Fifth Avenue, New York--The World's Greatest Shopping Street--Travel By Train. Lithograph by Frederic Kimball Mizen, 1932. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.09505

Another Miracle on 34th Street

November 29, 2023

Posted by: Jan Grenci

My latest Flickr album features a building that was once the tallest in the world, the Empire State Building. I particularly enjoy this photo, taken in 1933 by Theodor Horydczak. It shows the skyscraper on July 4^th, from Fifth Avenue and East 41st Street:

New York City. Empire State Building from 41st St. and 5th Ave. Photo by Theodor Horydczak, 1933 July 4. https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/thc.5a46438

Ever wonder what was at the site of the Empire State Building, at Fifth Avenue and West 34^th Street, before construction began in 1930?

The answer to this question is the original Waldorf-Astoria Hotel:

Waldorf-Astoria Hotel; Fifth Avenue and 33rd St. During Patriotic Event. Stereograph by Keystone View Company, 1917. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/stereo.1s07473

Joseph Pennell included the hotel in this street scene that he drew in the early 20th century:

Waldorf Astoria Hotel, Thirty-Fourth Street and Fifth Avenue. Drawing by Joseph Pennell, between ca. 1904 and 1908. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.12378

This photo from the Detroit Publishing Company Collection seems to be taken from the same vantage point used by Pennell:

Knickerbocker Trust Building and [Waldorf] Astoria, New York. Photo by Detroit Publishing Company, 1904. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/det.4a11677

Learn More:

Browse the Detroit Publishing Company’s coverage of New York City.
See more stereographs of the original Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.
Read these New York City themed Picture This blog posts: Taking to the Streets: New York World-Telegram & Sun Staff Photos, Through the Eyes of an Angel: New York Photos by Anthony Angel, and Bridges of New York: Spanning the Hell Gate.

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