~ Never-Before-Seen Photos from 100 Years Ago ~

[MysteRy]

Moment in history:
The headline of the newspaper the man in this May 18, 1940 photo reads:
 ‘Nazi Army Now 75 Miles From Paris.’
This picture shows the corner of Sixth Avenue and 40th Street in Manhattan

[MysteRy]

The view from New Jersey:
A man peers across the Hudson River into Manhattan from his perch on the George Washington Bridge on December 22, 1936.
Among the known contributors to the collection was Eugene de Salignac, the official photographer for the Department of Bridges/Plant Structures from 1906 to 1934. A Salignac photograph, taken on October 7, 1914, and now online, shows more than a half-dozen painters lounging on wires on the Brooklyn Bridge.‘A lot of other photographers who worked for the city were pretty talented but did not produce such a large body of work or a distinct body of work,’ said Michael Lorenzini, curator of photography at the Municipal Archives and author of ‘New York Rises’ that showcases Salignac images.One popular cache includes photos shot mostly by NYPD detectives, nearly each one a crime mystery just begging to be solved. A black-and-white, top-down image of two bodies in the elevator shaft is a representative example.Although it did not carry a crime scene photo, the New York Tribune reported November 25, 1915, under the headline ‘Finding of two bodies tells tale of theft,’ that the bodies of a black elevator operator and a white engineer of a Manhattan building were found ‘battered, as though from a long fall.’The news report said the two men tried to rob a company on the fifth floor of expensive silks, but died in their attempt. The elevator was found with silk inside, stuck between the 10th and 11th floors.

[MysteRy]

The Third Avenue elevated train rumbles across lower Manhattan in this undated photo. City Hall can be seen in the background.

[MysteRy]

Hard times:
 An unemployed man in an old coat lays on a pier in the New York City docks during the Great Depression, 1935.

[MysteRy]

In 1936, the Triborough Bridge, which links Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx, was not yet complete. The Hells Gate Railroad Bridge looms in the distance.

[MysteRy]

Busy streets:
Men and women stroll a row of jewelry shops on the Lower East Side (right) and stand in line for bread during the Great Depression (left).

[MysteRy]

See how it’s changed:
In this circa 1890 photo, a pair of girls walk east along 42nd Street. Acker, Merrall and Condit wine shop delivery wagons are on the right and the C.C. Shayne Furrier sign can be seen on the roof overhead.

[MysteRy]

Building roads:
Workers lay bricks to pave 28th Street in Manhattan on October 2, 1930.

[MysteRy]

This circa 1983-1988 photo provided by the New York City Municipal Archives shows 172 Norfolk Street, which is now the Angel Orensanz Foundation, in New York. Over 800,000 color photographs were taken with 35-mm cameras for tax purposes. Every New York City building in the mid-1980s can be viewed in this collection.