Note: This article pertaining to Vintage Film Footage of New York City From as Early as 1896 — and… was originally published on Sunday, October 18, 2015 at 5:58 in the afternoon and has been updated.
Having been born and raised in Brooklyn, I enjoyed the parts of the movie where sound was not necessary as I saw familiar neighborhoods in Brooklyn, recognizing the streets and the elevated subway — I know, that is an oxymoron — lines which plied through parts of that populous borough. I saw stores which no longer exist; old logos of existing companies; bygone fashions of what people wore at that time; and shiny huge cars with chrome and fins which any vintage automobile collector these days would salivate to have…
Vintage Film Footage of New York City From as Early as 1896
…so you can imagine how interested I was when I found out about this video of vintage film footage of New York dating back to as early as 1896.
This video contains what is arguably the oldest footage of New York City — including parts of Brooklyn, which was a true bonus for me — and updated with markers from the present day to show as closely as possible where the camera was located.
By the way, the video is arguably incorrect: Bergen Beach — located in the southeastern area of Brooklyn — is not near Coney Island.
Many establishments, businesses, and landmarks in the city of New York that are included in the aforementioned video still exist — and even thrive — today…
…such as Katz’s Delicatessen…
…and Nathan’s Famous frankfurters in Coney Island.
While I was still living in Brooklyn, I had purchased a book comparing photographs of New York from years gone by to the present day; and now videos and photographs have been created which have a similar theme — even though they are not related to that book, which I still have in my possession. This is one of many examples of those videos.
My Own Personal Film
While rummaging through my belongings, I found a video tape which my brother and I had compiled from the film reels of what my father had shot when he had a shiny new movie camera with which to film; and the video tape was presented to my grandparents on their 50th wedding anniversary.
In fact, I shot a video of my grandparents watching that video tape of those old films for the first time some years ago. Both of my grandparents are since deceased…
…so when I found that video, I transferred it to a DVD disc and watched it. The footage was from 1960 — years before I was born — and it was in color, which was unusual for home movies at that time due to color movie film being expensive.
Unfortunately, no sound was included in the video.
Final Boarding Call
The reason why I like comparing photographs and footage of New York from years ago with those from recent years is because I find it amazing how much things have changed due to progress — and despite that, yet how much still remains the same. The Flatiron Building on that famous sharp corner of Fifth Avenue and Broadway on the south side of East 23 Street is an excellent example: included in the aforementioned video are photographs of that iconic structure from 1902 and 2014. The building itself has not changed — as if time stood still — yet the surrounding area has completely changed over the years…
…which means that the Flatiron Building is only one of many areas of New York where you can “go back in time” to see what people in the 19th and 20th — and sometimes 18th — centuries saw.
Having been to Egypt, shrugging off seeing something from as many as 300 years ago is easy when one can see and touch — and even go inside — structures from thousands of years ago; plus, structures which have been manufactured and built by human beings that have been around for hundreds or thousands of years exist in many places around the world today. Malta is one of those places, where I had visited some of the oldest known man-made structures — many of which are ruins today…
…but the development of cities on the North American continent is relatively new to those from much of the rest of the world; and New York is my original home. It is one of my favorite cities in the world of which there is plenty to explore; and I am proud to be from New York — including and especially Brooklyn.
I hope that you enjoy the videos and photographs; and if you have any suggestions for other videos and photographs which you believe should be highlighted — New York does not necessarily need to be the topic — please post them in the Comments section below…
…and if you have some personal experiences of New York which you would like to share, I am interested in reading those as well.
All photographs ©2007 by Brian Cohen.
