Looking West Towards Sixth Avenue On 42nd Street – 1890s
We are looking west along 42nd Street towards Sixth Avenue in a photograph taken sometime during the last decade of the 19th century.
A cropped version of this photograph appeared in the must own book New York Then & Now 83 Matching Photographic Views from 1864-1938 and from the 1970s by Edward B. Watson and Edmund V. Gillon (Dover) 1976.
close-up of trolley
When published in the book the date was given as 1900, but on the original photograph (seen above) taken by the firm of H.N. Tiemann, the caption says 1889 and lists the church as Dr. Parkhurst’s. This is definitely incorrect as Parkhurst was presiding at the Madison Square Presbyterian Church. The building next door, the Spalding Building was not constructed until around 1890, so there is doubt as to the true date of the scene.
Rapid transit is on display in the form of a couple of horse drawn trolleys and the Sixth Avenue Elevated’s 42nd Street station in the background.
West Presbyterian Church 1897 photo Byron & Co via MCNY
On the north side of the street is the West Presbyterian Church (built 1862, demolished 1911) Continue reading
