Empire State

New York would certainly raise a monument to his memory, but he made his grandiose gesture and vanished forever.

"[1] Historian Milton M. Klein proposed that the name may have accompanied the success of the Black Ball Line in 1818 "because of the signal advantage the regularity of shipping gave to New York's merchants over those in other coastal cities."

Washington is said to have used the phrase "Pathway to Empire" when referring to the state in conversation with George Clinton, the New York Governor in the 1790s.

[1] It is claimed in volume 6 of Alexander Flick's "History of the State of New York" that the title was used as early as 1819, coinciding with New York surpassing Virginia in population and was "universally acknowledged and accepted" by 1825.

[1][3] Buildings and institutions inspired by the "Empire State" sobriquet include:

A dark painting of an older white man in a black cloak. The man has light skin with rosy cheeks and white, curled hair.
One theory credits George Washington with coining the term "Empire State". [ 1 ]