Street Scenes

Casino Theatre, New York City (2)

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The Casino Theatre in New York City, around 1900. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

Theaters

The scene in 2014:

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A view of the Casino Theatre looking south from across 39th Street and Broadway. The theater was completed in 1882, but was closed and demolished in 1930 as the theater district moved its way north along Broadway.  At the time of this photo, the theater was playing “The Belle of Bohemia,” and the round sign on the corner of the building advertises that all seats for Wednesday matinees cost 50 cents.

Casino Theatre, New York City (1)

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A group of people waiting outside the Casino Theatre for matinee tickets, between 1900 and 1910. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

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The same location in 2014:

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Located at the corner of Broadway and West 39th Street, the Casino Theatre was built in 1882 and demolished in 1930. It was home to a number of plays and musicals, but over time the Broadway theater district drifted northward, and the Garment District expanded into this area, leading to its 1930 closure. In this photo, a group of people wait outside for matinee tickets on a Saturday.

Broadway & 29th Streets, New York City

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The view looking north along Broadway, just above 29th Street, after a snowstorm around 1905. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

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The same scene in 2014:

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I’m sure the “straw hats for this sweltering weather” really came in handy in the 1905 photo.  Not much has stayed the same along this stretch of Broadway – the only building I can identify in both photos is the one on the far right, although even this building has been altered in the past 100+ years.

Subway Station 23rd Street & Lexington Ave, New York City

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The entrance to the 23rd Street subway station on Lexington Avenue, around 1905. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

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The station entrance in 2014:

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The subway station is still there, but the elaborate entrance and exit kiosks are long gone.  The 23rd Street station was opened in 1904, along the Lexington Avenue Line, the first subway line in New York.  In the intervening years, this intersection has remained remarkably unchanged, even down to the “East 23rd Street” lettering on the corner of the building above the station entrance.

Dewey Arch, Madison Square, New York City (2)

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Dewey Arch at Madison Square, in 1899 or 1900. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

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In 2014:

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Another view of the Dewey Arch, looking up Broadway with Fifth Avenue to the right.  As with the previous photo, very little from the first photo still exists.  Even the Empire State Building, which is over 80 years old, wouldn’t be completed for over 30 years after the first photo was taken.

Dewey Arch, Madison Square, New York City (1)

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The Dewey Arch at Madison Square, in 1899 or 1900. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

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The scene in 2014:

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Built across Fifth Avenue in 1899 to commemorate Admiral George Dewey’s victory in the Spanish-American War, the Dewey Arch stood at Madison Square for just a year before it had to be taken down due to deterioration; it had not been constructed out of particularly durable materials, although it fulfilled its purpose as part of the parade and celebrations in 1899 to honor Admiral Dewey.  If it still existed today, it would certainly be interesting to see Fifth Avenue traffic trying to fit under it, so I suppose it’s better that it was taken down, anyway.  Very little from the first photo still exists today, although one military monument does appear in both photos.  The Worth Square Monument, visible in the distance just to the left of the Dewey Arch, was dedicated in 1857 in honor of General William Jenkins Worth, a New York native who served in the War of 1812 and the Mexican-American War.