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Call number
Sc Photo Street Scenes
Physical description
1.2 linear feet (5 boxes). 257 photographic prints : silver gelatin, b&w ; 26 x 21 cm. and smaller.. 19 photographic prints : silver gelatin, b&w ; 41 x 51 cm. and smaller.. 1 photographic_print : col. ; 21 x 26 cm.. 9 photographs : stats, b&w ; 16 x 23 cm. and smaller.
Language
English
Material specific details
Some photographs bear photographer's, photography studio, or organizational handstamp on verso. Some items bear typewritten or printed captions attached to verso or recto; some items have printed captions on recto. Some images bear cropping and retouching marks. Some images are duplicates. Some items are reproductions.
Preferred Citation
Schomburg Photographs and Prints subject collections: Street scenes, Photographs and Prints Division. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The New York Public Library
Repository
Photographs and Prints Division. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.

The street scenes collection, compiled by the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, consists primarily of photographs of streets in west and central Harlem, New York City, from the late 1800s to the 1970s.

Scope and arrangement

Collection consists mainly of views of streets in west and central Harlem, New York, from the late 1800s to the 1970s. Much of the collection covers the 1930s to the 1950s. Depicted are views of thoroughfares, such as 125th Street, 135th Street and Lenox Avenue; some residential buildings; local businesses and street vendors; theaters; transportation, including elevated subway lines; residents, particularly children, involved in various activities; and some street events. Also included are views of East Harlem, and photographic reproductions of paintings and drawings depicting the rural landscape and early development of Harlem and Upper Manhattan (ca. 1800s). Images documenting Harlem during the 1900s-1920s and 1960s-1970s are limited, as are depictions of colonial New York, other sections of New York City, and other U.S. cities.

The Schomburg Photographs and Prints subject collections: Street scenes are arranged in five series:

Administrative information

Revision History

Finding aid updated by Jack Patterson (2024-02-01)

Finding aid updated by Jack Patterson. Photograph of residents listening to radio outside storefront moved from a 1930s to a 1940s folder to reflect dating correction. (2024-04-17)

Processing information

Processed by Michael Mery. Dates and other information added by the processor are in square brackets.

Using the collection

Location

Photographs and Prints Division. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
515 Malcolm X Boulevard, New York, NY 10037-1801
Photographs and Prints Division Reading Room