27 Strange Vintage Photos From The Annals Of New York City History

The German airship Hindenburg, swastikas and all, flies over New York City on the afternoon of May 6, 1937, a few hours before its historic, fiery crash in Manchester Township, New Jersey.
Waiters serve lunch to two steel workers on a girder high above the city on November 14, 1930, during construction of the famed Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.
The as-yet unassembled face of the Statue of Liberty sits unpacked in New York soon after its delivery from France on June 17, 1885.
The Manhattan Bridge during construction in 1882.
A horse-drawn fire engine at 72nd Street and Broadway races toward a fire. Circa 1910.
A car sits on the roof of Grand Central Station following an accident in which a car crashed through the barrier of Park Avenue and ploughed into the roof below, on the corner of 42nd Street and Vanderbilt Avenue. 1944.
From a board stuck out from the 54th floor of the Chanin Building, daredevil pole sitter Alvin “Shipwreck” Kelly balances on his head while dunking doughnuts to celebrate Friday the 13. 1939.
Manhattan’s Upper East Side. 1882.
French aerialist Philippe Petit walks a tightrope strung between the tops of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. 1974.
New York City Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia throws confiscated guns and slot machines overboard into the Long Island Sound. 1937.
Longacre Square, not long before it became “Times Square.” Circa 1900.
A window washer at work on the Empire State Building poses during a brief break from his duties. March 24, 1936.
A sanitation worker attempts to manage a mountain of garbage, which had accumulated during a citywide garbage strike. 1968.
Police attempt to enter the residence of the Collyer Brothers, a pair of legendary New York hoarders and recluses, after receiving reports of a foul smell coming from the house. They later found the bodies of the two brothers dead under a mountain of rubbish. 1947.
Workers at a brewery unload thousands of crates of beer, getting ready for the end of Prohibition. April, 1933.
During the Great Depression, much of Central Park became a Hooverville, a shanty town named after President Herbert Hoover, who was in office during the market crash and was widely blamed for the Great Depression. 1933.
Brennan Farmhouse at 84th Street and Broadway. 1879.
A woman dressed in only heels and a barrel that reads “I Did My Bit, Did You?” stands in Times Square. April 1945.
The promotion, organized by the United National Clothing Collection was part of drive to collect clothing and bedding for overseas war relief. April 1945.
The scene in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn after two airplanes crashed to the ground. The planes had collided over foggy New York harbor on December 16, 1960.
New York residents stand outside a giant mailbox stamp-selling booth in Times Square, while the Assistant Postmaster dispenses stamps from inside the booth. 1961.
People sitting on curb among ticker tape, confetti, and paper after celebrating the end of World War II on V-J Day. August 14, 1945.
In July 1921, a crowd reportedly consisting of approximately 10,000 men gather outside the New York Times building in Times Square in order to receive updates on the boxing match between Jack Dempsey and Georges Carpentier.
A streetcar lies motionless just after having jumped the tracks and crashed into a store at the intersection of Nostrand and Putnam Avenues. July 1931.
Revelers recover from New Year’s Eve celebrations on the steps of Grand Central Station. Circa 1940.
A Brooklyn youth swings a sledgehammer at the concrete cornerstone of Ebbets Field during an auction sale on the old stomping grounds of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Balls, bats, bases, and other diamond bric-a-brac were sold at the auction. The stadium had recently been torn down to make way for a middle-income housing project. 1960.
The New York City ballroom holds a stilt-dancing marathon. Due to the falling of some participants, the Roseland Ballroom owners called a halt to this contest after four hours. February 6, 1922.
Wilbur Wright, of Wright brothers fame, flies a Wright Type A plane by the Statue of Liberty as part of a demonstration. 1909.

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