Looking North From The Third Avenue Elevated Station At 34th Street
Our photograph was taken in 1930 by Percy Loomis Sperr who documented the changing scenes of New York during the 1920s, 30s and 40s.
We are looking north from the Third Avenue El’s station at 34th Street.
For less than a year, the 77-story Chrysler Building (completed May 27, 1930) was the world’s tallest building. With the opening of the Empire State Building on May 1, 1931 the Chrysler Building was relegated to second place. To the left of the Chrysler is the 56-story Chanin Building completed in 1929.
A southbound train approaches 34th Street and a northbound train is about to leave the station. There is an advertising sign at the base of the elevated platform for Mennen’s Shaving Cream.
Beyond the station on the side of a building is an ad for Konjola, a brand I never heard of. Konjola was a patent medicine that sold very well during Prohibition. Among the elixir’s claims was that it would cure everything from nervousness to rheumatism. The secret ingredient was alcohol.
