Historic Photos
From the NYC Municipal Archives
Apr 27, 2012 | Atlantic
Monthly
The New York City Municipal
Archives just released a
database of over 870,000 photos from its collection of more than 2.2 million
images of New York throughout the 20th century. Their subjects include daily
life, construction, crime, city business, aerial photographs, and more. I spent
hours lost in these amazing photos, and gathered this group together to give you
just a glimpse of what's been made available from this remarkable collection.
[53
photos]
Sunlight floods in through windows in
the vaulted main room of New York City's Grand Central Terminal, illuminating
the main concourse, ticket windows and information kiosk. Photo taken ca.
1935-1941. (Courtesy NYC Municipal
Archives)
Aerial view of New
York City, looking north, on December 16, 1951. (Courtesy NYC Municipal
Archives) #
28th Street Looking
east from Second Avenue, on April 4, 1931. Google map streetview today here. (Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) #
Meeker Avenue Bridge
under construction, looking south, showing Brooklyn approach, on June 29, 1939
(Joseph Shelderfer/Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) #
Shadows are cast
beneath the Brooklyn Bridge, seen from a stable roof, on May 6, 1918.
(Eugene de Salignac/Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) #
A worker on the
Brooklyn Bridge, on November 19, 1928. (Eugene de Salignac/Courtesy NYC
Municipal Archives) #
Markus Mercury Wheel
Club, Flushing Race Track, bicyclists ready to race in June of 1894.
(Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) #
Original City Hall
subway station, IRT Lexington Avenue Line, in 1904. (Courtesy NYC
Municipal Archives) #
Coney Island looking
east from Steeplechase Pier showing Sunday bathers, crowd on beach, on July 30,
1922. (Rutter, Edward E./Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) #
A two-horse team
street cleaner, with sprayer, squeegee, and roller at rear. (Courtesy NYC
Municipal Archives) #
An experimental
exposure made on the Queensboro Bridge, on February 9, 1910. (Eugene de
Salignac/Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) #
Italian vegetable
sidewalk stand, on Bleeker Street, near Church of Our Lady of Pompeii, in August
of 1937. (Bofinger, E.M./Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) #
Lower Manhattan
skyline at night, seen from either the Staten Island Ferry or Governor's Island,
in February of 1938. (Bofinger, E. M./Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) #
Hayden Planetarium,
American Museum of Natural History, West 81st St, between Columbus Avenue and
Central Park West. (Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) #
Red Hook Swimming
Pool, Clinton, Bay & Henry Streets, Brooklyn. Bathers as far as the eye can
see. (Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) #
Queensboro Bridge
under construction, on August 8, 1907. (Eugene de Salignac/Courtesy NYC
Municipal Archives) #
The Queensboro
Bridge, showing reconstruction of tracks looking east, on November 22, 1929.
(Eugene de Salignac/Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) #
A one-legged
newspaper boy and other "newsies", on Delancey Street, on December 26, 1906.
(Eugene de Salignac/Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) #
New York Police
Department evidence photo, homicide scene. Jos Kellner, 404 East 54th Street,
murdered in hallway, on January 7, 1916. (Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives)
#
Powell House at
195th Street and 58th Avenue North, Queens, on May 20, 1941 (Courtesy NYC
Municipal Archives) #
Times Square
theaters by day, in New York City. The Times Building, Loew's Theatre, Hotel
Astor, Gaiety Theatre and other landmarks are featured in this January, 1938
photo. (Bofinger, E.M./Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) #
An aerial view of
the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor, on January 27, 1965. (Courtesy
NYC Municipal Archives) #
A view from the
Williamsburg Bridge, looking west, showing congested traffic in Manhattan, on
January 29, 1923. (Eugene de Salignac/Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) #
Painters suspended
on cables of the the Brooklyn Bridge, on October 7, 1914. (Eugene de
Salignac/Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) #
A Hooverville in
Brooklyn, ca. 1930-1932. The area is now Red Hook Park in Brooklyn.
(Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) #
New York Police
Department Evidence photo. Homicide victim - overhead view, ca. 1916-1920. At
the corners, note the legs of the tripod supporting the camera above the body.
(Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) #
A Subway Road Comes
up for air in Brooklyn -- in background, a view of Manhattan from subway
elevated tracks, 8th Street, Brooklyn, New York, on March 21, 1938.
(Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) #
Yankee Stadium,
Yankees on the field during a game, ca. 1935-1947. (Courtesy NYC Municipal
Archives) #
A man reads a
newspaper on New York's 6th Ave. and 40th St, with the headline: "Nazi Army Now
75 Miles From Paris.", on May 18, 1940. (AP Photo/Courtesy NYC Municipal
Archives) #
New York Fire
Department demonstration of a steam pumper converted from horse-drawn to
motor-driven, at 12th Avenue and 56th Street. (Courtesy NYC Municipal
Archives) #
Men cut ice from
Kissena Lake in Queens, ca. 1860-1900. (Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives)
#
Children and adults
with herd of sheep in the Sheep Meadow in Central Park, New York City, ca.
1900-1910. (Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) #
Part of the
superstructure of the under-construction Manhattan Bridge rises above Washington
Street in New York, on June 5, 1908. (AP Photo/Eugene de Salignac/Courtesy
NYC Municipal Archives) #
Manhattan Bridge,
under-construction, seen from the roof of Robert Gair Building, showing
suspenders and saddles, on February 11, 1909. (Eugene de Salignac/Courtesy
NYC Municipal Archives) #
Aboard a police boat
on October 10, 1934, New York Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia hacks away at confiscated
slot machines about to be destroyed and dumped into New York harbor.
(Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) #
A view down an
alley, as rows and rows of laundry hang from tenements ca. 1935-1941. Seen
looking west from 70 Columbus Avenue or Amsterdam Avenue at 63nd Street.
(Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) #
A crowded street
market under New York City Rail Road tracks, looking south on Park Avenue from
123rd Street in June of 1932. (Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) #
A night view of
Midtown Manhattan, looking south from Madison Avenue and the 50's, ca.
1935-1941. (Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) #
Amid road
construction, the Hudson Diner advertises "Tables for Ladies" on November 20,
1929, on Marginal Street, looking east from 125th Street. (Courtesy NYC
Municipal Archives) #
Ninth Avenue El
trains with passengers on 2 levels of tracks, 66th Street El station in
background, in October of 1933. Photo taken on Columbus Avenue, northwest of
Lincoln Square & 65th Street. (Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) #
The S.S. Normandie,
seen from a Staten Island ship steaming through upper bay on its way to a river
pier built for it, ca. 1935-1941. (Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) #
A view of the city
from the Brooklyn Tower of the Brooklyn Bridge, on April 24, 1933. (Eugene
de Salignac/Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) #
A view of the city
from the New York tower of George Washington Bridge, 168th Street & Hudson
River, on December 22, 1936. (Jack Rosenzwieg/Courtesy NYC Municipal
Archives) #
Fire Boats fight a
blaze at Grace Line Pier 57, West 15th St, near the National Biscuit Co.
building. (Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) #
Members of the New
York Fire Department attend to a fire victim. (Courtesy NYC Municipal
Archives) #
The "Well", US
Signal Corps Army Base Terminal, Port of Embarkation. Ration cases from crate
cars are hoisted to warehouse bins for storage, ca. 1945-1946. (Courtesy
NYC Municipal Archives) #
Water from
firefighters' hoses freezes on the side of adjoining buildings. (Courtesy
NYC Municipal Archives) #
Interior view of the
Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) subway powerhouse, 58th to 59th Street,
ca. 1904. (Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) #
42nd Street, looking
west from 2nd Avenue. Chrysler Building at top right, "News Tavern" "Goblet Bar"
at lower right, ca. 1935-1941. (Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) #
Brooklyn Bridge
painters at work high above the city, on December 3, 1915. (Courtesy NYC
Municipal Archives) #
Aftermath of a
collision on an elevated rail track. (Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) #
The Queensboro
Bridge, leading to Manhattan, seen on May 1, 1912. (Eugene de
Salignac/Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) #
A motorman operates
a trolley cars near Williamsburg Bridge, on September 25, 1924. Signs advertise
almonds, cold remedies, mustard, and stove polish. (Eugene de
Salignac/Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives) #
