Think Manhattan is crowded now?

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

If you think New York City is brimming over now, imagine what it was like a century ago. The population of New York County (i.e. Manhattan) in 1910 was 2,762,522, according to the Census Bureau. The estimated population in 2005 was 1,593,200.

That’s amazing—70% more people in Manhattan a century ago than today. Think about that next time you try to fight your way through the crowds in Times Square.

http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/hot..._manhattan.html

[Alex+R 0]

This comment makes sense:

Martin Ryan

January 14, 2008 08:30 AM

I wonder what proportion of today's crowds you fight through today actually live in Manhattan? Is a plausible explanation for the discrepancy between the 1910 and 2005 figures that in the early twentieth century more people actually lived in Manhattan but that today vast numbers just commute from outside?

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Yes, it does. Numbers on commuters might be interesting.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

From the New York Times, dated 11/7/2005:

Every weekday, more than 1.3 million people commute to work in Manhattan - nearly doubling the borough's population.

[Alex+R 0]

I wonder how many people commuted 100 yrs ago.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

I don't know but New Jersey has the highest density of unused and dormant rail lines of any state in the country and all of them terminated in the City. All of them date back to about that time.

Check out Liberty State Park if you haven't, there's an old train station there with signs for lots of routes that don't exist today.

Edited January 17, 2008 by VJ Troll

[Jason-Sasha 1]

100 years ago there probably weren't many visitors. well, not as many as today. On any given day Manhattan has nearly 1 million visitors from all over the world. Visiting Manhattan back then would require a lot of time in transportation, so I imagine the density would be very similar now.