The 1940s: A Trip Down Memory Lane

The East River is pictured below Brooklyn Bridge, linking Brooklyn and Manhattan, on June 6, 1941

I enjoy writing my fun blog especially when I take my own photographs of New York. Occasionally I see something special “yes!” I must share it with my friends. So sit back and enjoy these pictures of New York in the early 1940s (no I didn’t take them).

Land and water: The Liberty Street ferry in New York City on September 27, 1941

It’s been 70 years since an Indiana photographer visited New York City and returned home with an amazing collection of holiday snaps. But Charles Weever Cushman’s pictures are even more impressive today, as they were taken on pricey color Kodachrome and look far more recent than they actually are.He went around the city taking photos of architecture such as the Brooklyn Bridge and other parts of the Manhattan skyline - and it’s hard to believe they were taken while World War Two was going on.

Lower East Side street scene on September 27, 1941

Daily life: This street seen from October 3, 1942, is just one from a huge collection by Charles W. Cushman

Pub: McSorley's Old Ale House, still open today, is pictured on East 7th Street on October 7, 1942

Around town: A portable soft drink stand at Bowling Green on October 1, 1942

Park life: A suited man walks through Bowling Green in lower Manhattan on October 1, 1942

Horse and cart: Men and boys are seen collecting salvage on the Lower East Side on October 4, 1941

Smoking: Three homeless people from South Ferry doss houses are in Battery Park on June 6, 1941

Compared: McSorley's Old Ale House in the East Village today, hardly changed from the above photo

McSorley's Old Ale House, generally known as McSorley's, is the oldest "Irish" tavern in New York City. Located at 15 East 7th Street in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, it was one of the last of the "Men Only" pubs, only admitting women after legally being forced to do so in 1970. Many of the areas have been demolished or rebuilt since they were pictured in 1941 and 1942.