Daily News - now & then

The Daily News : Now & Then by Marc A.Hermann – are photo composites from the archives of the New York’s picture newspaper.

This project was originally inspired by the early visual sleuthing of William Frassanito who sought out locations of photographs taken on the Gettysburg battlefield. Since then, the work of people like Sergey Larenkov (my post on Sergey) who blend historic pictures of war-torn Europe with modern-day views of the same locations has brought the concept of 'then-and-now' into the digital age.
Marc Hermann who was born and raised in Brooklyn is a professional photographer and official historian of the New York Press Photographers Association. Having covered breaking news since 1997, he has shot various locations throughout the city where both the momentous and routine had occurred. Using the Daily News' massive photo archive he combined the modern scenes with the vintage images that had been made at those sites. 
Marc recalls that a common reaction of passers-by when they were shown the original pictures of what had once transpired at the places where they now walked was "I had no idea...". Most importantly, to him, is that work of his predecessors' work is getting another look. It is his way of reminding people that they are part of the same continuum of time, and by seeing these sites in a familiar, modern way, that the 'then' of history is also a 'now'.
Sourcing his pictures from newspaper files means that there are many dramatic shots of fires, crashes and other 'news worthy' articles, like - 

497 Dean St, Brooklyn on 19th March 1942

 Edna Egbert had not heard from her son since his enlistment, she became distraught and climbed onto her ledge. Police officers Ed Murphy & George Munday distracted her so she could be pushed into a safety net. (Original photographer Charles Payne).

Corner of Hicks & Summit Sts, Brooklyn on 11th January 1951

The bells in the steeple rang out even as the flames consumed the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary one chilly afternoon. The 90 year old landmark was practically destroyed by the blaze, it was rebuilt and is still standing (Original photographer Paul Bernius).

Classon Ave & Pacific St, Brooklyn on 28th July 1957

 A recently released inmate of the Brooklyn House of Detention stole a car with two friends, but they came to a crashing stop against a light pole at the intersection. The auto body shop in the background is still in business but relocated across the road (Original photographer Paul Bernius).

137 Wooster St, Manhattan on 16th February 1958 

 A massive fire in the Elkins Paper & Twine Co claimed the lives of 2 firefighters and 4 members of the New York Fire Patrol. The building was a total loss and was demolished (Original photographer Charles Payne).

923 44th St, Brooklyn on 1st July, 1928

Frankie Yale (the Al Capone of Brookyn) a gangster was shot by his rivals as he drove a Lincoln coupe through the streets of Borough Park (believed to be the first New York mob hit using Thompson sub-machine guns). He lost control of the car and smashed into the front of the house (the house and the tree are still standing) (Original photographer unknown).

7th Ave & Sterling Pl, Brooklyn on 17th December 1960

The wreckage of United Airlines Flight 826 fills the intersection in Park Slope. 134 people were killed after the jet collided with a smaller TWA plane over Staten Island, killing everyone on board both planes and on the ground. Many of the buildings including the Pillar of Fire Church were destroyed beyond repair (Original photographer Leonard Detrick).

This project, then, is meant as a tribute to the New Yorkers—on both sides of the camera's lens—who have gone before, and as a window into the past for those who appreciate it.

Now & Then goes to the movies

FILMography is an ongoing art project by Canadian photographer Christopher Moloney that matches scenes from movies with their real-life, present-day locations.
As with other Now & Then projects, it features photographs of stills from famous movies juxtaposed with the exact locations where they were shot.
Central Park in New York features again and again, obviously a popular location to set up your movie camera. The capture below is a little different - from 'Doctor Who : the angels take Manhattan' it features the again popular setting of Bow Bridge.

There are the famous, easy to find locations, like the New York Public Library, here about to get a drenching in 'The day after tomorrow' as Fifth Avenue is inundated.

 The Library has also featured in a number of other films, notably 'Ghostbusters' (the messing with the card catalogue).
Then there is the scary - the Dakota apartments in Manhattan, here with Mia Farrow in the horror film 'Rosemary's Baby', it was the scene of John Lennon's death.

There are the locations everyone must have their photo with, like Audrey in 'Breakfast at Tiffanys', though this one is of the apartment on 71st Street.

Even remakes - the 2004 version of 'The Manchurian candidate' with Liev Schreiber instead of Laurence Harvey in Times Square.

To finish, a cute one from 'Kramer vs Kramer' Dustin Hoffman with a young Justin Henry, outside school on 82nd Street.

Here & There photos

Having explored ‘Now & Then’ photos I’ve now been confronted by some ‘Here & There’ images, courtesy of my old friend WebUrbanist in Urban Hybrid: Double-Exposure Photos Fuse London & NYC. 
 

Architect by training and photographer by profession, Daniella Zalcman decided to document her old home town of New York using her iPhone. When she arrived at her new home in Great Britain, she spent time photographing London in the same way. Then…she overlaid the secondary exposures over the first - a Here & There.
 

Daniella created the double exposures from the New York and London images with a little help from photo-editing apps like Instagram.

The results are predictably unpredictable – a mix of juxtapositions ranging from smooth transitional gradients to sharp spatial contrasts, capturing street art and sidewalk scenes as well as broader cityscapes and edge conditions.

In the end, many of the most jarring compositions defy the brain’s desire to organise a coherent narrative, an effect reinforced by the gritty texture and grainy quality of the images themselves.

Daniella Zalcman was born in Washington, DC, she graduated from Columbia with a degree in architecture in 2009. As a freelance photographer, her clients include The New York Times, the New York Daily News, Wall Street Journal, Vanity Fair, Esquire, Sports Illustrated, Saatchi & Saatchi, National Geographic, Wired, and The Nation. Daniella has also since launched a Kickstarter project (Kickstart Project creators set a funding goal and deadline. If people like a project, they can pledge money to make it happen) to create a book of these images.

Another one bites the dust

On Pollepel Island in the Hudson River, is a crumbling hulk of intricate concrete and brickwork that was once Bannerman's Arsenal.

In 1900, Francis Bannerman VI bought the island to store ammunition outside New York City limits, for his military surplus business The arsenal (referred to as "Bannerman's Castle") was constructed from 1901 to 1908, and was modeled on an old Scottish castle.

A storm in 1950 sunk the ferry that served the island, and the family closed the island and the arsenal was left more or less abandoned.

The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation took over its administration in 1967, then on August 8th 1969 a large fire destroyed the interior of the castle. The Bannerman Castle Trust, founded in 1993, raised money for preservation of the grounds.

With the parks office, it reopened the island in 2004 for guided tours. Tourists, who arrive by boat, wear hard hats and must stay at a safe distance from the ruins.
On the night of December 26th 2009, an entire corner of the massive arsenal collapsed due to the weathering of the unprotected brickwork and aging mortar.
Stabilising the castle’s shell had been too costly, and money collected through grants and fund-raising was directed to restore the island’s residence in 2010. Dangerous river conditions had prevented a visit to the island to assess the damage.
The castle was shown in the film “North by Northwest”.

Once visible on the approach to the eastern wall of the castle were the words “Bannerman’s Island Arsenal.” Much of the right section had fallen by 1970, leaving just the letters “nal.” Now “Banner” has dropped off, leaving one complete word — “man’s”.

More photos at the Opacity site.

Abandoned in books

"New York Underground: The Anatomy of a City" by Julia Solis.
In this richly illustrated historical tour of New York's vast underground systems, Julia Solis maps out the anatomical foundations of the city – from the bowels of Grand Central Station, the labyrinthine ruins of the Old Croton Aqueduct, and the old gang tunnels that run below the streets of Chinatown to the dark crypts of the city’s first cathedral – St Patrick’s which opened in 1815.

Brooklyn Anchorage
Many would have seen the Brooklyn Bridge episode of the “Seven Industrial Wonders of the World” on TV or DVD which explained the building process which started in 1870 and finally opened in 1883. As part of the construction there are the Brooklyn and Manhattan Anchorages - the approaches to the bridge which have huge vaults below. These vaulted rooms served a multitude of functions, including cultural events which since the security concerns after 9/11 have been cancelled.

The creepy passageways of Seaview Hospital a Staten Island tuberculosis hospital.

The hospital opened in 1913, and some parts are still in use, but now as a hospital for the elderly. This passage way is between the morgue and pathology department. This is very reminiscent of my earlier post on the New Jersey TB hospital – Essex Mountain Sanatorium - A classic abandonment.
There is the strange artifacts of abandoned train stations – tracks to nowhere, and the work of the city’s underground graffiti artists.

Water pipes of the High Street Tunnel

New York Underground was timed to release in the centennial year of the city's subway system. It takes readers through ingenious criminal escape routes, abandoned subway stations, and dark crypts beneath lower Manhattan to expose the city's basic anatomy. While the city is justly famous for what lies above ground, its underground passages are equally legendary, and tell us just as much about how the city works.
This last picture is not from "New York underground", but from a childrens book "Moon rock" by Boriana and Vladimir Todorov, I thought this tunnel picture reminiscent of the High Street Tunnel.