New York City in Black & White

New York City in Black & White: "

34th Street. Note the building with the billboards who wouldn't sell to Macy's so they built around it.

There’s something about these old photos of New York that continually draws me back. I actually posted some other images from this collection by Berenice Abbott back in 2009 during the thick of the economic meltdown, which sadly many people are still dealing with. Abbott’s photos — which were commissioned by the WPA and are part of the New York Public Library’s collection — cover a large swath of New York life during the mid-1930s, another very difficult period in our country’s history.

Even though you may have seen these before, these photos are never a let down. To me it is interesting to see how much the city has changed and of course, how it hasn’t. You can see the complete set here and can own the book too, should you desire.

Under the elevated train. Beautiful.

The bread was warm. Note the fog on the glass.

Brooklyn to Manhattan.

Blossom Restaurant, 103 Bowery, Manhattan.

Penn Station.

What a damn shame they destroyed the old Penn Station.

Likely not easy to get to then either.

This could be my favorite image from the lot. Fulton Fish Market.

Downtown Skyport. That's the Woolworth Tower in the background.

Union Square.

The tin man.

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