Never-before-seen photos from 100 years ago tell vivid story of gritty New York City

ap/daily mail ^ | april 24, 2012

[lowbridge]

Almost a million images of New York and its municipal operations have been made public for the first time on the internet.

The city's Department of Records officially announced the debut of the photo database.

Culled from the Municipal Archives collection of more than 2.2 million images going back to the mid-1800s, the 870,000 photographs feature all manner of city oversight --from stately ports and bridges to grisly gangland killings.

[SWAMPSNIPER]

They still have the same old grit!

[EyeGuy]

No free food, free housing, free medical care, free cell phones and free laptops for those folks.

Work or starve.

[GnL]

Lucky Luciano

Andrew Cuomo

Separated at birth?

[paudio]

Nice pics. Thanks.

[oh8eleven]

Great find - thanks for posting. I'm originally from NYC and my ancestors lived there from 1851 - 1965.
This photo, IIRC, shows an area in Brooklyn now (being gentrified) known as DUMBO - Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass.
My great aunt lived a few streets away in 1910, in area known as Vinegar Hill.

[SkyDancer]

Visit: http://www.shorpy.com/
Hundreds of pictures dating from the Civil War. Many early 1900’s pictures of NYC and other cities circa 1900-1920’s on.

[SkyDancer]

PS - those supposed “never before seen” pictures are on Shorpy.com

[Leep]

I had a book entitled, Letters to America. A sister in Endland coresponds with her sister in America Circa 1820.
She describes NYC as charming, friendly, and clean.

[dfwgator]

I bet there is not a shred of graffiti to be found in the pics.

[BenLurkin]

Back before the collapse of civilization.

[cicero2k]

Like a time machine.

I have many snapshots from the era in family photos, but these are large format shots taken by pros, of life at the time.

[TexasTransplant]

My ancestors as well ... our Patriarch was a Hessian Conscript fighting for the British... his tour of duty ended as a Prisoner in New York.. he was given the choice to return to Europe or stay ... he stayed ... and I get to speak English

TT

[Beowulf9]

It's not 'never before seen' but it is gritty...

[Straight Vermonter]

This:

Reminded me instantly of this:

[Roccus]

Had to chuckle at the picture of W 40th and 6th.

The entrance to the building where I worked in the mid 60’s is mere feet from there, but it sure looked a wholebunchalot different. ;)

[Revolting cat!]

IMPORTANT NOTE: All people in the pictures, including those unseen but present at the time inside the buildings, stores, trains and churches, are now dead.

[popdonnelly]

My great grandparents and my grandfather lived at the other end of the Manhattan Bridge, on Catherine Street.

[RIghtwardHo]

These are wonderful!

[2111USMC]

bflr

[ßuddaßudd]

bookmark

[ErnBatavia]

Lookin' at those old pics rang a bell....my uncle built a brick home in Mobile, Alabama about 40 years ago; when he heard about an old warehouse set for demo, he ran down and bought enough bricks to build the house - they were handmade by slaves.

I have one and a half that I codged from his spare pallet.

[JeanLM]

No fat people in the pool picture in 1940....no blacks either.

[OldNewYork]

Thanks for posting this.

[oh8eleven]

our Patriarch was a Hessian Conscript fighting for the British.
Mine escaped the potato famine in Ireland.
I thank him every day for allowing me to live my life in the greatest country in the world.

[SkyDancer]

Too bad you can’t prove those bricks’ provenance. Some museum would love to have a few.

[oh8eleven]

My great grandparents and my grandfather lived at the other end of the Manhattan Bridge, on Catherine Street.
If they lived there today, they'd be speaking Chinese.

[Oratam]

That’s infamous “Bandits’ Roost” photo from Jacob Riis’ “How The Other Lives.” I’ve stood on the spot it formerly occupied. I’m trying to remember where that was.

[Beowulf9]

“That’s infamous “Bandits’ Roost” photo from Jacob Riis’ “How The Other Lives.” I’ve stood on the spot it formerly occupied. I’m trying to remember where that was.”

Five Points, NYC 1888. Doncha just love this picture, btw.

I should’ve said so before:)

http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/New-York/New-York/Manhattan/blog-620336.html

[Graybeard58]

he was given the choice to return to Europe or stay ... he stayed ... and I get to speak English

I know how you feel. If it hadn't been for the revocation of the Edict Of Nantes, Catholics declaring open season on protestants, I'd be speaking French right now.

[lowbridge]

59 1/2 Mulberry street

http://ahistoryofnewyork.com/2011/02/bandits-roost-then-and-now/

http://newtownpentacle.com/2010/07/20/bandits-roost-2010/

[Windflier]

our Patriarch was a Hessian Conscript fighting for the British... his tour of duty ended as a Prisoner in New York.. he was given the choice to return to Europe or stay ... he stayed ... and I get to speak English

And best of all, you're blessed to live in the Great State of Texas!

[Windflier]

Mine escaped the potato famine in Ireland. I thank him every day for allowing me to live my life in the greatest country in the world.

I thank my ancestors for my great fortune too, but heck, they came from Western Europe, Africa, and North America, so I's cornfused! LOL

God Bless the USA!

[goat granny]

as scripture says.....he who does not work, does not eat...nothing wrong with hard work....

[SunkenCiv]

GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach	join list or digest view topics view or post blog bookmark post a topic subscribe
Thanks lowbridge. Just adding to the catalog, not sending a general distribution. To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.

[ansel12]

That photo made me think of a cops complaint about female cops, he pointed out that they look down a street, see tough men, and move on to something else rather than enter the situation, he said that after a few years of lacking that male willingness to challenge, to engage, and assert authority and power, we lose that street to the hard men.

[Fresh Wind]

Fans of NYC might find this blog interesting:

http://www.scoutingny.com/?page_id=985

[21twelve]

Lower right - young guy looks like Leonardo Decaprio’s great grand father!