Through these old photos of NYC, we can envision a growing metropolis of the 1920s and 1930s, with buildings reaching for the sky and bridges and tunnels crossing the rivers. A twentieth century industrial revolution was transpiring in Manhattan, New York City and the world.
Many of these pictures of New York emphasize the new art deco buildings that were emerging over Manhattan, dominating the older buildings that preceded them. These buildings, inspired by designs of the popular art deco movement in New York and Chicago, created an intriguing contrast between old and new. The Victorian and cast iron architecture familiar to New Yorkers at this time, succumbed to the new look of art deco, resulting in a permanent change to the skyline of Manhattan.
Our photographer Joseph H. Sachs (1901-2000) draws us into this time period with photos of NY that entice us to become not just an
observer, but also a participant, with a feeling that you are almost living the times of the early 1920s and 1930s in New York City.
Please feel free to browse the many photos we have of Old New York and please
contact us with any questions you may have.
Historic New York City
