This is a very unusual map done by ‘Old NYC‘ site for the NY Public Library. Here is a map, laying out the city streets and locations. All over are red dots, indicating where there are vintage photos of that exact location. Actually there are some 80,000 photos, covering between 1870s-1970s.
Use your mouse to move about on the map to find a specific location. In the upper left corner is a plus-minus icon where you can enlarge or decrease the size of the map. Enlarging helps to find a certain location. Most of the streets are labeled.
Once you select a location, such as Manhattan at East 64th Street, between Madison and Park Avenue (near Central Park), click on that dot and up will come all the available photos of that place over the years. For this East 64th Street location of there were six different photos. Any known information on each photo is displayed to the right.
If you ever had relatives in Manhattan over the last 150 years, you will want to look up photos of the areas they worked, spent their recreation time or their home. Seeing the streets and area over the years in most cases really gives you a scent of changes or lack of changes. You will also, if lucky, view the scenes of shops, business, and neighborhoods, that your ancestors experienced.
Even if you had no relatives there, it is just fascinating to view these many vintage photos on OldNYC.
Photos: 1st photo – Verona Apartments, erected between 1902 and 1910 on site of old Baptist Church of the Epiphany (1882) at East 64th St. about 1911. 2nd Photo about 1932, Double buildings – brownstones, West 14th Street north side, west of Eighth Avenue, a double house probably built around 1850-1860s; it is on the maps as early as 1852. 3rd Photo about 1934 of Houston Street-East Houston Street, (entire left and the foreground of the right) west from (No. 270) but not including Ave. B. The triangular structure (No. 2-4 Ave A ) divides this street from East 1st Street, which the portion on the right becomes, when west of Ave. A.
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