Text and Photographs by Stephen Harmon
This is it, my friends, the final post in the yearlong Throwback Thursday series of photographs documenting the vanished decades of the 1970s and 80s on the Upper West Side. Here are more — and I mean more! — of my favorite photos.
And if you ever get a yen, you can always view the entire series — HERE.
May you always find something to enjoy.
Steve
Stephen Harmon is a longtime Upper West Sider, a retired lawyer, and a world-class photographer whose work is on display in many of the city’s museums, including The Museum of the City of New York, The Brooklyn Museum, New York Historical, and The New York Public Library.
Check out our audio interview with Stephen Harmon on Rag Radio — HERE.
New! See all Throwback Thursdays — HERE.
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H&H!!!!
Thank you, yet again, for sharing all of these. They are a brilliant time capsule!
John the accordionist. I do think about him from time to time.
I can’t thank you and WSR enough for posting all these wonderful photos, proving once again that the UWS was a smart, eclectic village where regular people could afford to shop and live. Nothing lasts forever.
Last but not least! Thanks so much for the great finale and the many great Throwback Thursday photos you shared with us. This column was truly one of the WSR’s most special and unique features.
This might be my favorite collection! Thank you! 🧡
Thank you Stephen for having the foresight to document that precious era.
Hmmph. No Hungarian Rendezvous.
I’ve been looking for a lost Hungarian restaurant in the 80s on Broadway. Was the one you mention it?
Ah! Back when Zabar’s was open until 11 pm or 12 am on a Saturday night. 🙂
Back when Zabar’s was full of wonderful smells.
What did they use to package their foods before all the plastic?
New York, the city that now closes at 8 pm 🙁
What a gift you’ve given us, Steven. Thanks for letting us see the UWS through your eyes — the beauty, the humor, the pathos, the quirkiness. And maybe, in the process, you’ve taught us something about observing the world around us. If you ever decide to do a series on, say, 2000-20010….
Yes !!
Snow that’s accumulated. How not the last dozen years.
There won’t be any more?
BTW, years back at my suggestion to the Rag, I suggested TBT. Just an FYI.
So I’m proud.
I think I remember the squeeze box player. He sat on the sidewalk outside D’Agostino’s/Fairway on Broadway between 74th and 75th. He was always well supplied with coffee and rolls. He would get progressively worse due to his alcoholism. He’d disappear and we’d worry that he’d died. Then, weeks later, he’d be back in his old spot after a bout of rehab. Over and over, until one time he didn’t come back….
What an amazing cache of photos, and a historical keepsake of Upprr Westside Manhattan. Thanks for sharing and reviving memories.
Thank you for these, and for the whole series! Loved them all.
Those glittery teeny glasses, though, totally makes one think about seeing only the ‘half-glass’ … for there is no way one has a full field of vision through them little bitty holes, bedecked though they are! 😉 Love these photos (and admit I had the same gray shoes like the lady by the flower shop … all I can say is that she’s got young taste! 😉 )
All good things come to an end.
Throw Back Thursday will n
Be missed.
I thought last week was the finale, so this is the most wonderful surprise! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!
Thank you so much for sharing your artistic and fun photos with us on WSR. I have looked forward to Throwback Thursdays and will miss seeing new sets of photos. I am now the age of some of the elderly ladies you photographed and that is quite sobering! Good luck to you on your next endeavor.
Well you can see where the inspiration for the Coneheads on SNL might have come from.
Steven,
The source for the SN (the real name, “Live” came later) cone heads was a trip Aykroyd and some other cast members took to Easter Island.
I call that photo ” Saturday Morning Astronauts”
I’ve commented many times before, yet I want to thank you again for sharing your photos. These small masterworks have brought to life emotions from that period, much as a certain song can bring you right back, reliving the sights smells, and state of mind. You are a true artist.
Side note…. I couldn’t help but notice over these many months that you are particularly fond of the Broadway-72nd St. area. I can see why.
Thank you Steve! I’ve loved every one of them! Your photos stir that nostalgic feeling in us that can only be expressed with a sigh. You’ve captured so many memories through your lens. I am so grateful that you shared them with us.
Thanks so much for all the great pictures!!! I have loved them all!!!
Thanks so much for the entire series, Steve. They’ve filled me with nostalgia for UWS in early 80s. Appreciate so many shots of 72nd station & environs, having lived on W. 73rd during 2 different life stages. The Workbench, I’d forgotten! There was a movie theater next door or below where I saw My Beautiful Laundrette. Anyone remember that theater? Am I imagining it? You have a great eye & I love the photos from the ’70s as well.
I still have my kitchen table that I bought a Workbench about 35 years ago.
Certainly remember it. It was called the Embassy (I think). I waited in line there 3 times to see “Big” and then finally I just snuck in! Oops!
I loved that theatre. I lived on 72nd St. At 11:45 we’d say – let go to a noon show.
8th photo down: Embassy 72nd Street Twin
https://www.westsiderag.com/2025/03/13/throwback-thursday-a-sense-of-place-the-uws-in-the-1970s-and-80s
Thanks, Jay – and all who replied. That’s a great image of that short block as it still appeared in 1985. I moved back to W. 73rd 20 years later and it’s hard to believe there had been a theater there – playing 1st run movies like Fatal Attraction. So interesting to see the marquee – a snapshot in time. Back then we didn’t all walk around with phone cameras at the ready to snap anything & everything. So thanks again to Steve.
These pics filled my heart! Thank you so much for posting. Sorry to see this end.
Thanks for the memories.
thank you for this grand finale. every week, you made this native upper west sider (still here!) so happy.
Thank you for sharing your photos, Stephen. What an amazing treasure trove of pics. I love the one of the older gentleman sitting at the counter looking into the lens. I almost feel I’m interrupting his coffee time and he’s super annoyed. Then I thought, I bet this guy never imagined 50 years later, all of us random people would be looking at his pic on the internet. Little did he know, he would gain a few minutes of internet fame 🙂
One gem after another. Thank you so much for these precious glimpses into the UWS of my childhood.
Zabar’s when it was full of soul! Men in hats! Fresh-baked pastry demanding immediate attention! I think these are my favorites, too. Thank you Stephen! a very grateful UWSer
Can anybody identify the sad coffee shop (or candy store) in the 13th photo? The broken linoleum tiles, the piled-up cartons, the defeated-looking men give it a haunting Edward Hopper aura.
These photos really capture and reflect the NYC of my childhood. You have an excellent eye.
Thanks for the (truly wonderful) memories!
My favorites of these favorites:
Hot Bagel and Dance Studio
Pastry Shop and Hungry Customer
Snowy 72 St Station
Ice Cream Milieu
The Last One
Thank you, Steve!
Such a treasure trove. The commuter reading Barthes stands out once again — “Mythologies,” indeed!
I have lived on the Upper West Side since 1971, before Urban Renewal and the so-called gentrification of that part of the city. These photographs are poignant reminders of a bygone era–especially those of the elegantly dressed ladies of a certain age. How I miss the wonderful shops and hangouts–Eclair, Famous Dairy Restaurant, Royale, H&H Bagels, Charivari, Empire Szechuan (scene of many birthday celebrations), Alice’s Antiques, Pandemonium, and the many movie houses. But I’m grateful for those that have survived.
Thank you, Stephen, for the memories.
Why are you stopping? Don’t, please.
I grew up on west 62nd st
I grew up from 1960s til
Thank you so much! I love the photos of the older people who wouldn’t dream of going out without being “dressed”: hats, nice shoes, gloves, the works!
The man in the white fedora and blue suit is in front of Donohue’s (174 W. 72nd).
Thanks for these great memories. I didn’t realize how well I know my own neighborhood until I recognized a random brick wall!
When I see Stephen’s photos the word that always comes to my head is “real.” It’s a hard one to explain because of course we have to live in the current world, but there is just something much more, I dunno..”adult life”….about the way the world was back then. These days life can feel like a digital simulation where most things are geared towards the very young- candy, cookies, ice cream, sugary coffee drinks, etc. Everything has a gloss to it, including the people.
Hi Stephen
Your pictures of years going by of The Upper West Side have been so great to see.
And your a very talented photographer. The only comment I have is that a location would have been nice so that the viewer would know where these photographer were taken.
I found that I could tell where some of the shots were taken but not all locations.
It was a pleasure to see the bygone years of the Upper West Side. I still live there. Thank you for your work. I will miss seeing my old neighborhood.
Regards
Kathy Brady
Upper West Side
Love the person reading Roland Barthes in the subway car covered with graffiti. I wonder if the meanings of the writings surrounding them can be deconstructed to reveal underlying ideologies
These are real masterpieces. They also bring back great memories.
My favorites of the entire series. Thank you, Mr. Harmon!