Scientific American is celebrating its 175th anniversary this week. And while its subjects have spanned everything from atoms to distant galaxies, the magazine has always made its home in New York City.

Wall Street might overshadow Silicon Alley in the popular imagination, but New York City has always been a hub of scientific and technological innovation. That's one reason why in 1845, Rufus Porter founded Scientific American in spitting distance of City Hall: to keep track of the patents and inventors who flocked there.

The magazine's editor-in-chief, Laura Helmuth, said New York has had "a convening power" since the beginning. "Science is such a social and a kind of an inclusive endeavor," Helmuth said. "And so when you get a place that that brings together people with great ideas from all around the world, you can really make the science magic happen."

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