It is esti­mat­ed that the total length of Broad­way is 55 km, of which approx­i­mate­ly 25 km is direct­ly in Man­hat­tan. Pass­ing through Man­hat­tan and the Bronx, Broad­way stretch­es through small towns fur­ther north, all the way to the cap­i­tal of New York State, Albany.

Broad­way was orig­i­nal­ly a path that wound its way through the swamps and cliffs of Man­hat­tan Island. Upon the arrival of Dutch set­tlers, the trail soon became the island’s main road from New Ams­ter­dam to the south shore. This is where the name came from: “Breede weg” — “broad path”.