This photo carries several tags at the Library of Congress website, but the one that caught my eye was “Traffic congestion.” Yes, there’s a fair amount of traffic, but by post-1950 standards that just doesn’t seem so bad. As a matter of fact, it’s better than it looks: the sidewalks at that location (see below) …
Above, a nice if somewhat generic view of lower Manhattan in October 1937, with the Hudson River and Jersey City in the background. But if you zoom in a bit… The big building is 90 Broad Street, the current home of Old Structures Engineering. Here’s a March 1936 view looking the other way, with the …
Another of Johnston’s 1894 views: “The Bowery, N.Y.” The Third Avenue elevated was 16 years old, so new but not that new, and still operated by steam train; the street cars are cable cars, not yet electrified. To us, it all looks old, but from the perspective of someone in 1894, the elevated steam trains …
In some of the photos I’ve been reviewing of Battery Park and its surroundings, I noticed a distinguished little stone castle on the waterfront, just south of the South Ferry terminal complex. Above, we’re looking out towards Governors Island in 1894, and it’s on the right with the flag flying from its tower. I wanted …
Yesterday’s discussion of the New York & Manhattan Beach Railroad was a side journey off a rabbit hole I fell down some time ago, looking for racetracks in and around Coney Island. The rabbit hole is identifying for certain what Irving Underhill took a picture of, in 1912, in the photo above. I’m not sure …
