Some Great Vintage Photos of New York City

[Warbaby]

Don't know if anyone has posted this elsewhere, but here is a great collection of vintage photos of NYC:

http://wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5010

 

[Forgotten Man]

Great photos! It really was a different world back then!

I could look at old photos all day long... I hope more contribute to this thread... it would be a fun discussion.

 

[dhermann1]

Yeah, I just almost got completely devoured by them. Interesting to see what's gone and what's still there.
I have a book called "New York, Then and Now", with pics from way back and from the present. Except the book was published in 1978. It would be interesting to update some of the shots. You know what they say, New York will be a nice city some day, if they ever finish it.

 

[jtcarrey]

ah-maze-ing

holy smokes! I loveeeeeeee old photos, I really wish I could live back then, these are great, I got an email earlier in the week of old photos before WWII in COLOR, they were so cool, it's amazing how a photo in black and white looks totally different than when it's in color, color makes old photos almost seem modern, black and white gives it more of a nostalgic feel. I've always loved black and white better than color though. I have tons of family photos, they aren't as old as some of these, but I have plenty from the teens to the 50's and with stories from my grandmother to boot! Thanks for posting this! :eusa_clap

 

[Mike in Seattle]

Great photos!

 

[The Wolf]

This was posted before: http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=33360&highlight=wirednewyork
Great photos either way, though.

Sincerely,
The Wolf

 

[Treetopflyer]

Great photos

As a photographer and a historian I love pictures like this. Allot of them are "everyday" shots. A person took a picture of something that was average and everyday for the time it was taken, but fast forward 60 or 80 years and we look at that same scene and say "wow, people actually lived like that". Photography is one of the best ways to record history. A moment in time frozen forever.

 

[Feraud]

Your Country Needs You

Edit- My image keeps flaking out.
Check Shorpy..

 

[Fletch]

All it says is "Woolworth."

But I suspect this was taken during the joint Army-Navy war games of 1931, when Army bombers laid a smokescreen over lower Manhattan to foil naval shelling.

"This activity today would, with absolute certainty, cause unimaginable panic."

 

[Nathan Dodge]

Warbaby, thanks! That site just made my day!

 

[just_me]

Great old photos. Thanks for posting that site.

I collect vintage picture postcards from the early part of the 20th century. The more general collection contains cards of Brooklyn and the more specific collection is Coney Island. I especially love the cards with messages written on them from the people who were visiting back then.

 

[Steven180]

What a great site and thanks for the contribution! Good photos can so easily transport you back in time and provide the connection you seek.

Thanks again and let's keep on the lookout for more treasures like this site,
M.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

As a photographer and a historian I love pictures like this. Allot of them are "everyday" shots. A person took a picture of something that was average and everyday for the time it was taken, but fast forward 60 or 80 years and we look at that same scene and say "wow, people actually lived like that". Photography is one of the best ways to record history. A moment in time frozen forever.

That's why I take my camera with me wherever I go and often photograph what would seem to some as just "mundane" street scenes.

Nat Shilkret and the Victor Orchestra -- The Sidewalks Of New York (1928)
Written in 1894

[video=youtube;HdRY9IrjxXY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdRY9IrjxXY[/video]

 

[Mr Vim]

It certainly helped take up an hour or so from my day, what a shame some of those buildings were demolished (The original Penn Station!)