Old New York, 1910's - Film 19800

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• published: 16 Jan 2015
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Excellent footage of New York City, most of which probably dates from around 1914; the final section, of a poorer district, may be earlier. It shows pedestrians, buses and cars along the busiest streets, several public buildings, the theatre district around Broadway, and finally a street market in a more working-class district. We look towards the intersection of 42nd Street and another street (possibly where 42nd Street meets Broadway, at Times Square): smartly dressed pedestrians, nearly all wearing hats of some kind, cross the road towards and away from us; on the right, traffic comes towards us, including an open-topped bus going to Pennsylvania Station, motor cars, a horse-drawn vehicle marked Plaza Express, and horse-drawn carriages. Pedestrians walk across, as a 42nd Street Crosstown bus passes rightwards across the picture. Pedestrians, many men in smart suits, coats and hats, walk over the crossing, while several motor cars and an open-topped bus going to Seventh and Fifth Avenues pass towards us on the right; among the pedestrians, a man in a cap stops and stares at the camera for a while. A view from a position slightly further to the right, as pedestrians continue to walk towards us, one man carrying a rolled-up rug over his shoulder; another bus passes rightwards across the picture; a group of boys in caps loiter on the right and look at the camera; an open-topped bus passes along in the background, as more pedestrians cross the road towards us. We look down a main street, with a nineteenth century neo-classical building on the left and more modern blocks next to it further down the street, a spire visible above one of them; motor cars approach us. We look beneath an Italianate covered bridge between two buildings, as horse-drawn carts carrying timber pass rightwards across the foreground, followed by motor cars and horse-drawn vehicles passing in both directions. The main street again, as cars move along the wide road towards us. We move down another main road, possibly Fifth Avenue, as pedestrians walk across the tracks in the road ahead of us. We continue to move along the street, further down now. The camera passes rightwards along a harbour in which a number of small boats are moored; a large steamer is visible in the background, with a large bridge stretching across behind. Black and white men in bowler hats work on a boat. We look through the Italianate covered bridge once again, as horse-drawn vehicles pass towards and away from us, and pedestrians cross the road. We proceed along a road, looking at the pavement on the right, behind which can be seen shop fronts advertising 'The Regent', 'James E Pepper', 'Alfred A kohn', 'Coca Cola'; a few pedestrians can be seen along the pavement, and three uniformed employees in great-coats and caps stand beside an open-topped bus. We look towards two rather ornate blocks, some cars and pedestrians visible at the bottom of the picture. We look over the edge of a park towards the corner of an Italianate colonnade; two cars are parked in the foreground; the camera moves up to the top of the building, where four small domes each crown a circle of columns, before moving down again. We look towards the eight columns and three large arched windows of the Grand Central Station terminal; buses are parked below and cars to the right; the camera moves up to the inscription at the top of the building. We move briefly along a street, possibly Fifth Avenue, which E.10th Street crosses, seeing cars and horse-drawn vehicles, and a street sweeper in white overalls. The camera moves leftwards over the impressive columns and steps of the Main Post Office; the US flag hangs from the top and the famous inscription, taken from Herodotus, can be seen: 'Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds'. We look down over Washington Square Park, with its statue of a boy, then look left towards the triumphal arch. A view down some steps towards a flagpole in front of some redbrick neo-Gothic buildings; at the top of the steps a girl plays with a younger girl in a pushchair, and other people walk past them down the steps. We proceed along a road that runs from south to north, either Broadway itself or another street in the vicinity, looking towards the crowded pavement to the right; we pass a bar, a cigar shop, Park and Telford, the Hotel Calvert, Hepners; a man in white overalls up a ladder cleans a neo-classical front; Monroe and a theatre can be seen ahead.