A spatial interface to twenty essays on the objects and themes of the exhibit as well as the objects and landmarks
More informationThe important landmarks that stood at this important Broadway intersection over time and by site
More informationA look at the technical processes along with the men and women who made all these cultural commodities in New York
More informationHannah Wirta Kinney
Claire McRee
Kelsey Brow
Andrew Gardner
Kirstin Purtich
Kirstin Purtich
Claire McRee
Laura Kelly-Bowditch
Kelsey Brow
Virginia Fister
Martina D’Amato
Zahava Friedman-Stadler
Virginia Spofford
Virginia Spofford
Martina D'Amato
Virginia Fister
Andrew Gardner
Currier & Ives
Broadway, New York. From the Western Union Telegraph Building, looking North
1875
Hand-colored lithograph
20 3/4 × 26 3/4 in. (52.7 × 7.9 cm)
The New-York Historical Society, PR20.1875.1
Nineteenth-century artists frequently depicted the busy Broadway street scene, which appealed to popular conceptions of the New York street as a crowded and exciting environment. In this 1875 lithograph, Broadway appears in a state of controlled chaos. As policemen direct traffic, numerous horse-drawn vehicles navigate the street and daring pedestrians dart among them. The hectic street depicted here also attests to the city’s thriving economy: note the sidewalks crowded with shoppers and the wagons hauling lumber and hay into the city.
— Claire McRee