Top photo:  Prince Street, Soho (1985) by Matt Weber
Bottom photo: Carina on Prince Street, Soho (2013) by Katia Asthalter

click here to enlarge image

Empire State Building, 1931
photo source

I love this shot of the Empire State Building nearing completion in 1931.  The observation deck hadn’t been constructed yet so the photo was retouched to add it in!  
Here’s a picture of the same view 82 years later:

Empire State Building, 2013
click to enlarge | photo credit: Carina Zimmerman

The New York Public Library is the second largest library in the United States, standing only behind The Library of Congress.  It contains nearly 53 million items!  At the turn of the 20th century, the organizers of the library chose their location in the center of Manhattan on Fifth Avenue between 40th and 42nd streets.  These blocks were formally occupied by the Croton Reservoir, which was demolished in 1898.   Construction for the main branch of the New York Public Library began in May of 1902 and took almost ten years to complete.  President Taft attended the opening ceremony on May 23, 1911 and the library opened to the public the following day, May 24th.

Fun Fact: Did you know that the two marble lions at the entrance of the library have nicknames?  When the library first opened, they were nicknamed Leo Astor and Leo Lenox after New York Public Library founders John Jacob Astor and James Lenox.  Later, they were called Lady Astor and Lord Lenox.  In the 1930′s, Mayor Fiorello Laguardia renamed them Patience and Fortitude, stating that these were the qualities New Yorkers would need to survive the depression.  These are the nicknames they go by today.

I love these pictures of the library under construction!

1902-Exterior marble work : plaster model of the south end of the Fifth Avenue facade, looking north.

1904-Exterior marble work, seen from the corner of Fifth Avenue and Forty-second Street.

1904-Exterior marble work- east elevation

1905-Exterior marble work, seen from Fifth Avenue.

1907-Exterior marble work, Fifth Avenue facade.

May 24, 1911- New York Public Library on Opening Day

New York Public Library, 2011

Easter, 1913

2011

[Prospect Park Entrance, 1894 source]

The Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Arch located at the entrance to Prospect Park in Brooklyn was constructed between the years of 1889 and 1892. President Grover Cleveland led the unveiling in 1892. In 1894, Park Commissioner Frank Squire asked sculptor Frederick William MacMonnies to create the bronze sculptures to sit atop the arch. In 1895, sculptures of Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant were added to the interior arch walls. When Frederick MacMonnies added the Army and Navy sculptures in 1895, the arch was complete!

1894- Memorial Arch Without Bronze Sculptures, Prospect Park

1890s- Prospect Park

1890s- Prospect Park

1905- Prospect Park Entrance

1905- Soldiers' and Sailors' Memorial Arch

1928- Prospect Park Entrance

2010- Prospect Park Entrance

2012- Prospect Park Entrance

2012- Soldiers' and Sailors' Memorial Arch

THEN- 1894

NOW- 2012

Maypole at Seward Park, NYC (1890)

[source]

Click through for a photo collection of New York City children from 1890-1990!

Adults and Children Along the Lake, Central Park (1895)

Kids Selling Newspapers, NYC (1896)

Street Musician with Hand Organ and Children, NYC (1898)

School Duty- Seventh Avenue and 117th Street (1899)

New Playground, NYC (1901)

Mothers and Children Leaving West Side Day Nursery and Industrial School, NYC (1901)

Rockaway Beach (1901)

Girl at Door, NYC (1901)

"Limited express" - Railway in Central Park (1904)

Tenement Playground (1910)

Tenement Boy (1910)

Madison Square Park on a Hot Day (1910)

Four Children on a Sidewalk, New York City (1910)

New York City (1912)

Carnegie Playground- 5th Avenue, 1910-1915

Hot Day- Babies in a Shady Spot (1910-1915)

Farm for School Children (1910-1915)

Play Street Detour Sign- Boys Playing Stickball (1916-1920)

The Bowery as a Watering-Place (1919)

Bootblack, City Hall Park (July 25, 1924)

Children Playing in Snow, 50th Street Near 4th Avenue (February 19, 1924)

Children Playing in Harlem Streets (1930)

Children Posed in Rear NYC Tenement Courtyard (1935)

Fire Hydrant on New York City Street (1937)

Street Shower- 105th Street and Park (1938)

Children Sleeping on Tenement Fire Escape on Irving and Rivington (1941)

Lower Manhattan (October 3, 1942)

Children of the New York City Children’s Aid Society work on their victory gardens at the West Side Center (May 1943)

NYC Kids (1946)

Children Jumping Rope in NYC (1946)

Boy and Car, New York City (1949)

Bookmobile-Bronx Traveling Library (1950s)

Harlem, NYC by Leonard Freed (1956)

Times Square, NYC (1956)

NYC Mother and Child (July 1958)

Madison Avenue Shop Window (1958)

Kids Playing, Williamsburg (1959)

Skateboarding in NYC (1960)

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1960)

East 100th Street Kids (1966)

Playing in the Fountain (August 1967)

United Nations International School (January 1968)

PS 28 Kindergarten Class at New York Botanical Garden (1973)

Mulberry Street, San Gennaro Festival (1974)

Chinatown Crosswalk (Spring 1975)

Chinatown, Columbus Park (Spring, 1975)

The Prince St. Girls in Little Italy (1975)

Playground, Washington Square Park (1977)

Subway Kids (1979)

First Day of School (1985)

Riding the NYC Subway (1980s)

2nd Avenue Boy (1986)

NYC Swing (1987)

Central Park, Mother and Child (1987)

Harlem Baseball (1988)

Hotel Martinique (1988)

Hotel Martinque (1988)

South Street Seaport (1990)

Little Italy, NYC (1990)

Greenwich Village, NYC (1990)

Empire State Building (1990)

(Broadway, looking North to Union Square. 1891 source)

Click through to see the same view 121 years later!

(Broadway, looking North to Union Square. 2012)

[Union Square West- October 26, 1938  source]

[Union Square West- February 1, 2011 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.

Grand Central Station History

1871- The original Grand Central Depot opened.

1898- Grand Central Depot underwent renovations and was renamed “Grand Central Station”.  Three stories, a new roof and a new facade were all added (source).

1902- Only four years later, after a deadly accident, plans began to redesign all the tracks and rebuild a new station.

1903-1913-  Construction of the new Grand Central Station. In 1910, the old station itself was demolished and the new station was completed in 1913.

1954- A plan was proposed by William Zeckendorf to demolish and replace Grand Central with an 80-story building.  The plan was abondoned.

1962- The Metlife Building, originally called the Pan Am Building, was completed and opened in 1963.

1994-2000- After the MTA signed a long term lease on the building, Grand Central underwent renovations and restorations.

2007-  Construction began for the East Side Access project which will connect the LIRR to Grand Central.

1880

1896

1900-The Predecessor to the Modern Day Grand Central Station

Excavation for the new Grand Central Terminal

1910- Grand Central Station and Park Avenue Under Construction

Covering the Tracks

Steel Frame Under Construction

1911 Illustration

1913- Nearing Completion

1913 Illustration

1918

1919

1920's

1928

1937

1941

1946 Postcard

1957

1962- Pan Am Building Under Construction

The Pan Am Building (now the Metlife Building) was completed in 1962.

1980- Pan Am Building

1988

1995

1999

2001

2006

2007

2011

2012

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!

1925

1927

1929

1936

1960s

1990

1994

1997

Early 2000's

2007

2011

2011