r/nycHistory • • 15h ago

Madison Avenue and 50th Street in Manhattan, New York City, photographed during the Great Blizzard of 1888.

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256 Upvotes

The Great Blizzard struck from March 11 to 14, bringing between 10 and 58 inches (25 to 147 cm) of snow to parts of New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. Sustained winds of more than 45 mph (72 km/h) created enormous snowdrifts, some exceeding 50 feet (15 m) in height, while roads, railways and telegraph lines were severely disrupted, bringing transport and communications across much of the region to a standstill.

Also called the “Children’s Blizzard” or “Schoolhouse Blizzard” because so many children were caught in the snow and frozen to death on their way to school. The children who made it to school were generally kept in the school by the teachers until they could safely travel home- days later. The official death toll is around 230, but some say the actual number of deaths could be over 1,000. (This is people in general, not just children.)


r/nycHistory • • 1h ago

Historic Picture The Women’s Rights Pioneers Monument in Central Park honors three trailblazers

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• Upvotes

r/nycHistory • • 1d ago

Historic Place Grand Central Terminal’s Four Faced Clock: Its History and the $20 Million Myth

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28 Upvotes

Did you know the famous clock above the information booth at Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan has four faces? It was installed when the terminal opened in 1913 and became one of New York City’s best-known meeting spots. “Meet me at the clock” is a familiar phrase for many New Yorkers.

The clock was designed by the Self Winding Clock Company, with Seth Thomas making its movements. Its faces look like opal, but they’re made of opaline glass, also known as milk glass. That’s why the story that the clock is worth $20 million is disputed. Grand Central’s official website repeats that figure, but later research found no confirmed appraisal by Sotheby’s or Christie’s.

Regardless of its price, the clock’s value as a historic symbol of Grand Central is enormous. Did you know its story, or have you ever arranged to meet someone “under the clock”


r/nycHistory • • 15h ago

Historic Place What story do Prometheus and the Rockefeller Center skating rink tell?

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5 Upvotes

The 2026–2027 season at the famous Rockefeller Center rink is now underway, marking 90 years of skating history. The rink first opened as a temporary skating pond on Christmas Day in 1936.

Above the rink stands Prometheus, Paul Manship’s gilded sculpture, created in 1934. In Greek mythology, Prometheus defied Zeus and gave fire to humanity a gift often associated with knowledge, creativity, and progress.

Above the building’s main entrance is Wisdom, a work by Lee Lawrie. Together, the sculptures suggest two connected ideas: the fire Prometheus brought to humanity and the wisdom that guides how it is used.

Had you noticed the figure on the façade when you visited the rink?


r/nycHistory • • 19h ago

1919. Old Penn Station. 8 Acers: 7th to 8th Avenues-31rd t0 33rd Streets. Mid-Town Manhattan. 11 Platforms, 21 Tracks. Torn Down 1963

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10 Upvotes

r/nycHistory • • 1d ago

A 1930s Photo of the 'Tricycle Gang' that Rides on the Sidewalks of Brooklyn

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403 Upvotes

r/nycHistory • • 2d ago

Historic Place What Queens looked like during the 1964 New York World’s Fair 😮

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170 Upvotes

r/nycHistory • • 2d ago

Historic Picture A woman using a public pay phone on City Island, The Bronx, New York, 1980. Photo by Ron Terner

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268 Upvotes

r/nycHistory • • 1d ago

237 East 79th St: An apartment building with the ‘modern improvements’ of 1878

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7 Upvotes
  • Access to Yorkville improved when the IRT Third Avenue subway line opened in 1878
  • The four-story building had two apartments per floor with running hot and cold water

r/nycHistory • • 2d ago

1919 'Welcome Home Parade. 369th Infantry; ' Harlem Hell Fighters'. They were denied entry in the 1917 'Farewell Parade', but then Proudly Honoured as Front-Line Fighting Warriors from WW1. Introduced 'Jazz' to Europe while there, it is said.

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100 Upvotes

r/nycHistory • • 2d ago

A woman using a public pay phone on City Island, The Bronx, New York, 1980. Photo by Ron Terner

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28 Upvotes

r/nycHistory • • 1d ago

Before Central Park, New Yorkers came here for a beautiful day out — Gre...

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0 Upvotes

r/nycHistory • • 2d ago

General Grant's first tomb in Riverside Park, c. 1890. Designed by Jacob Wrey Mould, the modest brick structure housed Grant's body until the permanent tomb opened in 1897.

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32 Upvotes

From The 1890-1891 New York Calendar issued by the New York Life Insurance Company.


r/nycHistory • • 2d ago

Heckscher, Central Park's very first playground, and at 1.8 acres, still...

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0 Upvotes

r/nycHistory • • 3d ago

Historic Picture Columbus Day parade, Union Square 1892

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14 Upvotes

Source New York Public Library


r/nycHistory • • 3d ago

Historic Place Metropolitan Opera House (the Old Met), Broadway and West 39th Street, Manhattan, New York, Josiah Cleaveland Cady, 1883-1967

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188 Upvotes

r/nycHistory • • 3d ago

Historic Place Abraham Lincoln and Child: A 1949 Sculpture in East Harlem

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36 Upvotes

Located at the Abraham Lincoln Houses in East Harlem, this bronze sculpture by Charles Keck depicts Abraham Lincoln seated beside a child. It was unveiled on February 12, 1949, Lincoln’s birthday. The monument connects Lincoln’s legacy of emancipation with the history and aspirations of Harlem’s Black and working-class community.


r/nycHistory • • 3d ago

Can you imagine a skyscraper on top of Grand Central? NYC almost let it ...

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0 Upvotes

r/nycHistory • • 5d ago

Harlem Shuttle, New York, 1947

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319 Upvotes

r/nycHistory • • 5d ago

Why is Central Park a maze?

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715 Upvotes

r/nycHistory • • 4d ago

grand central whispering gallery

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5 Upvotes

r/nycHistory • • 5d ago

MANHATTAN SKYLINE POINT OF VIEW 1968-1970 FROM FAMILY ARCHIVES

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67 Upvotes

Hey y’all! Hope you’re all doing well!

I’m making a documentary about searching for my roots, and I’m trying to identify the exact location where this photograph was taken so I can return to the same spot and film it from the same perspective.

Here’s what I know so far:

  • The photograph was taken sometime between 1968 and 1970.
  • Possible locations I’ve considered include a view from the Staten Island Ferry near The Battery, Morton Street Pier, the Lower Manhattan skyline from Governors Island, or a viewpoint from Staten Island or New Jersey.
  • I’ve searched the New York Public Library’s digital archives, but I haven’t been able to find a photograph matching both the date and the location.

Any historical references, archival resources, research tools, or suggestions that could help me narrow down the location would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you so much for your help!


r/nycHistory • • 5d ago

Cool 1970. Mom & Daughter Show off their Outstanding Spectacular Afros while out for a Walk

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66 Upvotes

r/nycHistory • • 6d ago

Annie Moore: The First Immigrant Processed at Ellis Island

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96 Upvotes

This statue at Ellis Island commemorates Annie Moore, a young Irish immigrant who arrived in New York with her two brothers. When the immigration station opened on January 1, 1892, she was the first immigrant processed there.

She was not the first immigrant to arrive in the United States, but the first to be processed at the new Ellis Island station. Between 1892 and 1954, nearly 12 million immigrants were processed on the island.


r/nycHistory • • 6d ago

Photos of NYC circa 1957-58

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202 Upvotes

My mother grew up in Manhattan, and took a bunch of photos as a 4th grader for her photography class. I pulled these shots out from among a larger pool, mostly of her classmates.