Before the recession of 1969 helped send New York spiraling into an era of drugs, poverty, and violence, the city had one last decade of mid-century glory, at least on the surface.
New York in the 1960s was a city full of life and diversity, from the executives of Madison Avenue to the artists of the East Village – but it was also a time of turmoil.
Take a look at these amazing color photos from Edward Crellin to see what street scenes of New York looked like in the 1960s.
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| Cortlandt St. near Broadway (in the future WTC zone), 1960 |
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| Cortlandt St. near Broadway (in the future WTC zone), 1960 |
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| Cortlandt Street forward to Maiden Lane facing east from Church, Lower Manhattan, 1960 |
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| Entrance to the Jersey Central Railroad ferry terminal at the end of Liberty Street, 1960 |
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| Erie-Lackawanna ferry pier off West St. near Barclay St., 1960 |
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| Getting the Central Park ice skating rink ready, 1960 |
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| Liquors on Cedar St., 1960 |
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| Looking east from the Vesey/Fulton St. area through the heart of the future World Trade Center site, 1960 |
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| Looking east on W. 44th St. near Times Square, 1960 |
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| Looking north through the heart of Lower Manhattan’s “Radio Row” near intersection with Liberty St., 1960 |
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| Looking south from intersection of Cedar St. and Trinity Place, 1960 |
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| Looking south from intersection of Cortlandt and West. St., 1960 |
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| People walking through the Times Square area, 1960 |
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| View east on Cedar St., 1960 |
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| View north on Church St. just to the right of where the original World Trade Center was built 10 years later, 1960 |
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| Cadillac limos parked outside Rockefeller Center, 1961 |
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| View north on 5th Avenue from the Empire State Building, 1962 |
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| Battery Park, 1963 |
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| Looking north up 6th Avenue towards the Time-Life Building, 1963 |
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| Man sitting on steps next to the lion statue at the New York Public Library off 5th Avenue, 1963 |
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| Pershing Square street scenes, 1963 |
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| Pershing Square street scenes, 1963 |
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| Rexall drug store at the base of Grand Central Station, 1963 |
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| Storefronts at the base of the Commodore Hotel on 42nd St., 1963 |
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| Storefronts at the base of the Commodore Hotel on 42nd St., 1963 |
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| The canyons of Lower Manhattan, 1963 |
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| The canyons of Lower Manhattan, 1963 |
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| The Frick Collection on East 70th St., 1963 |
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| Times Square, 1963 |
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| View from the (now-closed) observation deck atop 40 Wall St., 1963 |
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| View of Rockefeller Center’s “Atlas” statue with pedestrians and vehicles passing by,1963 |
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| Herald Square street scene, 1964 |
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| Looking down at Herald Square from the Empire State Building, 1964 |
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| View east on West 34th St. towards the Empire State Building, 1964 |
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| Exterior of the old Penn Station during demolition, 1965 |
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| Interior of the old Penn Station during demolition, 1965 |
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| Interior of the old Penn Station during demolition, 1965 |
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| Looking east on W. 52nd St. near Broadway, 1965 |
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| Pushcart vendor somewhere near Midtown, 1965 |
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| Tenement buildings somewhere in the Hell’s Kitchen area, 1965 |
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| Tour boat cruise around Manhattan, 1965 |
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| Midtown street scenes, 1967 |
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| Midtown street scenes, 1967 |
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| Wintertime street view of the Guggenheim Museum, 1967 |
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| Mercedes limo waiting at curb in Rockefeller Center, 1968 |
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| Broadway near Times Square, 1969 |
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| Looking south on 5th Avenue past the Empire State Building, 1969 |
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| Looking west on 42nd St. near the Times Square area, 1969 |
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| St. Patrick’s Cathedral and the Best & Co. store at the corner of 5th & 51st. (Best & Co torn down a few years later), 1969 |
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| The One Times Square tower, 1969 |