Tag Archives: Stereoview

Old New York In Photos #150 – 5th Avenue & 42nd Street c. 1875

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Looking North On Fifth Avenue From 42nd Street c. 1875

We are looking north along Fifth Avenue to the east side of 42nd Street.

When looking at these stereoviews it’s always nice to pin a date on the scene. While it is impossible to exactly date this stereoview, it is definitely before 1881.

During the 1870s, the nearest building at the northeast corner of 42nd Street, number 503 Fifth Avenue belonged to Levi P Morton, Vice President of the United States from 1889 – 1893 and Governor of New York from 1895-1896. Continue reading →

Old New York In Photos #147 – Aerial View of Manhattan from Chambers Street 1903

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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 →

Old New York In Photos #142 – Harbor & Skyline From Ferry

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Manhattan Skyline As Seen From A Ferryboat – 1910

This stereoview photograph taken for the H.C. White Company shows one of the many ferryboats that transported passengers across the Hudson and East Rivers.

We are looking east along the Hudson River towards the lower Manhattan skyline. A few  notable buildings can be seen beyond the piers and terminals. Continue reading →

Old New York In Photos #140 – July 4, 1860

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Independence Day In New York Watching The Regatta 1860

July 4, 1860 regatta at The Battery. photo: Anthony

Patriotism, Parades and Pyrotechnics

In 1860 a year before the nation was split into two warring factions, New Yorkers celebrated the 84th anniversary of Independence Day in glorious fashion.

The day proliferated with excursions, theatricals, balloon ascensions, salutes, military parades, fireworks and – a regatta.

Regatta derives from Venetian, meaning a contention for mastery or contest. The New York regatta held on July 4 was a series of rowed and sailed boat races held near Castle Clinton at The Battery in New York bay.

All of the photographs seen here were taken by the firm of E. & H.T. Anthony as stereoviews. Continue reading →

Old New York In Photos #128 – Madison Avenue & 26th Street 1870s

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Two Photographs At 26th Street & Madison Avenue c. 1870 & 1875

This first stereoview photograph was taken by the pioneering New York photography firm E. & H.T. Anthony around 1870.

We are looking west from the southwest corner of 26th Street and Madison Avenue. Continue reading →

Old New York In Photos #127 – Bridge Of Sighs To The Tombs Prison

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Bridge Of Sighs Connects The Tombs and Criminal Courthouse- c. 1905

Bridge of sighs over Tombs Prison photo Detroit PublishingWe are looking west from Centre Street to Franklin Street. Spanning Franklin Street is the Bridge of Sighs connecting the Manhattan Criminal Courts Building to the City Prison also known as The Tombs.

The name Bridge of Sighs comes from a bridge built in 1600 in Venice, Italy connecting the Doge’s Palace and the New Prison. The dubious story is that prisoners being transported from interrogation at the Doge’s Palace to prison would sigh when crossing the bridge upon seeing beautiful Venice.

The origin of the name “The Tombs” is tainted in apocrypha. Old prison guards at the original tombs building claimed that when the building first opened so many inmates committed suicide while in confinement that the prison was nicknamed The Tombs.

Original Tombs prison in 1895, Criminal Courts Building in background

By The Book

The truth is much simpler. Continue reading →

Old New York In Photos #126A – Times Square 1906

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Times Square 1906  – The New Hotel Astor, Olympia Theatre & Surroundings

Times Square New Astor HotelThis stereoview image of Times Square was taken by the H.C. White Company in 1906. Before The New York Times moved their headquarters here it was called Long Acre Square.

The view is titled, “New Astor Hotel and 20 story Times Building.” We are looking south from 46th Street towards the New York Times Tower. The flatiron-style building opened in 1905. The building was mutilated in 1965 when purchased by Allied Chemical. Today it is unrecognizable after it was altered again in the twenty first century to become a giant garish billboard.

Hotel Astor

On the right is the 500 room Hotel Astor comprising 14 city lots from 44th to 45th Street where Broadway and Seventh Avenue intersect. The 10-story Hotel Astor cost owner William Waldorf Astor over $7 million to build and furnish. The land was purchased decades earlier as farmland  by his great-grandfather John Jacob Astor for $100 an acre. The Grand Ballroom was a baroque masterpiece.

Hotel Astor Grand Ballroom interior 1904

After some labor related delays Continue reading →