Metro

New York City historical photo archive

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This circa 1983-1988 photo provided by the New York City Municipal Archives shows 172 Norfolk Street, which is now the Angel Orensanz Foundation, in New York. Over 800,000 color photographs were taken with 35mm cameras for tax purposes. Every New York City building in the mid-1980s can be viewed in this collection. Over 870,000 photos from an archive that exceeds 2.2 million images have been scanned and made available online for the first time giving a global audience a view of a rich collection that documents life in New York City.VIDEO: Never before seen photos of historic NYC

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In this Dec. 22, 1936, Works Progress Administration photo, a man looks at the Hudson River from the New York tower of the George Washington Bridge. VIDEO: Never before seen photos of historic NYC

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In this Nov 24, 1915 photo, the bodies of elevator operator Robert Green, left and Jacob Jagendorf, a building engineer, lie at the bottom of an elevator shaft. VIDEO: Never before seen photos of historic NYC

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In this April 18, 1936 police booking photo, Charles "Lucky" Luciano is shown. VIDEO: Never before seen photos of historic NYC

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In this 1918 photo, police work a homicide after children found the body of Gaspare Candella stuffed in a burlap covered drum out in the middle of a Brooklyn field. VIDEO: Never before seen photos of historic NYC

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In this June 5, 1908 photo, the Manhattan Bridge rises above Washington Street. VIDEO: Never before seen photos of historic NYC

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In this Oct. 2, 1930 photo, workers assemble bricks to build the roadway on 28th Street. VIDEO: Never before seen photos of historic NYC

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In this May 18, 1940, a man reads a newspaper on Sixth Ave. and 40th St., with the headline "Nazi Army Now 75 Miles From Paris." VIDEO: Never before seen photos of historic NYC

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In this circa 1890 photo, a pair of girls walk east along 42nd Street. Acker, Merrall and Condit wine shop delivery wagons are on the right and the C.C. Shayne Furrier sign can be seen on the roof overhead. VIDEO: Never before seen photos of historic NYC

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In this September 30, 1936 photo, a man hands a program to baseball legend Babe Ruth, center, as he is joined by his second wife Clare, center left, and singer Kate Smith, front left, in the grandstand during Game One of the 1936 World Series at the Polo Grounds. VIDEO: Never before seen photos of historic NYC

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In this Oct. 7, 1914 photo, painters are suspended from wires on the Brooklyn Bridge. VIDEO: Never before seen photos of historic NYC

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In this July 29, 1908 photo, workers dig in the street along the sidewalk on the north side of Delancey Street. VIDEO: Never before seen photos of historic NYC