Broadway Street Views (1899)

In 1899 the New York City newspaper company Mail & Express published A Pictorial description of Broadway a visual directory of the shops, theaters, restaurants and other businesses that ran along Broadway from Bowling Green all the way up to Columbus Circle. The result, as you can see here, is a 19th century version of Google's Street View, allowing us to flip through the images block by block, passing parks, churches, novelty stores, furriers, glaziers, and other businesses of the city's past. To see the captions and the details in the illustrations follow the links to the New York Public Library's Digital Gallery, where you can zoom in on any image.

The original publication and similar collections of historical images of New York City can be found in the collection of the Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History & Genealogy in the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building on 42nd Street. You can contact the Milstein Division by visiting us in person or by sending us an e-mail at histref@nypl.org.

74 photos | 1,462 views

items are from 11 May 2009.