Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

79 results found

Croton Aqueduct

(Encyclopedia)Croton Aqueduct krōˈtən [key], 38 mi (61 km) long, SE N.Y., carrying water from the Croton River basin to New York City; built 1837–42. It was one of the earliest modern aqueducts in the United S...

Fifth Avenue

(Encyclopedia)Fifth Avenue, famous north-south street of the borough of Manhattan, New York City. It begins at Washington Square and ends at the Harlem River. Between 34th and 59th streets, Fifth Ave. is lined with...

East River

(Encyclopedia)East River, tidal strait, 16 mi (26 km) long and 600–4,000 ft (183–1,219 m) wide, connecting Upper New York Bay and Long Island Sound, New York City, and separating the boroughs of Manhattan and t...

Hughes, Langston

(Encyclopedia)Hughes, Langston (James Langston Hughes), 1902–67, American poet and central figure of the Harlem Renaissance, b. Joplin, Mo., grad. Lincoln Univ., 1929. He worked at a variety of jobs and lived in ...

Van Vechten, Carl

(Encyclopedia)Van Vechten, Carl văn vĕkˈtən [key], 1880–1964, American music critic, novelist, and photographer, b. Cedar Rapids, Iowa, grad. Univ. of Chicago, 1903. While he was a leading music and dance cri...

Bond, J. Max, Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Bond, J. Max, Jr., 1935-2009, African-American architect, b. Lexington, Ky., Harvard Univ. (BA, 1955; MA, 1958). Bond’s father, J. Max, Sr., was ...

Divine, Father

(Encyclopedia)Divine, Father, c.1882–1965, African-American religious leader, founder of the Peace Mission movement, b. probably near Savannah, Ga. and named George Baker. After preaching in the South, he moved t...

Mitchell, Arthur

(Encyclopedia)Mitchell, Arthur, 1934–2018, American dancer and choreographer, b. New York City. Mitchell studied in New York City at the School of American Ballet and appeared on Broadway and with various compani...

Madison Avenue

(Encyclopedia)Madison Avenue, celebrated street of Manhattan, borough of New York City. It runs from Madison Square (23d St.) to the Madison Bridge over the Harlem River (138th St.). In the 1940s and 50s, some of t...

Robert F. Kennedy Bridge

(Encyclopedia)Robert F. Kennedy Bridge, New York City, connecting the boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx, and Queens. Completed in 1936 and originally named the Triborough Bridge, it comprises three separate sections...

Browse by Subject