This late 1930’s short gives a glimpse into the city of New York prior to the First World War. The film was edited by Eugene Castle; the founder of Castle Films. Notable changes in the city are captured including the traditional double decker buses which were utilized until the 1950’s. Also much of the avenues were one ways until the early 1960’s. The film opens with a cruise liner approaching the New York City harbor (:18). An aerial shot of the black and white city skyline follows (:24). Lady Liberty stands erect on Ellis Island (:29). The intersection of Broadway and Bowling Green (:38) lead to images of Manhattan’s lower end (:42). Trinity Church is situated in the financial district of the city; opened in 1846 (:59). Federal Hall appears (1:07) opened in 1842. The two structures here are the Federal style building from 1703 and the current Greek Revival-style which was completed in 1842. City Hall (1:36) and the New York City Prison (1:48) follow. The camera pans over a bridge which the prisoners traverse to criminal courts (1:52). The Brooklyn bridge hangs over the city’s skyline (1:58). The Bowery (2:07); a neighborhood in the southern parts of NYC, was mostly impoverished during the 1920’s and 30’s. The area hit a revival in the 1990’s. Shops in the lower east side follow (2:15). This portion of the city is captured under construction as roads were being widened and houses were rebuilt (2:19). The Essex Market was once a hub for independent pushcart peddlers and open air markets (2:22). Mott Street in Chinatown follows (2:28). Traditional ceremonies are captured as a large dragon fidgets and flicks through crowds (2:36). Evening scenes in Chinatown show traditional dancing with swords (2:53). The Washington Square Arch; a Tuckahoe marble arch in Washington Square Park, was opened in 1892 (2:59). Art studios are captured in Greenwich Village; later to be known as the center of the 1960’s counterculture movement (3:04). The Flatiron Building (3:36) was one of the first skyscrapers, erected in 1902. A young couple marries at the Church of the Transfiguration in Manhattan (3:50). The Pennsylvania Station is captured in Beaux-Arts architecture (3:59). It was demolished in 1963. The Empire State Building was erected on the site of the old Waldorf Astoria Hotel in 1930 (4:13). The Chrysler Building stands at 405 Lexington Avenue (4:38). The Public Library (4:59) precedes a man feeding the notoriously friendly city pigeons (5:04). St. Patrick’s Cathedral is known as one of the most beautiful cathedrals opened in 1879 (5:22). A sea of New York City worshippers follows (5:27). A three minute walk from here is the Rockefeller center (5:42). Lady dancers rehearse on the rooftop of Radio City Music Hall (5:52). Ice skating is captured in the Rockefeller Rink Plaza (6:08) as well as on the frozen lake of Central Park (6:21). The Metropolitan Museum of Art is the largest art museum in the western hemisphere comprised of over two million works (6:50). Exhibits are captured within the Museum of Natural History (6:59). Columbia’s Morningside Heights campus follows (7:24). Riverside drive is seen after recently having improvements made upon it (7:29). This road lines the Hudson River (7:30). General Grant’s National Memorial (7:42) is the final resting place of Ulysses S. Grant and his wife; Julia Grant. The Riverside Church in Manhattan is captured with its 72 melodious bells ringing out (7:52). Harlem is captured (8:03). During this time period, Harlem was considered to be a place of rich artistic African American culture and activism (8:07). The area was ablaze with poetry, art and jazz. The animated youth of Harlem are pictured (8:16). The large White Plains Hospital follows which got its start as a small four-room hospital in 1893 (8:28). The camera flies over the Washington bridge (8:38). This is the only bridge running over the Hudson River. The scene fades to night with New York’s neon lights (8:58).

We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example like: “01:00:12:00 — President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference.”

This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com