West Side Rag
  • TOP NEWS
  • OPEN/CLOSED
  • FOOD
  • SCHOOLS
  • OUTDOORS
  • REAL ESTATE
  • ART
  • POLITICS
  • COLUMNS
  • CRIME
  • HISTORY
  • ABSURDITY
  • CONTACT
West Side Rag
No Result
View All Result
Get WSR FREE in your inbox

Search the site

No Result
View All Result

AVAILABLE NOW!


HERE

Get WSR FREE in your inbox

THROWBACK THURSDAY: NEW TOOL LETS YOU SEE PHOTOS OF YOUR STREET THROUGH THE YEARS

May 21, 2015 | 9:32 PM
in HISTORY
21

76TH HISTORY
A photo of the West side of Amsterdam Avenue at 76th street in 1936 from the Federal Art Project. In the New York Public Library’s collection.

The New York Public Library unveiled an amazing tool on Thursday that allows users to locate old photos using a street map that can pinpoint exact locations.

Screen Shot 2015-05-21 at 9.31.12 PMThe map has dots on it that show the locations of the photos, and when you click the map it brings up the photo of that area and tells you the date. The tool does not include all of the NYPL’s collection, but it does have tons of photos, and covers just about every block in the neighborhood.

“The images all come from the New York Public Library’s Milstein Collection. While many photographers contributed to the collection, the majority of its images are the work of Percy Loomis Sperr, who documented changes to the city from the late 1920s to the early 1940s.”

So check out the map, play around with it, and let us know if you find anything surprising or exciting. Kudos to the NYPL for making great tools that bring history alive. They’ve also done some amazing things with their map collection that we wrote about here.

Share this article:
guest

guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

21 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
LMR
LMR
7 years ago

I love it!

0
Reply
Miriam
Miriam
7 years ago

This is truly awesome! Thank you for bringing it to our attention! Btw, I have been collecting old postcards of NYC for quite some time and have quite a few of the Upper West Side, mostly along Riverside Drive. Let me know if you’re ever interested in doing a little story. I can send you pictures of them. I find them fascinating!

0
Reply
Juan
Juan
7 years ago
Reply to  Miriam

Miriam – You should contact the NY Public Library and donate those pictures. I too have many photos dating back to the 20’s, and up that I am gonna let them know I have.
What a great website!

0
Reply
Ellie
Ellie
7 years ago

I love looking at old photos of cities – it’s amazing how empty the streets are! I was watching a film containing old footage of London in the 60s last night, and there was hardly any traffic – even in Piccadilly Circus, the Times Square equivalent. I can’t imagine what that would like now!

0
Reply
AC
AC
7 years ago

Excellent find! Thanks for passing on.

0
Reply
Lucien Desar
Lucien Desar
7 years ago

This is awesome! it is a lot easier than searching for streets in the search tool they have because it doesn’t always works but this eliminates that need. Thank you for the link!

0
Reply
Zulu
Zulu
7 years ago

This is so cool!

0
Reply
katherine
katherine
7 years ago

Love this, thanks for letting us know about it.

0
Reply
DaHa
DaHa
7 years ago

This is fantastic. I could get lost for hours viewing these amazing pics from the past. Love old NYC pics and this is a concise way of presenting.

0
Reply
nycissues.org
nycissues.org
7 years ago

A great collection of photos that show making and innovation are part of the spirit NYC.

0
Reply
Jean
Jean
7 years ago

The apartment building presumably on 88th & Broadway is actually showing 89th & Broadway. 88th street building at 215 is being built in the photo shown.

0
Reply
Ken J.
Ken J.
7 years ago
Reply to  Jean

You can make corrections of the text on the site.

0
Reply
lynn
lynn
7 years ago

This is life changing. Really makes you understand how fleeting our time on this planet is. Love it!

0
Reply
dcortex
dcortex
7 years ago

boy do i hope they invent GOOGLE street view 1969 with these pictures. Hell, I’ll take Street View 1970. How about a choice..its coming

0
Reply
ScooterStan
ScooterStan
7 years ago

Re: “So check out the map, play around with it, and let us know if you find anything surprising or exciting.”

WOW! I just found BOTH Judge Crater AND Jimmy Hoffa !!

(just kidding)

😉

0
Reply
Rosanne F.
Rosanne F.
7 years ago

Wow, this is great! Thank you so much for the link. I just spent quite a bit of time looking at UWS photos and correcting typos in the captions. OCR: good. Human eyes and brain: much better!

0
Reply
Peter Cleary
Peter Cleary
7 years ago

Love this. I found several pics of Barrow St and my old house!

0
Reply
Howard Freeman
Howard Freeman
7 years ago

Great stuff. What i would love is the history of the gargoyle on the bldg on the NW corner of 82nd Street and WEA. Anyone know?

0
Reply
Rose
Rose
7 years ago

I love this. It’s so nice to look back.

0
Reply
Richard Brennan
Richard Brennan
7 years ago

Great site. Wonderful old pics of my boyhood streets.

0
Reply
Richard Brennan
Richard Brennan
7 years ago

Wonderful pics of the streets I grew up on.

0
Reply

YOU MIGHT LIKE...

History: Automobile Accidents on the Upper West Side 100 Years Ago
COLUMNS

History: Automobile Accidents on the Upper West Side 100 Years Ago

January 27, 2023 | 5:43 PM - Updated on January 28, 2023 | 6:09 AM
‘Heaven on the Hudson:  Mansions, Monuments, and Marvels of Riverside Park’
ART

‘Heaven on the Hudson:  Mansions, Monuments, and Marvels of Riverside Park’

January 26, 2023 | 8:38 AM
Previous Post

OFFICERS TALK MAN DOWN FROM LEDGE ON 83RD STREET

Next Post

GET DISCOUNTED TICKETS TO NEW TASTE OF THE UWS FOOD FESTIVAL, MAY 27-30

this week's events image

Explore Your Favorite Subject

20th precinct 24th precinct american museum of natural history animals art bicycling bulletin central park closings columns community board 7 coronavirus crash crime development dogs events fdny fire food gale brewer helen rosenthal history jcc lincoln center monday bulletin morning bulletin nypd openings pedestrian safety photography photos politics public schools pupper west side real estate restaurants retail riverside park silver stars fitness snow sponsored subway upper west side uws

CITY NEWS

Brick Underground
City Limits
Eater
Gothamist
NY Daily News
NY Post
NY Times

LOCAL RESOURCES

Bloomingdale Neighborhood History Group
Central Park Conservancy
CB7
Community Education Council 3
Assembly District 67
The New York Historical Society
Riverside Park
West End Preservation

UWS Blogs

Bloomingdale History Central Park Blogger
North River Notes
Next Post
THE ULTIMATE GUACAMOLE BOWL, UPSIDE-DOWN CHAMPAGNE AND MORE AT FINAL FOOD FEST EVENT

GET DISCOUNTED TICKETS TO NEW TASTE OF THE UWS FOOD FESTIVAL, MAY 27-30

THE FASCINATING STORY BEHIND THE UPPER WEST SIDE’S CHALK ARTIST ‘HONSCHAR’

THE FASCINATING STORY BEHIND THE UPPER WEST SIDE'S CHALK ARTIST 'HONSCHAR'

RESERVOIR GETTING AN UPGRADE, AND WILL TEMPORARILY REROUTE RUNNERS

CENTRAL PARK RESERVOIR TRACK TO FULLY REOPEN NEXT WEEK

  • ABOUT US
  • CONTACT US
  • NEWSLETTER
  • WSR MERCH!
  • ADVERTISE
  • EVENTS
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • TERMS OF USE
  • SITE MAP
Site design by RLDGROUP

© 2023 West Side Rag | All rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • TOP NEWS
  • THIS WEEK’S EVENTS
  • OPEN/CLOSED
  • FOOD
  • SCHOOLS
  • OUTDOORS
  • REAL ESTATE
  • ART
  • POLITICS
  • COLUMNS
  • CRIME
  • HISTORY
  • ABSURDITY
  • CONTACT US
  • WSR SHOP

© 2023 West Side Rag | All rights reserved.