New York City 1905 After A Big Snowstorm – The Sights Along Broadway Between 29th and 30th Streets Described

So far New York City has not had a major snowstorm this season like upstate New York received earlier this month. But I dream of New York City days gone by like this one shown above.

In this high resolution photograph (click to greatly enlarge) taken in 1905, the effects of a recent snowstorm can be seen as the snow has been shoveled high onto the edge of the street and sidewalk.

We are looking up Broadway from the northwest corner of 29th Street towards 30th Street. On the extreme left at 1209 Broadway is one of the many United Cigar Stores outlets, a chain store which dominated New York’s tobacco retail industry at the turn of the century. Next door at 1211 Broadway is Marcus & Marcus supplying men’s furnishings.

Across the street at 1204 Broadway an advertisement in the window at ground level announces that the entire stock in their window was purchased by The Maurice Company, a clothing company run by Maurice Rogaliner. The “Broadway Dentists” also had offices in the same building along with Sol Young, Photographer.

Next door to the Maurice Company is Shanley’s Restaurant, owned by brothers Tom and Michael Shanley.

Shanley’s was one of the most famous eateries of the late 19th and early 20th century in Manhattan. With three restaurants, this one at 1210-1212 Broadway was their second location which opened in 1896. As the restaurant guide Where And How To Dine In New York (Lewis, Scribner & Co; 1903) describes it:

Everybody in New York knows Shanley’s and almost everybody has dined at one or another of the three establishments conducted under this name. The management acknowledges but one purpose in the conduct of its restaurants — to make its guests absolutely comfortable and to persuade them that Shanley^s holds the recipe for good cheer. It has taken twelve years to develop the atmosphere which one finds in Shanley’s and during this time the extent of its business operations has been greatly enlarged.   The service at Shanley’s is entirely a la carte. The cuisine is proverbial for its excellence. Chops, steaks, lobsters, game, shell fish and kidneys are among the special attractions of the house.

Next to Shanley’s the building with the initials HB and the crown on its sign is the Hof Brau Haus Restaurant. Where And How To Dine In New York devotes over six pages to describing the restaurant and says:

The Hof-Brau Haus is a complete representation of old Germany. Outside, it is a striking example of Niirn-
berg architecture — red, tile roof, receding balcony, leaded windows of the Bavarian colors, an odd, old sign, and quaint doorways — all contrasting sharply with the surroundings of upper New York. Inside, it is a museum (without the tiresome, scientific, classified regularity that is deadening historic and interesting Germany. The Hof-Brau Hans is a tavern in the true sense of the word. Lawyers, doctors, brokers — prosperous business men of all kinds — meet there every evening over a social glass. All meals are served a la carte. The cuisine is famous. German dishes are served that tempt the epicure.

A little further up Broadway, across 30th Street, the building with the large vertical marquee spelling out its name is Wallack’s Theatre. While he managed his eponymous theatre for many years, actor Lester Wallack died in 1888, but his theatre lived on until its last performance was held there on May 1, 1915. The theatre was chopped up into smaller parcels and demolished entirely by 1931. Next to Wallack’s is the New Grand Hotel advertising itself as “fireproof” in the wake of the disastrous Windsor Hotel fire. Built in 1868, The Grand Hotel was designated a New York City Landmark in 1979.

Back across the street on the west side of Broadway in front of the striped canopy is one of Wallack’s many competitors in the area, Daly’s Theatre. Augustin Daly, one of America’s leading theatrical managers, died in 1899 and the theatre was demolished in 1920. Beyond the canopy of Daly’s directly in back of the street lamp can be seen the rear of the brand new New York Times Building all the way up at 42nd Street.

In the foreground behind the fire hydrant we see a comically placed advertisement placard stuck into the snow bank for “Sarnoff Straw Hats For This Sweltering Weather Earlaps Attached Free.”

Adjacent to the advertisement a fancy horse-drawn brougham is passing with its mustachioed driver attired in his winter finery and top hat.

On the mostly snow cleared sidewalk a few people hurry about their business and a messenger is passing Daly’s box office carrying a large package.

Detroit Publishing colorized postcard of the photograph

Here is the postcard that Detroit Publishing issued from the photograph. While its nice to see color, if you click to enlarge the postcard you will notice that most of the detail in the original photo has been lost in the chromolithograph conversion.

Soon the snow would be gone. So is every person and nearly every building shown in this photograph.