Snapshots of the Past

The great white way" B'way south from 42nd St." – Vintage Wall Art

The great white way" B'way south from 42nd St.", c1908. — historic photograph
The great white way" B'way south from 42nd St.", c1908.. Historic photograph from the Historic Print Archive collection.

(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)

Description

The great white way" B'way south from 42nd St." comes to life in this historic photograph, reproduced from the original with every detail intact. The original is held by the Library of Congress, so what you hang is a true record of its time.

Framed, it is ready for the wall; unframed, it is ready for the frame you choose. A conversation-starting piece for home, office, or as a meaningful gift. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Since 2001, Snapshots of the Past has shipped historic prints to tens of thousands of customers around the world.

The great white way" B'way south from 42nd St."

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Looking south from 42nd Street, this night view shows the stretch of Broadway that came to be called the Great White Way, a nickname for the theater district's electric signs and marquees that took hold in the early 1900s. By about 1908, the area around 42nd Street was a busy center of theater and entertainment, and the record's subject headings point to crowds of spectators and to motion picture devices, suggesting that new film entertainment was part of the scene. The photograph is worth studying for the glow of electric lights that turned the street into a nighttime spectacle for New Yorkers and visitors alike.

Created / publishedc1908.
Medium1 photographic print.
GenreNight photographs 1900-1910.Cityscape photographs 1900-1910.Photographic prints 1900-1910.
NotesH111299 U.S. Copyright Office. Title from item. Exhibited: On the Edge of Your Seat: Popular Theater and Film in Early 20th Century American Art, Weisman Art Museum, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, 2002-03.
SubjectsSpectators--New York (State)--New York--1900-1910. Motion picture devices--1900-1910. Night--New York (State)--New York--19**-19**. Times Square (New York, N.Y.)--1900-1910. Broadway (New York, N.Y.)--1900-1910.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan1,237 × 1,536 px · prints to 4 × 5 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-114900

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