There was a time when Broadway was a dirt road and the only graffiti were the tracks of horses and carriages. This is the corner of the street I now live on.

 They built all the residences at about the same time, all more-or-less at once, covering an entire hill that used to be completely featureless, bordering the first of NYC’s “City College” campuses.

Here it is today:

It’s both comforting and concerning how things change so little. That building, that block, and even the people around the place– the waves of different migrant populations washing around and through Manhattan– is all in a kind of stasis. Things are gentrifying, but have they ever not been? 

This building, here photographed in 1905, still stands… though with a slightly different purpose:

Most of the residents of this neighborhood now have no idea what once was here. They don’t know the history of the buildings they rent, or what they’re now a part of by living in them. I want to print out giant posters of these structures from when they were born and paste them on the sides of what now remains. The entire neighborhood would be a giant walkable gallery of architectural history.

What would the purpose be?

Maybe if current residents saw how substantial and permanent these structures are, they’d feel a bit more proud to be living there, maybe clean up more, restore some dignity to the place and themselves.