Can you ID this NY street and/or photographer?

[michael_chatten]

I need some help locating any info about the picture I've uploaded to

my profile. I know it's of some street in Harlem (NYC), but that's

about it. I've had no luck contacting the webmaster of the site I've

dl'ed it from (They know nothing about it)

 

I'd like to use the picture for some graphic work, but need to get a

higher res image of it, as well as properly credit/compensate the

photographer or owner.

 

Thanks in advance<div></div>

[eric friedemann]

The image is certainly evocative of Bernice Abbot's "Changing New York" series:

 

 

http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/spe/art/photo/abbottex/about.html

 

 

http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/spe/art/photo/abbottex/cny0903.jpg

 

 

http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/spe/art/photo/abbottex/cny0787.jpg

[bill_knippenberg1]

Mike,

Is there a way that you can enlarge (zoom) on your srceen,

enlarge several times on a copier, use a magnifying glass or

loop, or project the image so that you can read the street sign on

the left side, the trolley car route sign, and/or the store names,

and then do some more research from there focus in on the

cross street? I can only zoom the text on my computer.

[icuneko]

Ah ... Woody Allen?

[emre]

One of the stores is called "Crawford".

 

If you have Firefox, you can use ImageZoom: http://imagezoom.yellowgorilla.net/

[steve_b3]

The store in the lower left corner has "United" on it. Additionally most streets in Manhatten are one way, ther cant be to many 2 way streets in Harlem, the only one I know of is 125th

[agardner58]

One-way streets...

 

Only problem with the one-way street theory is that this picture was obviously taken a long time ago. If its a cross town street (east-west), it could be 125, 135, 145, or 155 (they all go 2 ways if I remember correctly). I remember as a kid that there was definately 2-way traffic on 5th and Madison avenues, and probably others. This would have been the mid-1960s.

 

Looks like a movie theatre on the right side of the street a little ways down...if someone can see what it says it might help you get closer.

[thomas_sullivan]

this looks like a north/south avenue by the length of the shadows. It is possible to get long shadows from a southern sky sun on east/west streets in the winter but some of these people dont seem to have coats on, so I think I would rule out east/west streets.

 

Crawford............there is an independent book store called Crawford Doyle Booksellers (which is old enough to maybe have been around back then).............around 80th street on Madison (it's wide enough to have been two way back then, especially seeing as trolley cars were still used, but I dont know for sure)....which is considered Spanish Harlem these days, but Harlem may have been all encompassing back then, again I dont really know. Not to mention, I dont think trolley cars ran on every single street, so that should help narrow it down.

[thomas_sullivan]

by the way.........you should not be dl'ing this pic.........probably an infringement of some sort. You should be linking to the picture on the site it came from.

[subpopstar]

Michael - I don't know how much I can add, but the theatre two doors down from Crawford's on the right-hand side of the street is the Harlem. I can't tell what is playing, but the large dark letters on the white background clearly are H A R L * M to me. I'm pretty sure the undetermined letter is an E (not much mystery there). I don't know if it's a theatre, theater, or something else, but maybe that will help. Good luck!

[agardner58]

<p>I knew with a little luck I'd find the answer to this (well, part of the answer at least)! Turns out this is actually 125th Street between 7th and 8th Ave (north side of the street).</p>

<p>Don't know who the photographer was. Here are a couple of links, one of which has a photo taken a little further down the block showing Crawford, the Palm Cafe, the Harlem Opera House, and the Apollo.</p>

<p><a href="http://206.103.49.193/tars/htm/tars153.htm" target="_blank">Third Avenue Railway Site</a></p>

<p><a href="http://cinematreasures.org/theater/533/" target="_blank">Cinemea Treasures Harlem Opera House page</a>.</p>

 

<p>Cheers!<p>

[thomas_sullivan]

oh well, now ya know, never listen to me for directions in NYC ;o)

[subpopstar]

Andrew - Nice job!! Great second photo you found there. Thanks for sharing and clearing up half the mystery (location). Now Michael just has to find the photographer for the photo!