Looking Down Broadway & The Hotel Victoria c. 1908
This view from the southwest corner of 28th Street looking south along Broadway was taken by the Detroit Publishing Company circa 1908.
Let’s take a closer look at this photograph.
On the left is the eight story Hotel Victoria stretching from Broadway to Fifth Avenue along 27th Street. President Grover Cleveland would use the Victoria as his headquarters whenever he was visiting the city. The hotel began operations in 1872 and was razed in 1914.
You are not contemplating suicide when on the third floor and he does not appear to be cleaning windows, but there is a man standing on the hotel’s window ledge.
In the background on the extreme right on 23rd Street is the Flatiron Building.
New Yorkers would usually know where they were by familiar landmarks. Strangers could rely on street signs mounted to lampposts.
Most pedestrians take little notice of the photographer who was capturing this scene. Instead, the man on the left pays attention to the two women in light shirts carrying books. As fashion of the day indicates, nearly everyone is wearing a hat.
An automobile with license plate 42156 heads down Broadway. Though the car may not be brand new, the license number indicates the plate is from about 1906. You had to beware when crossing the streets. There were no stop signs or traffic signals.
One of the things that remains the same today is advertising on buildings. Here several signs compete for attention. Above White’s Restaurant are Brown & Jacobs, tailors. They advertise that they are looking for “first class coat makers.” Cohen’s typewriter agency is here if you need to buy or rent a typewriter.
A man sits on the window sill next to the sign for Ames & Co. that part of the floor is available for rent.
We don’t know the date, but a clock on 26th Street shows the time. It;s not very, clear but it appears to be either a little after 1 or 4 P.M..
One unsolvable mystery: what is under the tarp on the delivery cart this woman is examining? Could it be a piano?
