Yonkers

Answer 1

Yonkers is the fourth largest city in New York State. Its name derives from the title "Jonk Herr" (young esquire) given Adrian Van der Donck, the original 1640's Dutch settler of the site. The Philipse family next acquired the land and held it until the 1780's. The Philipse mansion, full of architectural interest, is open as a museum at 29 Warburton Avenue in downtown Yonkers.

Nearby is the Yonkers Public Library at 1 Larkin Center. It is located at the former site of the original Otis Elevator factory. Yonkers resident Elisha Otis developed a safety elevator in 1854 which began the skyscraper era in cities around the world.

Restaurant X20 run by renowned chef, Peter X. Kelly, can be found by the water on the only Victorian era dock still used on the Hudson River.

Yonkers has spectacular views along its 4.5 mile Hudson River shore. Further north along Warburton Avenue, at 511, sits the Hudson River Museum with extensive art, history, and science collections. The Museum also houses the Andrus Planetarium, which offers free Friday night shows.

During the gilded age, the views brought William Boyce Thompson, a copper magnate and one of the richest men at the turn of the 20th century, to Yonkers to build his Alder Manor mansion. It still stands, now an Irish cultural center, at 1097 North Broadway.

Untermeyer Park, one of Yonkers' many parks, is located at 945 North Broadway. It offers river views among Greek ruins and passive gardens. The Lenoir Nature Center just to the north features nature trails, birding, and a butterfly garden on a ridge overlooking the river.

Away from the river, St. Joseph Seminary built by the New York Roman Catholic Archdiocese in 1896 stands on 40 acres on Seminary Avenue.

Down the hill, at the intersection of the Cross County Parkway and the New York State Thruway, the Cross County Shopping Center, one of the country's earliest shopping malls, is still going strong.

Further south along the Thruway, the Yonkers Raceway and Empire City Casino complex features harness horse racing several nights a week, simulcasting from other race tracks, slot machine gambling, and a large selection of restaurants from an upscale steak house to a food court.

Even further south is McLean Avenue, the major thoroughfare of one of Yonkers' ethnic neighborhoods. It is lined with Irish pubs, restaurants, delis and gift shops.