The army aerial photography that I’ve been mining covered the entire country, of course, not just New York City. This 1924 shot is labelled “New York – Hudson River”, which isn’t very helpful, but there’s a handwritten note on the matte border (that I cropped) that reads “Storm King Highway.” Storm King is the northernmost mountain in the row along the west bank of the Hudson, and the highway was an early scenic drive, seen in the photo winding around the foot of the mountain.
If you’re wondering about the name of the mountain, you just need to be taking a train to Albany at the right moment during inclement weather. Storm clouds coming off much flatter land north and west of the mountain get forcibly rearranged by wind currents at Storm King. It’s spectacular to watch, particularly during a snowstorm. And yes, if you’re from the western US, this doesn’t look like much of a mountain, but if you were this old, you’d be a bit worn down too.
