Bryant Park, 1901. From NYPL’s wonderful collection of photos from the construction of the Broadway subway line.
This photo was taken after the closing of the Croton Reservoir, but before construction of the New York Public Library. I can’t tell if that fencing is closing off the NYPL construction site, because I can’t figure out what street the background buildings are on—they are all, all long gone today:
UPDATE: The good folks at @BryantParkNYC tell me “Buildings on north side of 42 btwn 5/6 Aves. Steeple belongs to church that is now 33 W42 St. Photo taken from park w/back to 6 Ave.”
