New York City - As seen through the ages

Driving Around New York City in 1928

This 5 minute clip from 1928 shows interesting things about city streets and transportation modes. Please note the following:

• We might think that the red double decker tour buses on New York city streets are new. They were imported from London barely 20 years ago. But look carefully in the beginning of the film and you can spot an open mini bus with tourists sitting in it. The bus was operated by the Manhattan Sightseeing Company which took tourists to Harlem and Brooklyn. Their phone number was 7700.
• Note the shape of subway cars traveling on the elevated line, they are wide and mostly made of wood.
• The roadways have no stripes for traffic lanes or cross walks.
• Last but not least, the way New Yorkers cross the street has not changed in a century.

NEW YORK, THE WONDER CITY 1938

This 5 minute clip is a Lonely Planet guide to New York showing all of the city landmarks. The interesting thing in this clip is the commentary where views from the Brooklyn Bridge are described as sublime and China Town is called exotic.

The City - Moments of New York City

This 4 minute montage of New York City is composed by Eleksandar Grkinic of Serbia in 2011. This montage is hip with a good soundtrack and covers most of the city as we know it today.