Sunday, April 14, 2024

A portal

[419 West 36th Street, Manhattan, c. 1939–1941. From the NYC Municipal Archives Collections. Click for a much larger view.]

I have to imagine that if anyone with children lived in this building, life must have been a constant battle: “Stay out of the tunnel!”

The archive photo has no date for this building, but its construction must have predated that of the Lincoln Tunnel. The building is now gone, and if you type its address into Google Maps, you get, yes, a chunk of the Lincoln Tunnel. And if you type lincoln tunnel into Google Maps and make a U-turn, you can ride one of its tubes all the way to Weehawken, New Jersey, against traffic. Even Tony Soprano couldn’t do that.

Related reading
More photographs from the NYC Municipal Archives (Pinboard)

[U-turn: in other words, turn the little person around before moving forward.]

comments: 4

Anonymous said...

looks like a tailor sign on the second floor, maybe someone peering out the window too?

here is a companion photo

https://nycma.lunaimaging.com/luna/servlet/s/p95wh2

Michael Leddy said...

Good catches!

Anonymous said...

I think the below photo represents the opposite side of the street and direction from the one linked above

https://nycma.lunaimaging.com/luna/servlet/s/n4cv2h

Michael Leddy said...

It looks that way. With additional signage for crosstown traffic?