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Lost Buildings Highlighted in 30 Years of Historic Image Archive

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This year marks the 30th anniversary of the start of our Historic Image Archive, which began in 1996 with an incredibly generous donation of several dozen images by then-Village Preservation President Judith Stonehill from the New York Bound Bookshop, which she co-owned. Three decades later, the archive now contains almost 6,000 images in 75 collections, and we’re celebrating this incredible milestone all year long. Join us this Wednesday at 6pm as I’ll be leading a virtual tour of the entire archive — its highlights, hidden stories, and perpelxing mysteries.

As you can imagine, its hard to sum up 6,000 images that range in date from the late 18th to the early 21st centuries, and come from scores of different sources, from celebrated professional photographers to private family collections, to photo-documentation taken over the years to memorialize then-current conditions, which now, years or decades later, represent important historic artifacts.

One of the most compelling types of images in the archive are of buildings which have since been lost. Here’s just a small sample of some of those demolished landmarks that can be found in our archive, many of which we’ll discuss and explore further on Wednesday night:

The Brevoort Hotel on the northeast corner of Fifth Avenue and 8th Street in 1954, shortly before its demolition, from the Collection.
John Spacely on rear roof of 23 Third Avenue (demolished) in front of mural on west wall of 5 St. Marks Place (1984), from the Peter Bennett: Early 1980’s East Village Collection.
The Whitney House, 7 Bowling Green (demolished ca. 1899), from the Evelyn Haynes Collection
Gansevoort Destructor Plant (demolished) on Gansevoort Peninsula, west of West Street (early 1990s), from the John T. Krawchuk Collection: The West Village Waterfront in the Early 1990s
“The Sphere” by Fritz Koenig sculpture at World Trade Center (1984), from the Robert Fisch World Trade Center and 9/11 Collection
Bogardus Building on northwest corner of Washington and Murray Streets, being prepared for demolition to make way for Washington Market Urban Renewal (1969), what was the city’s oldest cast-iron building. From the Edward LaGrassa’s Cast Iron Architecture of SoHo, Tribeca, and Beyond Collection.
Detail of abandoned buildings along the Christopher Street pier (ca. 1974), from the Jack Dowling Collection: Decay and Rebirth Along the Greenwich Village Waterfront in the 1970s.
High Line being demolished – 141 Perry Street in background (1962), from the Fritsch Family Collection: Dismantling of the High Line in the West Village
Penn Station being demolished, 33rd Street & 7th Avenue (ca. 1963), from the Carole Teller’s Changing New York Collection, Part I.
NY Tribune Building, Nassau & Spruce Street, demolished 1966 for 1 Pace Plaza. At 260 feet tall, when designed by Richard Morris Hunt in 1875, it was the second tallest building in New York. From the Carole Teller’s Changing New York Collection, Part I.
Loew’s Avenue B Theater, 62-66 Avenue B, southwest corner of 5th Street; demolished in 1968. From the Carole Teller’s Changing New York Collection, Part I.
Mark Twain House (SE corner of Fifth Avenue and 9th Street) prior to demolition, 1954. From the New York Bound Bookshop Collection.
Bible House shortly before demolition (1954), looking north from Astor Place at Fourth Avenue. From the New York Bound Bookshop Collection.

Explore our entire historic image archive HERE, and join us on Wednesday, August 26th at 6pm for our free webinar, “Thirty Years, 5,700 Pictures: A Guided Tour of Village Preservation’s Historic Image Archive with Andrew Berman.”

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