All about White Plains
Located within a 30 minute train ride from Manhattan, White Plains is among the best known of the outlying northern suburbs of New York City. The city of White Plains is located in Westchester County. It serves as the county seat of Westchester and is home to nearly 55,000 citizens.
The current boom in the development of White Plains has its roots in the opening of the White Plains Galleria Mall. With the economic boost from this huge indoor mall, the development of office towers, apartment buildings and department stores reached a new height during the 1990s. Today White Plains is the leading retail and office center for the entire Westchester County.
The development of the CityPlace community resulted in the building of two new high rise apartment buildings with breath taking views of the lower Hudson Valley. The combination of high end retail, new upscale housing developments and high speed access to Manhattan has helped to make White Plains among the most expensive cities in the country. Nevertheless, White Plains shows a good deal of racial and economic diversity. The increase in the Hispanic population combined with the booming urban professional community has produced a growing cosmopolitan feeling to this colonial town.
The colonial history of White Plains goes back to the time of the New England settlers who purchased the land from the Iroquois in the 1680s. The name is descriptive of the fog that hung over the land like a white blanket. The first reading of the American Declaration of Independence was outside the courthouse in White Plains. This gives the city the claim of being the birthplace of the State of New York. The battle of White Plains was fought here when George Washington was attempting to hold onto to New York. During this time, the British carried on a series of marches and maneuvers designed to dislodge the Americans from their positions in Manhattan. When Washington learned that General Howe had moved a large number of troops into Westchester County, he divided his forces and moved into the area of White Plains. The battle culminated in a series of attacks on American lines on October 28, 1776. The Americans were able to withstand the blows and continued to counter British marches until General Howe withdrew from the area on November 4th. The end result of the battle was the division of Washington’s forces that led to the surrender of Fort Washington and nearly 2500 of the best trained American forces. The location of the battlefield is just west of downtown White Plains on the Bronx River Parkway, in an area known as Chatterton Hill.
While White Plains has its share of the well known chains and upscale restaurants. Try some of the smaller local restaurants that are available in the downtown White Plains area. My favorite New York style pizza was eaten in a small storefront pizzeria while waiting for my car to be repaired. The combination of great sauce, fresh cheeses and super thin crust was great comfort when facing an unknown repair bill.
White Plains is also the home of fast-growing Westchester County Airport, which offers regional travelers an alternative to New York's congested three major airports. Many business travelers find this airport to be a convenient alternative when visiting the IBM Conference center in Armonk, NY.