Text and Photographs by Stephen Harmon
“If we are lucky, we will have snow,” my Florida granddaughter used to say, every time my children came to New York City in the winter. A snowfall, especially a big one, is transformative.
When we had snowfalls in the 1970s, 80s, and into the 90s, they were magical to me. Some were blizzards, with the snow piling up at night on cars, turning them into alien shapes and sculptures. The next day, the neighborhood was like a fairyland, with people happily cross-country skiing on Broadway and other byways. And how lucky were we with our easy access to Central and Riverside Parks, lying under a soft blanket of white? In the Central Park photo at Bethesda Fountain in February 1983, someone wrote the date in the snow.
Stephen Harmon is a longtime Upper West Sider, a retired lawyer, and a world-class photographer whose work is displayed in many of the city’s museums, including The Museum of the City of New York, The Brooklyn Museum, The New York Historical, and The New York Public Library.
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Wonderful pictures – thank you. I love this feature in WSR.
The world was a better place when more people did cross country skiing. What a wonderful way to get exercise and enjoy nature without the cost and crowds of downhill skiing.
thank you, thank you!
Hello Steve! How do I get in touch with you regarding buying pieces of your work?
Thank you!
Lovely photos but also depressing reminder that we are unlikely to see snowfall like this again here in NYC. Looking back at my kids’ UWS childhood pics, only 10-15 years ago there was just so much more snow. I truly miss it.
Thank you. Glad you like them.
I loved being in a lot of snow on the UWS! Riverside park, the Hudson river, the streets, it was play time. One year, I parked my old Toyota on the street, it snowed twice and it was totally covered and I could not remember where I parked it!!!! My husband and I went up and down a few blocks and scratched the snow away from cars to see if the color of our car showed up. And it did, in front of the Chinese restaurant on WEA that was in the Esplanade hotel! Special days! Keep sending photos.
What a wonderful eye you have, Steve! Beautiful photographs, as always!
Thank you for those kind words!
Can you give us the year for each photo?
Sorry, I can’t.
Great reminders and great photos; however, the problem with snow is that it’s beautiful when it’s coming down and for a few hours afterwards, but when it turns to black slush with no drainage in the gutters, it’s a major mess.
Thanks so much!
We’re overdue for a doozy blizzard
I wonder if there will ever be one? We might be done. New climate. Hope I’m wrong.
Wonderful wonderful photos. I’m a native New Yorker, grew up in the 60s and never moved away. How I miss the snowfalls, blizzards included.
I appreciate that.
When you woke up, you could almost hear it had snowed before you looked – the acoustics of New York were tamped down, softer.
PS Even if it there were a proper blizzard, is the lose/win of that 5 a.m. call (dread for a working parent, delirious joy for a kid) now just lose/lose . . . in the post-covid world, does a snow day mean a parent stuck home with a kid who’s expected to log in?
Sadly, there are no more snow days for public schools. They transition to online.
Great. Thanks.
I remember the blizzard of ’96. In the Summer I had moved into an apt on 96th & B’Way. Stashed in the closet was an ancient pair of cross country skis. “Who uses skis in NYC” I thought. I was surprised by the blizzard. This was before the internet was popular and 24 hr news. When I woke up I knew something was wrong. It was silent. I had become accustom to the roar of Broadway. I went and looked out the window facing Broadway; no cars, buses, nothing. Just a couple people skiing down the street !
I took the subway to work and I was the only one there. A big financial firm. they gave me a pizza & $50 for coming in. That was the only snow day I can remember on Wall St.
I have to think twice when I make fun of people constantly taking pictures. Selfies ARE dopey but these are FAB!
Thank you. Kind words.
Love all these photos!! Thank you so much!
Thank you!
Beautiful photos that bring back great memories. Thank you for making Thursday so special.
Thanks for your kind words.
Oh how I loved those heavy snow falls that would make the whole city feel like a fairytale. Great photos, great memories! Thank you so much for the memories you’ve so beautifully captured!
I appreciate your Comment!
How many of you went to playin the snow on the Great Lawn? Kids sledding, in Central Park, making snow people, having snowball fights with strangers. Cocoa after somewhere that was what my roomies and I did when there was a big snow,
I skied right down the middle of Broadway. It was glorious!
What magical pictures, especially the nighttime ones that evoke the stillness that descends on the city after a major snowfall. So clean, so peaceful (until it turns into icy gray slush).
I remember the blizzard of 1996. Got to miss a day of school. Snow piled up 6 feet high. The melting a few days later was not so fun though
Ah yes, snow, remember snow? Your snow scenes and all your throwbacks are wonderful and evoke such nostalgia! Please keep them coming.
People would never be allowed out on the iced over Central Park Lake today.
Parks police even stop people from skating on the East Side’s model boat pond when it’s solid/thick ice.
Love these! Is that very first sledding photo the hill up behind the Marionette House? It was my 90’s kids’ favorite :), I think I recognize the slope… so much fun! Thankyou!
Love these! Loved sledding in Central Park.
Just before my 4th birthday in 1964 we moved to West End and 92nd street. Grew up sledding on suicide hill. There was no fence around the playground then so our flexible flyer would go sliding onto the playground. Great times! (And less dangerous with no fence to hit!
It just doesn’t seem to snow as much as it did in the 60’s thru the 90s. Now the weather forecasters make a big deal if we have 5 or 6 inches of snow, back then that little amount of snow would hardly get mentioned
Suicide Hill is what we called it by the monument. Sledding down it was fun but dangerous. Reason we called it suicide hill. If you didn’t turn you would hit the fence of the park at serious miles per hour. I busted my entire face on that fence more than once & returned the next day.