Broadway History

One of the very first electrified streets in the United States was Broadway. This gave it many opportunities to become a large icon for our nation. As we know now it is one of the most well-known places for great entertainment. However Broadway was not always the iconic entertainment center it is today; it was stolen, had New York City emerge around it, and persevered through many difficult economic and cultural times.

Broadway started out as the main trading route of the Lenape Indians. The trail was known as the Wickquasgeck Trail and ran 15 miles through rough terrain (Purdy). The trail was used to trade with other Indian Tribes, French, English, and Dutch settlers who came to live in that area. The Lenape Indians had no system for land

They taught each other new skills and became close trade partners. However in 1626 the Lenape were given twenty four dollars for the land that is now New York City (Purdy). The Lenape thought the money was so that the Dutch could share the land with them, but that was not the case. The Dutch named the New Territory New Amsterdam and the Wickquasgeck trail became the main highway. The English settlers then came in 1660 took over New Amsterdam and renamed it New York. The English settlers forced most of the Native Americans out and had them relocate in Oklahoma (Purdy).

In 1776 the road became known as Broadway Street. However Broadway only extended to the town commons. Bloomingdale Road continued up the west end of the Island where part of it was later named "The Boulevard". Finally on February 14th 1899 the name Broadway extended from Broadway to Bloomingdale and The Boulevard Road (Broadway (Manhattan)).

Broadway is the oldest north-south road that runs through Manhattan. It runs all the way through Manhattan and the Bronx and then extends 18 miles past the city ending outside Sleepy Hollow, New York. The street got its name from the translation of the phrase "Breedeweg" which means "broad road" in Dutch