Visualizing 19th-Century New York Digital Publication

The intersection of Broadway and Ann Street was often filled with genteel crowds drawn to such famous landmarks as P. T. Barnum’s popular American Museum, the luxurious Astor House, and St. Paul’s Chapel (the oldest religious structure in Manhattan). In 1846 lower Broadway was a bustling but respectable neighborhood, and its many attractions and services appealed to an emerging middle class. This hand-colored lithograph, however, presents a more subdued view of the street than would have been observed at the time, especially as the loud colors (and even louder music) of Barnum’s museum attracted attention and visitors. 

— Laura Kelly-Bowditch