EB White's piece on New York City is more like a magazine essay, a super-short contemplation of the city. He was living in the now-long-gone Lafayette Hotel during a summer heatwave in 1948. It's a small masterpiece of concision and a great sense of place.
It's also a rare case where the quality and texture of the prose precisely match the subject and the period. It portrays the old, massive, unique New Deal NYC. The old Queen Mary liner would announce its arrival to the whole west side with foghorn blasts. The Empire State building was the tallest of the tall. Rockefeller Center and Radio City were wonders of the world. In this city, FdR era suits met secretarial skirts and shared the isle, on a lark, whether in the Park, in the dark, or on the Great White Way, in a City that never slept.
This piece is well worth the read. Everyone who has been to NY even once will appreciate it. It offers a vivid snapshot of a bygone era in the city that never sleeps.