1524
Florentine explorer Giovanni da Verrazano enters the New York Narrows, the first European to tour the Hudson River and land on Gotham soil. The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge—linking Brooklyn to Staten Island—is later named in his honor.
New York’s waterways are more than just sun-and-surf weekend destinations—they’re brimming with history. Trailing Gotham’s origins from an oyster-loving Dutch settlement to the sushi-rolling modern era, these maritime factoids will have you cruising the city’s sea-set history more smoothly than a sailboat in the Hudson.