How New York Became American, 1890-1924

"Once upon a time, for many Americans, New York City conjured dark images of crime, poverty, and the desperation of crowded immigrants. This historical study explores the ways in which city fathers and business leaders crafted something quite different and vastly more appealing--New York as America writ urban, a place where the arts flourished, various peoples lived together boisterously but peacefully, where one could enjoy a visit. Gotham eventually became a tourist destination--inviting, as in "American," while also being delectably different ("untypically American") enough to provide a getaway from "ordinary places" elsewhere in the country"--