On this date in...

1674...Great Street, once a Native-American path leading north from the tip of Manhattan, is officially named Broadway.

1948...In a harbinger of things to come, Mayor William O'Dwyer agrees to hike the nickel transit fare in order to settle a labor dispute with the city's private bus lines.

1962...Walter Cronkite begins a 19-year run as the anchor of "The CBS Evening News," succeeding Douglas Edwards.

1966...The curtain comes down on the original Metropolitan Opera house as the final performance is given at the company's old home at Broadway and 39th Street. The company soon moves to its current home at Lincoln Center.

Today's New Yorker birthdays include basketball great and one-time Harlem resident Kareem Abdul Jabbar.