Broadway From The Empire Building c. 1920

This magic lantern slide emphasizes Broadway’s position as a canyon of skyscrapers.

Today many of these older skyscrapers lining Broadway would be dwarfed by the new glass box buildings proliferating in Manhattan.

The buildings on the left are in the foreground are; the spire of Trinity Church; and two 22 story towers; the Trinity Building and The United States Realty Building.

On the right: The 23- story American Surety Building and the 555 foot tall Equitable Building.

The building the photograph is taken from is the 22-story Empire Building built between 1895-1898.

A similar photograph was taken from the Empire Building for a 1902 Underwood & Underwood stereoview. By comparing the views you can see the growth of this corridor in less than two decades.

While the Trinity Church spire and American Surety Building remain the same, many more buildings can be viewed in this earlier view because of their lower profiles.

On the right is the older Equitable Life Insurance Building which was destroyed by fire in 1912. Also further up Broadway the twin cupolas of the Park Row Building are visible.