New York became the 11th state of the Union on July 26, 1788! It’s named after the Duke of York, who held the land grant in 1664, but you can also call it The Empire State! Its capital is Albany, and its largest city is New York City! New York’s state motto is “Excelsior!” This state is famous for so many things, like the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, Carnegie Hall, Central Park, Times Square, Rockefeller Plaza… gasp… Wall Street, subway system, Stonewall Inn, the Battles of Saratoga and Fort Stanwix, and well, just browse the pictures already!