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**

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