New York City Photo Gallery of the Municipal Archive
Recently, the New York City Municipal Archives granted the public access to their ever-expanding gallery of photographs of NYC. In total, there are over 2.2 million pictures in the archive. Over the last 4 years, many of the pictures were scanned and initially, 870,000 were made available online for personal and research purposes. Unfortunately, they did not expect a huge demand for these pictures and when the opposite proved to be true, the servers crashed. Unfortunately, the city has not yet been able to restore access.
The archive includes photographs that expose the city’s wonderful physical and social evolution over time. They include photos of criminal justice evidence, more than 800,000 color photographs of each and every building in NYC during the mid-1980s, and more than 1,300 images taken by local photographers during the Depression. The collection provides wonderful social context to early 20th century life in New York, in addition to being exceptional stand-alone images.
A great contributor to the archive was Eugene de Salignac, who was the official photographer for the Department of Bridges, Plants & Structures from 1906 – 1934. You’ll see some of his work below.
Today, I want to share a selection of my favorites (followed by a gallery) for a total of 56 photos.
Make sure to watch the Gallery below! Click to enlarge. What is your favorite picture?
All picutres: © New York City Municipal Archive.
Grand Central Terminal, NYC 1930's
Yankee Stadium, ca. 1935-1947 - Look at all the different hats
Workers' Safety in 1915
When Fire Turns to Ice
Brooklyn Bridge, on October 7, 1914, Eugene de Salignac
Vintage NYC Street Cleaner
View of the city from the New York tower of George Washington Bridge, 168th Street & Hudson River, on December 22, 1936, Jack Rosenzwieg
View from Williamsburg Bridge, looking west, showing congested traffic in Manhattan, on January 29, 1923, Eugene de Salignac
Times Square New York City, January 1938, Bofinger, E.M.
The Well, US Signal Corps Army Base Terminal, Port of Embarkation. 1945-1946.
Subway Powerhouse, Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) , 58th to 59th St, ca. 1904.
Structural Worker NYC
SS Normandie, ca. 1935-1941 One of the most beautiful Ocean Liners ever built in Art Deco Style. Renamed to USS Lafayette in WWII
Sheep in Central Park, New York City, ca. 1900-1910.
Queensboro Bridge, November 22, 1929, Eugene de Salignac
Powell House at 195th Street & 58th Avenue North, Queens, on May 20, 1941
Packed street market under New York City Rail Road tracks, looking south on Park Ave from 123rd St,June 1932
NYPD Photo of homicide Victim 1910's
New York's 6th Ave & 40th St, Note the newpaper headline - Nazi Army Now 75 Miles From Paris, May 18, 1940.
Murdered in Hallway, NYPD evidence photo, 404 East 54th Street, January 7, 1916
Manhattan Bridge, February 11, 1909, Eugene de Salignac
Laundry ca. 1935-1941. Seen looking west from 70 Columbus Ave or Amsterdam Ave at 63nd St.
Impaired newspaper boy on Delancey Street, December 26, 1906, Eugene de Salignac
Ice Cutters - An Extinct Profession, Kissena Lake in Queens, ca. 1860-1900
Fiorello LaGuardia Aboard a police boat on October 10, 1934, hammering on confiscated slot machine, which was about to be dumped into New York harbor
Coney Island Steeplechase Pier, July 30, 1922, Rutter, Edward E.
Chrysler Building as seen from 42nd St, looking west from 2nd Avenue.a. 1935-1941.
Brooklyn Bridge, New York, May 6, 1918.
Gallery
If our pictures inspire you, please feel free to share but always link back to the Gentleman's Gazette
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