A Detroit Publishing Co. photographer got this shot on a rare day without any traffic. Every building seen here is soon to be demolished.
This photograph shows the east side of Fifth Avenue from 27th to 26th Street in 1903. Continue reading
Our vantage point is just past Eldridge street looking west on Grand Street towards Forsyth Street (the shoe store on the corner). The Third Avenue El is in the background.
While this scene appears to be a just a typical crowded street scene on the lower east side, it is not. Schoolboys crowd the sidewalk and a big police officer keeps the peace.
In the center of the street it is clear that a trolley has had an accident and has come off its rails. Continue reading
Our photograph of 42nd Street is from the Keystone-Mast Collection, UCR/California Museum of Photography. Keystone was one of the leading providers of stereoviews at the turn of the century.
The Keystone photographer shot this unusual second story viewpoint sometime around 1906. The New York Times Tower Building was the new addition to the city’s skyline. Continue reading
Cortlandt Street 1908 via Detroit Publishing Co. collection held at the Library of Congress. (click to greatly enlarge)
Our view made by the Detroit Publishing Company is looking east from the corner of West Street along Cortlandt Street towards Broadway. Unlike some of their photographs, this one is copyrighted 1908 and that can be confirmed by advertising in the background.
The street is named after one of Dutch New York’s leaders Oloff (Olaf) Stevense Van Cortlandt. Continue reading
The Detroit Publishing Company photographer captured a typical summer day on Fifth Avenue looking north from 33rd Street. The date is sometime between 1905 -1910 based upon the vehicles seen on the streets and style of dress.
Two prominent buildings are on the west side (left) of the street. The Waldorf- Astoria Hotel in the immediate foreground between 33rd and 34th Streets. One block further north is the Knickerbocker Trust Building.
The Waldorf-Astoria as some people know is a combination of two different entities. Seen here on the near corner of 33rd Street is the 13 story Hotel Waldorf built by William Waldorf Astor in 1893. The 17 story Hotel Astoria was opened four years later on November 1, 1897 by his cousin John Jacob Astor IV. Before the Hotel Astoria was completed the two hotels agreed to combine operations to form the world famous hostelry that stood on the site until 1929. The Waldorf Astoria set up their new hotel on Park Avenue and 50th Street and the Empire State Building went up on the hotel’s old site.
In this close-up you can see the dividing line between each hotel as the exterior wall colors are different. The Waldorf-Astoria was unified in many design elements such as exterior lighting and window canopies. Though slight differences between the two hotels are apparent. The Hotel Astoria put some extra flourishes beside their windows in the form of lion head bas reliefs. Continue reading
We are looking east from Church Street towards Broadway and Park Row. It’s a lush green day sometime around the turn-of-the century, the exact date unknown. We do know the time is 3:10 in the afternoon according to the clock on St. Paul’s Chapel in this magic lantern slide view. Continue reading
A while ago, browsing through old news sources for verification of a story, I came across an illustration from Harper’s Weekly from the early 1900s.
If there is an artist’s signature, unfortunately I could not find it.
The Illustration taking the entire page is titled “The Difference.” It might be construed by some people today as politically incorrect, totally sexist or completely accurate. Continue reading
The Battle That Never Ends
Mordecai (Three Finger) Brown (left), Chicago Cubs pitcher just after the turn of the century; Urban (Red) Faber (center), former Chicago White Sox Spitballer, and Ed Walsh big moose of White Sox hurling fame before World War I, discuss curve versus spitball at Diamond Jubilee dinner of The Old Time Players’ Association at Chicago, IL, Feb. 3. – Associated Press Photo 2/4/1944
For six seasons Ed Walsh was one of the best pitchers in baseball. Today his name is rarely mentioned among the early pitching greats such as Cy Young, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson and Pete Alexander.
Walsh’s greatness was recognized by his peers however and he was the guest of honor at the 1944 Old Time Players’ Association Dinner. As can be seen in the above press photo Walsh was glad to see old teammates and former rivals.
Ed Walsh photo Charles Conlon
From 1907 -1912, Walsh won a total of 178 games. In 1908, Walsh pitched 464 innings in 66 games, winning 40 while posting a minuscule 1.42 ERA. As the White Sox battled for the pennant down to the last week of the season, Walsh pitched in an incredible seven of the last nine games of the season.
On September 29, Walsh pitched two complete games beating the Boston Red Sox in a doubleheader by scores of 5-1 and 2-0. Continue reading
For the past 150 years New York has had a thriving hotel industry. With real estate prices continually rising in Manhattan, more new hotels are opening now in Queens and Brooklyn.
The Plaza, The Waldorf Astoria and the St. Regis have over a century of history. Those hostelry’s are the exception to longevity. Many of New York’s hotels are constantly in flux with ownership and name changes. Often smaller hotels have gone out of business because the real estate they sat upon was too valuable. Developers acquire the hotel and surrounding parcels and the hotel passes into history. Other times the buildings are spiffied up after years of neglect and converted from hotels to apartments.
Here are some views of the upper west side’s hotels of the past.
The Hotel Emerson at 166 West 75th Street off Broadway was a 300 room 16 story hotel opened in 1922, designed by Robert Lyons. In 1959 it became the Hotel Lincoln Square. The building has been remodeled and turned into rental apartments and is now named the Amstrdm. (That’s right, they cut out some vowels.) Continue reading
115 years ago today, a penny brought you news of a massive calamity. It was a disaster unlike any other that had ever occurred in New York City.
Earlier that day, June 15, 1904, the General Slocum excursion boat caught fire. Women and children who comprised the majority of the passengers, were burned alive or drowned.
As news filtered in to the newspapers, the death toll continued to mount. The number of victims would rise from hundreds to over 1,000. Continue reading