Manhattan in the 1930s

These vintage photos will make you yearn for the Gotham of yesteryear

Picture of Lauren Hansen

by Lauren Hansen

February 3, 2016

.polaris__post-meta--date { display: none; } .polaris__post-meta--date.no-script { display: block; padding-left: 45px } February 3, 2016

When photographer Berenice Abbott returned to New York City in 1929after an eight-year absence, she was greeted by a gleaming maze of skyscrapers; the city had spent the roaring '20s engaged in an unprecedented construction boom. Inspired, Abbott dedicated herself to capturing New York's new face.

manhattan

Park Avenue and 39th Street

(Berenice Abbott / From The New York Public Library)

As Abbott began her exhaustive project, the stock market suffered a devastating crash. The photographer struggled to keep up with her documentation through the Depression. But she was awarded support in 1935 through the Federal Art Project, and in 1940, Changing New York was completed. In 302 photos, Abbott managed to capture a bustling and diverse urban landscape that was already home to some of Gotham's most iconic buildings, yet still had so much more room to grow. Below, take a peek at Manhattan as it was some eight decades ago.

Penn Station

(Berenice Abbott / From The New York Public Library)

422-424 Lenox Avenue, Harlem

(Berenice Abbott / From The New York Public Library)

Fulton Street fish market

(Berenice Abbott / From The New York Public Library)

Avenue D and East 10th Street

(Berenice Abbott / From The New York Public Library)

Seventh Avenue, looking south from 35th Street

(Berenice Abbott

28th Street station

(Berenice Abbott / From The New York Public Library)

Union Square

(Berenice Abbott / From The New York Public Library)

Rockefeller Center, Collegiate Church of St. Nicholas

(Berenice Abbott / From The New York Public Library)

Madison Square

(Berenice Abbott / From The New York Public Library)

Herald Square

(Berenice Abbott / From The New York Public Library)

Greyhound Bus Terminal, 33rd and 34th streets between Seventh and Eighth avenues

(Berenice Abbott / From The New York Public Library)

manhattan skyline

Manhattan skyline, from South Street and Jones Lane

(Berenice Abbott / From The New York Public Library)

**View the rest of the collection here**

Recommended

A picture of Joseph Augustus Zarelli.

.imgHideOnJavaScriptDisabled_https://mediacloud.theweek.com/image/upload/f_auto,t_card-mobile@1/v1670545930/AP22342625535219.jpg { display: none !important; }

mystery solved

After 65 years, Philadelphia police have a name for the 'Boy in the Box'

President Donald Trump frowning

.imgHideOnJavaScriptDisabled_https://mediacloud.theweek.com/image/private/s--BBw5r_GN--/f_auto,t_card-mobile@1/v1608567621/gettyimages-1132069246.jpg { display: none !important; }

Contemptuous behavior

DOJ wants federal judge to hold Trump lawyers in contempt

Incoming Gen Z congressman Maxwell Frost

.imgHideOnJavaScriptDisabled_https://mediacloud.theweek.com/image/upload/f_auto,t_card-mobile@1/v1670520357/GettyImages-1242932587.jpg { display: none !important; }

Frostbitten

Gen Z congressman can't rent apartment in Washington

Cherelle Griner speaking at the White House

.imgHideOnJavaScriptDisabled_https://mediacloud.theweek.com/image/upload/f_auto,t_card-mobile@1/v1670516558/GettyImages-1447679951%20%281%29.jpg { display: none !important; }

She's coming home

How the White House negotiated for Brittney Griner's release

House Jan. 6 committee

.imgHideOnJavaScriptDisabled_https://mediacloud.theweek.com/image/upload/f_auto,t_card-mobile@1/v1669881659/GettyImages-1243980664.jpg { display: none !important; }

'Twas the week before Christmas and all through the House...

House Jan. 6 Committee to issue final report on Dec. 21

Sunny Balwani.

.imgHideOnJavaScriptDisabled_https://mediacloud.theweek.com/image/upload/f_auto,t_card-mobile@1/v1670458999/GettyImages-1241763035.jpg { display: none !important; }

sentencing

Former Theranos COO Sunny Balwani sentenced to nearly 13 years in prison

Trump meets the press

.imgHideOnJavaScriptDisabled_https://mediacloud.theweek.com/image/private/s--NY1q1c79--/f_auto,t_card-mobile@1/v1608620104/gettyimages-1199979901.jpg { display: none !important; }

Oopsie

More classified documents reportedly found in Trump storage locker

doug emhoff hosting roundtable photo

.imgHideOnJavaScriptDisabled_https://mediacloud.theweek.com/image/upload/f_auto,t_card-mobile@1/v1670445836/GettyImages-1447440436.jpg { display: none !important; }

'Words matter'

Emhoff says the U.S. faces 'epidemic of hate' amid recent surge of antisemitism

Most Popular

Donald Trump

.imgHideOnJavaScriptDisabled_https://mediacloud.theweek.com/image/upload/f_auto,t_card-mobile@1/v1670394177/GettyImages-1441806060.jpg { display: none !important; }

Maybe it's a sign?

The 1st 3 weeks of Trump's presidential campaign have been brutal

Herschel Walker.

.imgHideOnJavaScriptDisabled_https://mediacloud.theweek.com/image/upload/f_auto,t_card-mobile@1/v1670389183/GettyImages-1447292114.jpg { display: none !important; }

letting it all out

Herschel Walker's son Christian says he made 'a fool' of his family during Senate run

Texas wind turbines, gas rig

.imgHideOnJavaScriptDisabled_https://mediacloud.theweek.com/image/upload/f_auto,t_card-mobile@1/v1670409906/GettyImages-1384385632.jpg { display: none !important; }

Don't Mess With Texas

Wind and solar power will top natural gas in Texas next year, EIA predicts