Broadway NYC

Columbus Circle, New York City

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Looking north at Columbus Circle, with the statue of Christopher Columbus in the foreground, around 1900. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

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Columbus Circle in 2016:

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Not much has remained the same at Columbus Circle since the first photo was taken; even the configuration of the circle itself has seen some dramatic changes. The one constant in both photos, though, is the Christopher Columbus monument in the center of the circle. It was designed by sculptor Gaetano Russo and dedicated in 1892 in honor of the 400th anniversary of Columbus’s voyage. When the first photo was taken, it was easily the most prominent landmark in the scene, but today it has a backdrop of high-rise buildings along Broadway and Eighth Avenue, including the Trump International Hotel and Tower, located directly behind the monument in the 2016 photo.

Broadway Looking South from Vesey, New York City

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The view looking south on Broadway between 1905 and 1908, toward the Singer Building, which was under construction at the time. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

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The view in 2014:

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When it was completed in 1908, the Singer Building was the tallest in the world, although it lots its title just a year later, when the uptown Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower was completed.  It was the headquarters of the Singer Manufacturing Company, of sewing machine fame.  It was demolished in 1968, and to this day holds the title of the tallest building ever intentionally demolished by its owner (the qualifications being necessary because of the destruction of the Twin Towers on 9/11, right across the street from the location of the Singer Building).  It was replaced by the architecturally-insignificant One Liberty Plaza, the black skyscraper in the center of the photo.  Because of its location opposite the World Trade Center site (the right-hand side of the building from this perspective), it received some minor damage following the September 11 attacks.  Incidentally, there is at least one building that is visible in both photos – the Trinity Building, with the cupola, visible just beyond One Liberty Plaza, was completed in 1905 and still stands today.