Looking South From The St. Paul Building c. 1900

This stereoscope view of lower Manhattan was taken from the St. Paul Building at 220 Broadway around 1900.

The development of steel skeleton buildings enabled skyscrapers to be constructed towards the end of the 19th century.

The 25-story St. Paul Building stood at the corner of Broadway and Ann Street. It replaced the five-story New York Herald Building in 1895. The Herald had moved to its new home between Broadway and Sixth Avenue at 35th Street in 1893.

Designed by architect George B. Post, the St. Paul Building cast shadows and darkness upon surrounding buildings, making it  unpopular with its neighbors.

At the turn of the century many people despised skyscrapers as architectural monstrosities, and lamented the passing of old New York.

As evidenced in our photo, Trinity Church and its steeple, once the tallest building in the United States, was by 1900 diminished by skyscrapers.

The 20-story Empire Building at 71 Broadway is directly behind Trinity’s spire. The 21-story American Surety Building, at 100 Broadway, is across the street at the corner of Pine Street. Directly behind the American Surety, the 20-story Gillender Building’s cupola with flag can be seen.

In the foreground, advertising itself on an exterior wall is The Singer Manufacturing Building. This is before the Singer Building was greatly enlarged by the construction of the Singer Tower in 1906, briefly becoming the tallest building in New York.

Behind the Singer Building with pitched roof is the 1898 Washington Life Insurance Company Building at 141 Broadway.

The St. Paul Building was demolished in 1958.

125 years after this view was taken, these original skyscraper buildings, are now dwarfed by current buildings in lower Manhattan.