A doorman stands near New York's Fifth Avenue in 1938, across the street of what later would become part of New York University. In 1935, during the Great Depression, photographer Berenice Abbott proposed an art project to the federal government called "Changing New York." Her work was turned into a book in 1939, and the high-resolution images were among the projects recently released for download by the New York Public Library. Travel south down Fifth Avenue, as Abbott saw it in the 1930s.
Berenice Abbott/New York Public Library
At the south end of Central Park, Abbott stopped to photograph the Squibb Building with the Sherry-Netherland hotel in the background. Abbott was a careful, technical photographer. When she couldn't find cameras or developers that achieved what she wanted, she designed and built her own.
Berenice Abbott/New York Public Library
The Sherry-Netherland hotel, center, is seen next to the Savoy-Plaza Hotel, right, in 1937. Abbott attended a semester of college in her home state of Ohio before running off to New York in 1918. From 1919-1921, she studied sculpture and supported herself by posing for photographers Nikolas Murray and Man Ray. Ray suggested she try photography for herself, and in 1926 she had her first solo exhibition.
Berenice Abbott/New York Public Library
In 1936, Abbott photographed the St. Nicholas Collegiate Reformed Protestant Dutch Church on Fifth Avenue and 48th Street. The church, which dated to 1628, was demolished in 1949.
Berenice Abbott/New York Public Library
Pedestrians pass a clock on Fifth Avenue and 44th Street in 1938.
Berenice Abbott/New York Public Library
Abbott looks west from the Seymour Building, at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, to get the daily hustle and bustle in New York.
Berenice Abbott/New York Public Library
Further south, from across Bryant Park on 40th Street, Abbott photographed the Scientific American and American Radiator buildings in 1935. The Empire State Building looms in the background.
Berenice Abbott/New York Public Library
Twelve blocks south, the ornate Fifth Avenue Theater sits on Broadway in 1938. On the building next door, advertisements promote fur and clothing.
Berenice Abbott/New York Public Library
The 22-story Flatiron Building looms skyward on Fifth Avenue and 23rd Street in 1938. The building was considered groundbreaking at its completion in 1902, and it was one of the tallest buildings in the city.
Berenice Abbott/New York Public Library
The entrance to the Salmagundi Club's historic brownstone mansion, seen here in 1937, is at 47 Fifth Avenue. The club is one of the oldest art organizations in the United States.
Berenice Abbott/New York Public Library
Three row houses, including one made of marble on the right, sit in the sun in 1936. Trolley tracks run past them on Eighth Street.
Berenice Abbott/New York Public Library
A few blocks down, between Eighth Street and Washington Square, a man in an apron walks through MacDougal Alley in 1936.
Berenice Abbott/New York Public Library
The Empire State Building is seen in the distance in this photo looking north into Washington Square in 1936.
Berenice Abbott/New York Public Library
Traveling into Washington Square in 1936, Abbott found a statue of Gen. Giuseppe Garibaldi, an 18th-century military leader who helped unify Italy. The monument was moved about 15 feet in 1970 so a promenade could be built in the square. Under the statue's original base was a glass vessel with documents from the 1880s.
Berenice Abbott/New York Public Library
At the end of Washington Square, Abbott found a double-decker bus. She went on to become a famed architectural and scientific photographer. She passed away in 1991. Read more: "The Unknown Berenice Abbott"
