September 17, 2008
New York
The Brooklyn Bridge Promenade and Manhattan Terminal in 1907 amid a forest of billboards facing the trains. The domed structure is the New York World building. Detroit Publishing Company glass negative. (Click on image for larger version)
Anonymous Tipster, one of the commenters over at Shorpy, said:
What strikes me about this magnificent photograph isn't its quaint antiquity but its modernity. It almost seems to be a futuristic vision, or glimpse of another planet. Everything in view, with the exception of the sky itself, is man-made. Gigantic words and phrases loom above everything; plumes of steam or smoke rise into the air, produced by infernal machines. H.G. Wells or Jules Verne come to mind.
I think she's got it right; there's something about the photo that evokes the feel of the future, viewed from the perspective of a very modern, 19th Century futurist.
As with all of the photos at Shorpy, the detail contained in these large images invites close study; click on this image for a bigger glimpse of life in 1907, then head over to Shorpy for an even larger version, if you need even more detail.
I find myself inspecting the images, always wondering if I'll catch a glimpse of my teenage grandfather or my grandmother, a young child, with her parents in Brooklyn.
The site's a virtual time machine.
Posted by Mike Lief at September 17, 2008 10:16 PM
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Comments
I looked into the history of the New York World Building, and where exactly it was located. Using google maps street view, I tried to get into the same position as the picture, but was unsuccessful. However, I did see it's former location on google maps. The location of the building is now an onramp for the bridge.
Posted by: sonarman at September 19, 2008 05:16 PM