(July 31, 1913 – source)
1872- The Original: Grand Central Depot.
With the current project underway at Grand Central Station, we thought it would be fun to look back in time at the history of the station. The project, expected to be completed in 2016 and operational by 2018, will connect the Long Island Rail Road’s Main and Port Washington lines in Queens to a new underground terminal at Grand Central. This is expected to save LIRR travelers 30-40 minutes of commuting time each day! Scroll below to view Grand Central Station’s history in pictures.
Continue reading
This building, on the corner of Bleecker and Christopher streets in downtown Manhattan has a very important place in New York City’s history. The building was constructed in 1802 and is one of the oldest buildings in Greenwich Village! It was the office of John Randal Jr., the surveyor and chief engineer for New York City’s street commissioners. Randell designed the street grid plan of Manhattan in this building between the years of 1807 and 1809! He completed the plan in 1811. To view the map and read about The Commissioners’ Plan of 1811, click here.
Last year, The New York Times wrote an interesting article about John Randal Jr., how he surveyed Manhattan, and the perception of his work at the time. (He was arrested, sued and “pelted with artichokes and cabbages”!) Click here to read the story on www.nytimes.com.
Scroll below to view pictures of 329 Bleecker Street. We love how this 2-story house stands the test of time as its surroundings evolve throughout the years!
(1890- Toy Train. photo source)
We had so much fun compiling pictures for our blogpost “The Baby Stroller: A Visual History” that we decided to create another Visual History post. This time, we’re featuring children’s toys over the course of a century, from the 1890s to the 1990s. Scroll below and watch the way children play evolve from decade to decade:
- Drinking to the New Year- 1910
Scroll below for a collection of New Year’s Eve pictures from the last century. Happy New Year!
Continue reading
The FDR Drive is not only one of the fastest ways to avoid gridlock and travel between uptown and downtown in NYC, but it’s also a beautiful scenic drive along the East side of Manhattan. We love taking the Drive in the morning, as the rising sun sparkles on the river and reflects off the buildings.
Construction of the East River Drive (later renamed the FDR Drive) began in 1934:
[1934, Beginning construction of the East River Drive. Hugh Johnson, Fiorello LaGuardia and Robert Moses on Grand Street. source]
[First Rockefeller Center Tree, 1931]
This picture is of Rockefeller Center’s First Tree in 1931. Although the Rockefeller Center Tree Tradition didn’t officially begin until 1933, on December 24, 1931 these construction workers decorated a 20-foot tree for the holidays. The mess in the background is Rockefeller Plaza under construction. In 1936, this area became the ice skating rink. Below is a picture of this year’s 80-foot tree!
Watch this classic video of The Beatles’ first performance of “All You Need is Love”. The performance took place on June 25, 1967 on the BBC’s “Our World” special. “Our World” was the first live, international, satellite television production! For the historic occasion, Lennon and McCartney wrote “All You Need is Love”, aiming to create a simple song that could be understood by all nationalities. The live performance reached 400 million viewers around the world! The song’s message is timeless and the video is one of our all-time favorites. Enjoy and share with friends!
*Look for Mick Jagger in the audience! Also at the recording: Keith Richard, Marianne Faithfull, Keith Moon, Eric Clapton, Pattie Harrison, Jane Asher, Graham Nash and Hunter Davies. To read more about this performance at www.thebeatlesbible.com, click here.
Although baby carriages were invented in the 1700s (by English architect William Kent in 1733), it wasn’t until 1889 when the modern stroller was born with William Richardson’s patent. This patent changed the history of baby transportation! The important changes Richardson made were including independently moving wheels, which led to greater maneuverability, and the reversible baby basket, which could face both ways. Here’s the patent picture:
This is a picture of Times Square taken in 1931.
Below, a picture of Times Square taken 80 years later!
Leave a comment
1895-Herald Square (photo source)
Just a few days ago, Macy’s announced that it would begin a 400 million dollar renovation of its flagship store at Herald Square in the Spring of 2012. We figured that this was the perfect time to take a look back in history at Herald Square! Scroll through the pictures below and watch the streets, buildings, and people of New York City transform through the years. See if you can spot all the little (and big) differences with each decade!
The building that you see right in between 6th Avenue and Broadway is the New York Herald Building, which was constructed in 1894 and demolished in 1921. Notice how the sculpture (of Roman goddess Minerva, two laborers, and a bronze bell) from the top of the building is now on the ground in the same location. You’ll see Macy’s on the left beginning in 1902. On the right, the Sixth Avenue Elevated Railway, which closed in 1938.
This animation, set to George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, is from Disney’s Fantasia 2000. The cartoon is set in New York City in the 1930s. If you haven’t seen it already, please watch and share this brilliant video! It is completely mesmerizing. If you’ve seen it already, you’ll probably want to watch it again- we did!
