Curated by Fine Print Art
History101.NYC is an ad-free learning resource available to the public at no charge. The project is dedicated to exploring New York’s fascinating past. We restore vintage photographs and prints that document the City's history and heritage. We also research the natural forces that shaped the environment, along with the people who formed the landscape and culture.
At the turn of the Twentieth Century, NYC was growing by leaps and bounds. The city would see many landmarks constructed during this era, including the Williamsburg Bridge, the Flatiron Building, Macy’s at Herald Square and Luna Park, which we know today as Coney Island. The NYC Subway system was also completed, and would contribute greatly to the growth of local businesses and the facility of commuting for the city’s now bustling population of 3.4 million inhabitants.
Vendors line up on Mulberry Street and draw a large crowd of shoppers taking advantage of the open-air market.
Artist Credit: Thomas Horner. Reprinted with permission. Library of CongressInterior view of immigrants seated on long benches and awaiting processing at the Main Hall of the Immigration Station at Ellis Island
Artist Credit: Edwin Levick. Reprinted with permission. New York Public LibraryImmigrants waiting to be processed at Ellis Island. New York had become a Wonder City and beacon of hope for people all over the world.
Artist Credit: A. Loeffler. Reprinted with permission. Library of CongressThe facility at Ellis Island was equipped with a dining hall which was often used to provide free food for weary travelers after their long voyage.
Artist Credit: Edwin Levick. Reprinted with permission. New York Public LibraryImmigrants ready for travel with baggages lined up at teller's windows marked money exchange.
Artist Credit: Edwin Levick. Reprinted with permission. New York Public LibraryA line of immigrants has passed all phases of inspection at Ellis Island and await the ferry to Manhattan where they will begin their new lives.
Artist Credit: Edwin Levick. Reprinted with permission. New York Public LibraryAn exterior perspective of Immigration Station at Ellis Island, with ferry docked at the adjacent pier.
Artist Credit: Edwin Levick. Reprinted with permission. New York Public LibraryA photograph of the piers at Wall Street with two large boats docked and a Colgate carriage with horses parked on the promenade.
Artist Credit: Unknown. Reprinted with permission. Library of CongressPhotograph of canal boats at the East River docks with Manhattan's downtown skyline in the background.
Artist Credit: Detroit Publishing Company. Reprinted with permission. Library of CongressPhotograph of a growing Williamsburg Bridge, spanning the East River and facing Brooklyn.
Artist Credit: Unknown. Reprinted with permission. Library of CongressPhotograph of crowds celebrating the Fourth of July on the shores of Coney Island.
Artist Credit: Unknown. Reprinted with permission. Library of CongressA picture of pedestrians on Mulberry Street, located in the heart of a bustling Italian neighborhood.
Artist Credit: Unknown. Reprinted with permission. Library of CongressChildren purchasing snacks from a street vendor on West 42nd Street.
Artist Credit: André Jammes. Reprinted with permission. Library of CongressA man with an eyepatch and facial scars asking for spare change from a passing pedestrian.
Artist Credit: Unknown. Reprinted with permission. Library of CongressPhotograph of a man selling flowers to customers, framed by large bouquets against the iconic backdrop of the surrounding buildings.
Artist Credit: George Grantham Bain. Reprinted with permission. Library of CongressPhotograph of a busy scene on the Bowery as pedestrians make their way across the street and under the elevated overpass.
Artist Credit: Unknown. Reprinted with permission. Library of CongressColorized photograph of a mother and daughter of the Lenape tribe - the last of New York City's indigenous inhabitants at the turn of the century.
Artist Credit: A.R. Waud. Reprinted with permission.Photograph of an Italian watchmaker's shop. An older woman reads the newspaper as a pedestrian observes.
Artist Credit: George Grantham Bain. Reprinted with permission. Library of CongressA woman buys flowers from a vendor in Union Square, surrounded by local children.
Artist Credit: George Grantham Bain. Reprinted with permission. Library of CongressA blind man asking for spare change.
Artist Credit: Unknown. Reprinted with permission. Library of CongressFollowing Cooper's death in 1883, Augustus Saint-Gaudens was commissioned to design a monument in honor of the great visionary.
Artist Credit: Unknown. Reprinted with permission. Library of CongressHenry Seigel's 14th Street Store, opened in 1904 on Sixth Avenue between 13th and 14th Streets.
Artist Credit: Unknown. Reprinted with permission. Library of CongressA colorized photochrom print depicting an aerial view of Bowling Green and its surrounding buildings.
Artist Credit: Thomas Horner. Reprinted with permission. Library of CongressPhotograph of the Grand Central Railroad Train Depot Terminal on 42nd Street in midtown Manhattan.
Artist Credit: Detroit Publishing Company. Reprinted with permission. Library of CongressManhattan's Columbus Monument was created by Italian sculptor Gaetano Russo as the city's 1892 commemoration of Columbus' landing 400 years prior.
Artist Credit: Unknown. Reprinted with permission. Library of CongressPhotograph of the old Croton Reservoir prior to it's demolition at what is now the Great Lawn in Central Park.
Artist Credit: Unknown. Reprinted with permission. New York Public LibraryAerial photograph showing Columbia University Campus looking north from Broadway and 116th Street.
Artist Credit: Unknown. Reprinted with permission. Library of CongressA view of Fifth Avenue, from the perspective of St. Patrick's Cathedral. Photograph includes the Vanderbilt family mansions.
Artist Credit: Unknown. Reprinted with permission. Library of CongressA view at the corner of 60th Street and Fifth Avenue, on the Southwest corner of Central Park
Artist Credit: Unknown. Reprinted with permission. Library of CongressPhotograph of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, founded in 1870. In the foreground a busy street filled with pedestrians, horses and carriages.
Artist Credit: Unknown. Reprinted with permission. Library of CongressTwo women passing a row of horse-drawn carriages as they walk alongside Madison Square Park.
Artist Credit: Unknown. Reprinted with permission. Library of CongressConstruction of the Flatiron Building by George A. Fuller Construction Company in 1902.
Artist Credit: Charles L. Ritzmann. Reprinted with permission. Library of CongressFamilies stroll through Madison Square Park, its trees framing the recently completed Flatiron Building.
Artist Credit: Unknown. Reprinted with permission. Library of CongressInterior view of Grand Central's waiting room, completed in October of 1900
Artist Credit: Unknown. Reprinted with permission. Library of CongressNew York Times Building Under Construction at One Times Square. Completed in 1904 to serve as the headquarters of The New York Times.
Artist Credit: Unknown. Reprinted with permission. Library of CongressRapid transit construction work at Union Square at the intersection of Fourth Avenue and 14th Street, New York City, June 8, 1901
Artist Credit: Unknown. Reprinted with permission. Library of CongressA perspective of Brooklyn from the Brooklyn Bridge, framed by a B.M.T. train and commuters in 1900.
Artist Credit: Unknown. Reprinted with permission. Library of CongressLocated at the intersecton of Bowery and Division Street, Chatham Square was an express station on the IRT Third Avenue Line. It had two levels.
Artist Credit: Benjamin West Kilburn. Reprinted with permission. Library of CongressAerial photograph of City Hall Park and surrounding buildings.
Artist Credit: Unknown. Reprinted with permission. Library of CongressA steam-powered locomotive awaits boarding passengers on the Bowery's elevated train line near Grand Street.
Artist Credit: Unknown. Reprinted with permission. Library of CongressCrowds of shoppers fill the busy streets north of 14th Street in the shade of the elevated train which once ran along 6th Avenue.
Artist Credit: Unknown. Reprinted with permission. Library of CongressConstruction worker perched 5 stories above the ground during the construction of a new building at Union Square.
Artist Credit: Unknown. Reprinted with permission. Library of CongressAerial view of the New Pennsylvania Station whose construction is nearly complete.
Artist Credit: Unknown. Reprinted with permission. Library of CongressView along waterfront on West Street with many freight wagons, street cars and the buzz of daily activity.
Artist Credit: André Jammes. Reprinted with permission. Library of CongressThe Harlem River Speedway was opened in 1898, inviting sightseers to enjoy the spectacular views of the new waterfront esplanade.
Artist Credit: A. Loeffler. Reprinted with permission. Library of CongressConstruction underway at the City Hall Loop. In 1904, the first subway train departed from City Hall station with Mayor McClellan at the controls.
Artist Credit: Unknown. Reprinted with permission. Library of CongressThe Williamsburg Bridge opened on December 19, 1903, at a cost of $24.2 million. At the time it was the longest suspension bridge span in the world.
Artist Credit: A. Loeffler. Reprinted with permission. Library of CongressThe original Whitehall Building was constructed from 1902 as a speculative office building designed by architect Henry Hardenbergh.
Artist Credit: Unknown. Reprinted with permission. Library of CongressOne Times Square was completed in 1904 to serve as the headquarters of The New York Times, which officially moved into the building in January 1905
Artist Credit: Unknown. Reprinted with permission. Library of CongressPhotograph of the New York Times Building. Though construction was complete, the New York Times would not officially take residence there until 1905.
Artist Credit: Cyrus L. W. Eidlitz. Reprinted with permission. Library of CongressThe bright lights of Times Square are not a new phenomenon as this picture reveals, albeit on a much smaller scale.
Artist Credit: Unknown. Reprinted with permission. Library of CongressThe City's magnetic personality continues to attract a growing and culturally diverse population. Travelers, migrants and fugitives would be drawn to its shores from across the ... Continue Reading
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