clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

When Trinity ruled lower Manhattan

Disney’s new headquarters site was once home to the church’s empire.

The elevated era

For 80 years, the elevated railway shaped New York City. Today, it seems a cautionary tale.

A walking tour of 1909 New York

In the footsteps of the first modern city guidebook

A ‘futuristic vision for Harlem’

What happens when a poet and an architect reimagine a Manhattan neighborhood?

The ever-changing Bowery

New York City’s oldest street is more than its skid row reputation.

A walking tour of 1767 New York

In the footsteps of the 250-year-old Ratzer Map

The transformation of Jackson Heights

The area’s origins as a planned community shaped its future as a neighborhood.

How five fallen Broadway theaters paved the way for a new Times Square

The `Great Theater Massacre` of the 1980s led to the destruction of five historic Broadway houses to make way for a hotel—and forever changed Times Square as we know it.

Before the World Trade Center

The rise and fall of New York City’s Little Syria and Radio Row.

Filed under:

  • Map

Map: tracing the path of 19th-century NYC guidebooks

To see what New York City may have looked like circa 1866, follow this map, which traces the parks, hotels, and other points of interest listed in three 19th-century NYC guidebooks.