What is the oldest photo ever taken in New York?
The oldest known photo taken in New York dates back to the mid-19th century. A historic image that shows a completely different New York. Here's the picture and its story!
The oldest known photograph of New York dates from 1848
- New York photos are everywhere on Instagram today, but that wasn’t always the case. Photography was invented in 1835 by French scientists Nicéphore Niépce and Louis Daguerre. Their process, called the daguerreotype, captured images on a copper plate coated with silver that was exposed directly to light.
- The technique spread rapidly around the world, and enthusiasm for photography has never stopped growing. The daguerreotype crossed the Atlantic quickly, and historians identify the oldest known photograph of New York as dating from 1848. Here it is:
The Upper West Side in 19th-century New York
- As you can see above, the oldest photo taken in New York shows a small wooded hill topped by an elegant house surrounded by a fence. This is actually what is now the Upper West Side, one of Manhattan’s most densely populated neighborhoods today.
- According to the American magazine Gizmodo, which tried to pinpoint the location, the path visible in the middle of the image is Broadway, New York’s longest avenue. It’s hard to recognize it as Broadway now.
The second oldest photograph of New York
- Before the Upper West Side daguerreotype was discovered at an auction, another photograph held the title of oldest picture taken in New York. This is also a photo of Broadway, but much further south. The image was captured in May 1850 in TriBeCa, at the southern tip of Manhattan, near Franklin Street.
- Broadway is being paved, and you can see several horse-drawn carriages. Don’t look for yellow taxis or the skyscrapers of the Financial District.
