. Magnificent New York!

The month of May marks the anniversary of the opening of the Empire State Building on May 1, 1931 at 11:15am. It was the tallest building in the world for 40 years.

THE NAME:

New York was named by the British to honor the Duke of York and Albany, the brother of England's King Charles II, when New Amsterdam was taken from the Dutch in 1664. New York became the name of the state and the city.

Source: Shearer, Benjamin F. and Barbara S. State Names, Seals, Flags and Symbols Greenwood Press, Westport, Connecticut - 1994

THE NICKNAMES:

The Empire State: New York is called "The Empire State" because of it's wealth and variety of resources. This nickname appeared on New York license plates from 1951 through the mid-1960s. In 2001, "The Empire State" legend returned to New York license plates.

The Excelsior State: This nickname comes from the motto of New York; "Excelsior." New York's motto means "ever upward."

The Knickerbocker State: This nickname comes from the pants worn by early Dutch settlers in New York. "Knickerbocker" is a German term made up of two words. "Knicker" means box and "bock" is a male goat. This term was promoted in Washington Irving's character, Diedrich Knickerbocker in "Knickerbocker History of New York."

Source: Shearer, Benjamin F. and Barbara S. State Names, Seals, Flags and Symbols Greenwood Press, Westport, Connecticut - 1994

Shankle, George Earlie, Phd State Names, Flags, Seals, Songs, Birds, Flowers and Other Symbols H. H. Wilson Company, New York - 1938 (Reprint)

THE CITIZENS:

People who live in New York or who come from New York are called New Yorkers.

THE QUARTER:

The first state quarter of 2001 belongs to New York, the eleventh state to enter the union in 1788. The eleven states of the time are represented by eleven stars.

The Statue of Liberty, superimposed over an outlining of New York state, is shown as the "Gateway To Freedom" celebrating the Empire State as a point of entry for millions of immigrants seeking the political freedom and democracy that American citizenship provides. Lines tracing the Hudson River and Erie Canal are etched into the state’s outline. These two important waterways were not included in the original design. They were added at Governor Pataki's request to pay tribute to their importance in the state’s development.