Fine Print Blog

Evolution of New York City - Part 8 (1930-1935)

Posted on January 30, 2013

It's the most challenging chapter in New York's colorful history. The Great Depression has taken its toll on the city. With record job loss, homelessness and crime on the rise, it's one giant hangover after the wild partying of the 20s. Despite these trying times, there are still reasons to stay optimistic. Prohibition is overturned, making alcohol legal to serve once again, and not a moment too soon since a stiff drink is understandable within these circumstances.

The city's skyline also receives a major upgrade in the form of the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, and several other ambitious projects which herald midtown's art deco revival. There is still a ways to go however; while these impressive buildings inspire the awe of city dwellers for miles around, they are yet to be leased due to the lack of capital. The Empire State Building is jokingly dubbed "The Empty State Building" by disenfranchised New Yorkers, and shanty towns erupt throughout the five boroughs just as quickly as their Madison Avenue counterparts. Yet the city marches on as the populace weathers the storm, confident that better days are ahead.

1930 Empire State Building Begins Excavation

1930 Empire State Building Construction Begins

1930 Empire State Building Crane with Workers

1930 Empire State Building Steel Frame

1930 Empire State Building Construction

1930 Empire State Building Halfway Done

1930 Empire State Building Girder Connections

1930 Empire State Building Steel Worker

1930 Empire State Building Top Floors Construction

1930 Empire State Building Top Floor Construction

1930 Empire State Building view from Hudson River

1930 Empire State Building with Zeppelin Overhead

1930 Empire State Building Worker Resting

1930 General Motors Building

1930 Margaret Bourke White Photographs Chrysler Building Views

1930 Park Avenue from 55th Street

1930 Pennsylvania Station

1930 Queensborough Bridge Train Tracks Construction

1930 Rockefeller Center Scale Model

1930 Sign Truck

1930 Statue of Diana on Madison Square Garden

1930 Unemployment Line at 25th Street

1930 View from 63 Wall Street

1931 28th Street and 2nd Avenue

1931 34th Street and Third Avenu

1931 78th Street Trolley Tracks

1931 Akron's Skeleton

1931 Akron Zeppelin Stitching

1931 Akron's Hangar

1931 Akron in Flight

1931 Brooklyn Aerial View

1931 Brooklyn Elevated Train Construction

1931 Coney Island Packed

1931 Christmas Relief for the Homeless

1931 Downtown Skyline

1931 Empire State Building Construction Workers

1931 Empire State Building Topping Off Ceremony

1931 Empire State Building Completed

1931 Empire State Building at Dusk

1931 Empire State Building from Madison Avenue

1931 Empire State Building Opening Lobby

1931 Empire State Building Opening Observation Deck

1931 Famous Architects Dressed as Buildings They Designed

1931 Ferry on the East River

1931 George Washington Bridge Opening

1931 New York Giants Quarterback Harry Newman

1931 Paramount Marquee

1931 River House Terrace

1931 Rockefeller Center Under Construction

1931 Sandhogs Under East River

1931 Sea Plane in New York Harbor

1931 Street Acrobats

1932 8th Avenue Subway Opens

1932 Beverage Stand

1932 Chrysler Building and Traffic Light Sculpture

1932 Couple with Cadillac on 127th Street

1932 Empire State Building at Night

1932 General Electric Building Crown

1932 General Electric Building Facade

1932 General Electric Building

1932 The Job Hunt Continues

1932 Lower East Side Under El

1932 Midtown

1932 Midtown at night

1932 RCA Building Construction at Night

1932 RCA Building Construction

1932 RCA Building Topped Off

1932 RCA Construction Workers on Break

1932 RCA Construction Workers

1932 Rockefeller Center Construction in Front of Scale Model

1932 Rockefeller Center

1932 Shanty Town (Hooverville) at Redhook, Brooklyn

1932 Street market on Park Avenue and 123rd Street

1932 Queensborough Bridge

1933 Brooklyn Bridge and Lower Manhattan

1933 Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo in RCA Building Lobby

1933 Jam Session with Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway

1933 No More Prohibition

1933 Nut Club Hostesses

1933 Opening of New Manhattan Bridge Entrance

1933 People Crossing Williamsburg Bridge

1933 Raking in Central Park

1933 Rockefeller Center Completed

1933 Rowing in Central Park

1933 Smith and 9th Street Brooklyn

1933 View from Brooklyn Bridge

1934 Downtown Hudson River Piers

1934 Empire City Nightfall

1934 Fog over the East River

1934 Moscot's on Rivington Street

1934 Snowy View towards East River

1934 Grey's Snack Shop

1934 West Side Cowboy Clears Path for Train

1935 8th Avenue Subway

1935 5th Avenue Bus

1935 A Game of Checkers in Harlem

1935 Bloomingdale's on a Snowy Day

1935 Carnegie Hall Subway

1935 Chrysler Building and 2nd Avenue El

1935 Couple feeds pigeons at Central Park

1935 Gramercy Park West

1935 Henry Street Lower East Side

1935 Oak and New Chambers Streets

1935 Fulton Fish Market

1935 SS Normandy seen from State Island ship

1935 Classic Street Sign

1935 Times Building

1935 Times Square

1935 Times Square at Night