page_title: Binghamton, New York
section_title: Cityscape
hierarchical_section_title: Binghamton, New York / Geography / Cityscape
caption_attribution_description: English: Confluence Park, Binghamton, NY
context_page_description: Binghamton is a city in, and the county seat of, Broome County, New York, United States. It lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the confluence of the Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers. Binghamton is the principal city and cultural center of the Binghamton metropolitan area, home to a quarter million people. The population of the city itself, according to the 2010 census, is 47,376.
  From the days of the railroad, Binghamton was a transportation crossroads and a manufacturing center, and has been known at different times for the production of cigars, shoes, and computers. IBM was founded nearby, and the flight simulator was invented in the city, leading to a notable concentration of electronics- and defense-oriented firms. This sustained economic prosperity earned Binghamton the moniker of the Valley of Opportunity. However, following cuts made by defense firms after the end of the Cold War, the region has lost a significant portion of its manufacturing industry.
context_section_description: According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.14 square miles (28.9 km²). 10.49 square miles (27.2 km²) of it is land and 0.65 square miles (1.7 km²) of it (5.83%) is water.
  Binghamton is located at the confluence of two rivers, in the middle of a long but relatively narrow valley. The north branch of the Susquehanna River passes south of downtown. This branch rises in eastern New York and receives a number of tributaries above Binghamton.  In the center of the city, the Chenango River feeds into the Susquehanna from the north. As a result, eleven bridges span the rivers inside city limits. Broome County has 17.5 miles of levees, many of which are in Binghamton. Major floods have occurred in 1865, 1935, 1936, 2006, and 2011.
  The incorporation of Binghamton united various communities located on both shores of the two rivers. The majority of the city's population and development lies along the rolling terrain nearest the riverbanks with sparse development in the hills that define the city limits.  The old city was laid out on a grid system by Joshua Whitney, Jr., but as development spread to the outer regions of the city and merged with other settlements, several grids were eventually juxtaposed against each other.  In the Southside, the grid breaks down, as more curvilinear roads make up the predominantly residential areas along the hills.
  The city was the traditional economic center of the region, and contains several historic districts.  The Railroad Terminal Historic District consists of several factories and buildings along the railroad line in the northern limits of downtown. Over 1,000 properties on the West Side contribute to the Abel Bennett Tract Historic District, mainly made up of residential properties along Riverside Drive. The State Street-Henry Street Historic District in downtown consists of several older low-rise buildings. The Court Street Historic District contains some of the most notable architecture in the city, including the Press Building and Security Mutual Building, early 20th century high rises, and the Broome County Courthouse. The Press Building was the tallest building in Binghamton until the completion of the State Office Building in Government Plaza, which remains the tallest in the city. Away from downtown, the majority of the buildings are single- and multi-family dwellings, along with low-rise business buildings lining commercial arteries.  Along the railroad corridors, a number of factories, mostly abandoned, rise above the otherwise-uniform landscape.
  Main Street runs through the West Side, and continues west to serve as Main Street in the villages of Johnson City and Endicott.  On the east side of the Chenango River, the road becomes Court Street, the major east-west artery in downtown and the East Side.
caption: Confluence Park, facing west towards the confluence of the Susquehanna (left) and Chenango (right) rivers
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