Homeless During The Depression
This scene is from 1932 along the waterfront. Our copy of the original news caption from the rear of the photo is incomplete. Continue reading
Old New York In Photos #148 – Homeless Shanties 1932
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Category Archives: History
Solving A Phone Booth Problem
A Little Person In A Phone Booth – 1977
Lake George, NY, Aug 5 – SHORT CIRCUIT
Three-foot high Ruthie Soucek solves her height problem by utilizing the shelf in a telephone booth at Lake George, NY. She is a member of a performing group appearing in this community. – AP Wirephoto 1977
Another slow news day photograph. So if a newspaper had some extra column space to fill, this photo and caption might appear. Unfortunately the photographer is uncredited. Continue reading
December 24 1892 – A Freezing Day & Christmas Charity From The NYPD
Police and Prison Officials Selflessly Aid A Family In Dire Need
120 years ago the social safety net was full of holes.
If you were homeless with children Elbridge Gerry and the Society For The Prevention of Cruelty To Children could temporarily Continue reading
Old New York In Photos #147 – Aerial View of Manhattan from Chambers Street 1903
Looking North Along Centre Street From Chambers Street 1903
This stereoview shows lower Manhattan looking north from Chambers Street, circa 1903. The main boulevard on the right is Centre Street. Continue reading
100 Years Ago Today The World Learned Of The Discovery Of King Tutankhamun’s Tomb
November 29, 1922 The World Is Told About The Discovery Of King Tut’s Tomb
Hussein Abdel Rasoul, a water boy for an archeological expedition came across something unusual. As he was swishing around sand to make bottles stay upright, he noticed the surface he had uncovered looked like a sculpted stone. It turned out to be a step. The first step leading to a blocked entryway.
Hussein the water boy wearing a scarab necklace found at King Tut’s excavation site
Hussein’s discovery occurred early in the morning of November 4, 1922 in the Valley of the Kings, just outside of Luxor, about 450 miles upstream of Cairo, Egpyt.
The expedition’s lead was archeologist Howard Carter who in the past had other significant finds under his direction. Carter was spending another year digging and looking for treasures, but without progress. Continue reading
Dramatic Photograph Of A Deadly Tornado – 1927
A Series Of Deadly Tornadoes Kill Over 300 Around The Mississippi Valley In May 1927
Catastrophic storms and weather events are not just a recent phenomenon. This 1927 news photograph has the following caption: Continue reading
Amelia Earhart When She Was A Child
The Young Amelia Earhart
Amelia Earhart As A Girl
Boston- Amelia Earhart, the daring Boston aviatrix who with Wilmer Stultz and Lou Gordon is at Trepassey, Newfoundland waiting for favorable weather to hop off in her tri-motored Fokker plane for England, is pictured above as a young girl. At left she is shown at the age of 3 with her sister Muriel Curtis Earhart, who is now a school teacher, and at the right Amelia is shown at the age of 7 years. photo: International Newsreel 6-5-1928
Amelia Earhart (b. 1897) disappeared on July 2, 1937. But she remains today arguably the most famous woman pilot in history. The newspapers that ran this photo back in 1928 were caught up in the birth of Earhart-mania. Continue reading
Senator John F. Kennedy Visits Former President Harry Truman
Kennedy and Truman In Missouri 1959
Library Meeting
In Independence, Mo. – Senator Kennedy, Democrat, Massachusetts, and former President Truman met at the Truman Library. Kennedy later took off on a quick tour of Kansas. Photo: AP wirephoto November 23, 1959
Though Kennedy said it was “a fine meeting,” Scripps-Howard reporter Charles Lucey noted that Kennedy was unafraid to disagree with Truman publicly over nuclear testing. Continue reading
Old New York In Postcards #27 – The 10 Tallest Buildings In 1939
Skyscraper Race – The 10 Tallest Buildings In New York City In 1939
When the Park Row Building was completed in 1899, the 31 story office building was the highest in New York and the world at 382 feet. Less than seven years later it was no longer the tallest, with the Singer Building soaring 211 feet higher than the Park Row.
Today the Park Row Building, converted to residences, is not even among the 100 tallest buildings in New York. And the Singer Building was demolished over 55 years ago.
The constant desire by developers to top one another has continued and accelerated in the past dozen years.
The skyline is being overtaken by mostly nondescript glass boxes dwarfing other buildings and eclipsing many of the classic New York skyscrapers.
As of 2022 the ten tallest buildings in New York are:
Rank Name Height Stories Year Completed Address
1 One World Trade Center 1,776 94 2014 285 Fulton Street
2 Central Park Tower 1,550 99 2021 225 West 57th Street
3 111 West 57th Street 1,428 85 2022 111 West 57th Street
4 One Vanderbilt 1,401 73 2020 1 Vanderbilt Avenue
5 432 Park Avenue 1,397 85 2015 432 Park Avenue
6 30 Hudson Yards 1,270 103 2019 500 West 33rd Street
7 Empire State Building 1,250 102 1931 350 Fifth Avenue
8 Bank of America Tower 1,200 55 2009 1101 Sixth Avenue
9 3 World Trade Center 1,079 69 2018 175 Greenwich Street
10 The Brooklyn Tower 1,073 73 2022 9 DeKalb Avenue (Brooklyn)
Recently looking at the 1939 World Almanac there was a list of the tallest buildings in New York.
Here are the top ten from that list-
All heights listed are the Almanac’s figures which may differ from modern estimates.
1. The Empire State Building is located on the site of the original Continue reading
Swim-Easy Bathing Beauties Head To Pasadena For A Beauty Contest
The Swim-Easy Girls On Their Way To Bard’s Bathing Beauty Contest In Pasadena 1926
This 1926 photo by Dickson & Thurber shows the Swim-Easy Girls on their way to Bard’s Bathing Beauty Contest at Bard’s Theatre in Pasadena, CA. Continue reading