Here’s What Manhattan looked like in the 1960s

The 1960s in Manhattan was a melting pot of ideas, with Greenwich Village at its heart. Here, you’d find smoky coffeehouses filled with beatnik poets, fervent debates, and the strumming of acoustic guitars. Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and a plethora of folk artists made their names in the Village’s bustling streets. It wasn’t just about music; it was a movement, a voice of rebellion and free-thinking that defined a generation.

Skyscrapers Touching the Heavens

The skyline of Manhattan underwent a dramatic transformation. The 1960s saw the construction of iconic structures that would come to define the cityscape. The most notable of these was the World Trade Center, which began construction in 1966. Its twin towers, once completed, would stand as beacons of modern architectural prowess and the indomitable spirit of the Big Apple.

Skyscrapers Touching the Heavens

The skyline of Manhattan underwent a dramatic transformation. The 1960s saw the construction of iconic structures that would come to define the cityscape. The most notable of these was the World Trade Center, which began construction in 1966. Its twin towers, once completed, would stand as beacons of modern architectural prowess and the indomitable spirit of the Big Apple.

Fashion Forward on Madison Avenue

If the 1950s were about elegance, the 1960s was all about revolutionizing style. The mod look was in, with its bold prints, miniskirts, and go-go boots. Mary Quant’s designs, Twiggy’s iconic look, and Andy Warhol’s pop art made waves. Madison Avenue wasn’t just about fashion; it was the advertising capital of the world. The series “Mad Men” would later romanticize this era, capturing the glitz, glamour, and underlying tensions of the ad world.

Civil Rights and Social Movements

As the decade progressed, Manhattan became a nexus of activism. The Civil Rights Movement, anti-Vietnam War protests, and the feminist movement found loud voices in the city. Streets became platforms for demonstrations, and Central Park’s Sheep Meadow turned into a gathering spot for peace rallies. It was a time of change, challenge, and conviction, with the youth at the forefront, demanding a better world.

#1 View of Man Walking by the Old West Side Highway on Manhattan’s West Side, 1965

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#2 A man holding an umbrella looks down into the pit of the future site of the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center in the Fall of 1968

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#3 View Along a Path in Bryant Park, Manhattan, 1967

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#4 Small Independently Owned Shops and Employment Agencies Line 6th Avenue near 42nd Street, Manhattan, 1969

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#5 Construction of WTC Towers One & Two near St. Paul’s Chapel, gravestones lining Church Street with cranes in the background, Manhattan, 1968

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#6 Cars Parked Under Old Westside Highway on West Side, Manhattan, 1965

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#7 View of Pier 26 on West Side, Manhattan, 1965

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#8 View of Pier 26 on West Side, Manhattan, 1965

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#9 A View of People During Rush Hour on 51st St and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, 1965.

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#10 A View of People Waiting to Cross the Street During Rush Hour on 51st St and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, 1965.

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#11 A View of the Fulton Fish Market in South Street Seaport, Lower Manhattan, 1965.

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#12 A View of Reading Railroad Box Cars in Upper Manhattan’s, 1965.

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#13 A View of Box Cars on Manhattan’s West Side, 1965.

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#14 View of the Entrance to the Bowling Green IRT Subway Station in Battery Park, Manhattan, 1968.

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#15 Lower Manhattan Skyline Viewed from the Staten Island Ferry, Manhattan, 1963

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#16 View of a Woman Crossing the Intersection of 5th Avenue and East 59th Street, Manhattan, 1968

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#17 Activists Anne Koedt and Carol Hanisch Hold a Banner During a ‘Legalize Abortion’ Demonstration in Times Square, Manhattan, 1968

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#18 Temple No. 7 Restaurant Attached to the Nation of Islam Temple, Harlem, Manhattan, 1961

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#19 Performances by Billy Eckstine Revue, Quincy Jones and Others Advertised at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, Manhattan, 1964

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#20 Nighttime View of Street and Pedestrian Traffic in Times Square, Manhattan, 1963

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#21 People Gather Around the South Face of the Washington Arch in Washington Square Park, Lower Manhattan, 1965

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#22 Nighttime View of Crowd Lined Up Outside the Apollo Theater, Manhattan, 1961

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#23 Cars Parked and Buses Pass 125 Street in Harlem, Manhattan, 1964

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#24 View of Times Square at Dusk, Manhattan, 1969

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#25 Poor People’s Campaign 1968 March Along East 116th Street in East Harlem, Manhattan, 1968

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#26 Vehicles and Pedestrians Create Gridlock on Seventh Avenue in Times Square, Manhattan, 1963

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#27 Large Crowds Gather Outside the Paris Movie Theater to See Romeo and Juliet, Manhattan, 1969

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#28 Picketers Outside Woolworth Store in Harlem, Manhattan

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#29 View Along Cortlandt Street at the Church Street Intersection, Manhattan, 1968

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#30 Residents Hold a ‘Welcome to East Harlem’ Sign to Greet the Arriving Poor People’s Campaign March, Manhattan, 1968

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#31 Bookmasters Store Located Next to the Adult Movie Oriented Globe Theater in Midtown Manhattan, 1969

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#32 Noon Shoppers at 34th Street and Broadway, Manhattan, 1964

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#33 Employees of Bloomingdale’s Department Store Form a Picket Line, Manhattan

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#34 The Port Arthur Restaurant on Mott Street in Chinatown, Lower Manhattan, 1967

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#35 View of Lenox Avenue and 119th Street in Harlem, Manhattan, 1964

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#36 Pedestrians Outside the Hotel Theresa in Harlem, Manhattan, 1964

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#37 Two Men Watch the Demolition of a Building in Lower Manhattan, 1968

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#38 View of Two Men Talking on Canal Street in Chinatown, Manhattan, 1968

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#39 The Apollo Theater in Harlem with Otis Redding, Billy Stewart and the Marvelettes on the Marquee, Manhattan, 1967

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#40 Tour Operator Waits Under a Movie Theater Marquee in Times Square, Manhattan, 1967

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#41 A Store Prepares to Go Out of Business in Times Square, Manhattan, 1967

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#42 Two Teenage Girls Dressed in 1960s Fashion in Times Square, Manhattan, 1967

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#43 New York Stock Exchange at the Broad Street Entrance, Manhattan, 1966

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#44 Police Officer Directing Traffic in Times Square, Manhattan, 1964

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#45 Railroad Tracks Leading into Penn Station Blocked by Pan Am Building Construction, Manhattan, 1962

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#46 View of Little Italy, Broome St. Looking East of Mulberry St, Manhattan, 1967

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#47 Pedestrians Walking Past Criterion Theater Advertising ‘My Fair Lady’ in Times Square, Manhattan, 1966

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#48 Statue of George M. Cohan in Duffy Square, Broadway & West 46th Street, Times Square, Manhattan, 1966

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#49 Construction Workers Outside a Construction Site on Lexington Avenue, Manhattan, 1967

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#50 View of Pedestrians, Including a Man Carrying a Child, on 6th Avenue in Midtown, Manhattan, 1968

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#51 Two Construction Workers Leaning Against a Trash Can on Lexington Avenue, Manhattan, 1967

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#52 Man and Child in View of Tenement Buildings on East 9th Street, Manhattan, 1965

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#53 Flatiron Building on the Junction of Fifth Avenue and Broadway, Manhattan, 1965

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#54 Looking North up Mott Street in Chinatown, Lower Manhattan, 1967

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#55 Mayor John Lindsay Walking Down 5th Avenue During St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Manhattan, 1967

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#56 People Gathered at West 46th Street and 5th Avenue During St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Manhattan, 1962

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#57 People Gathered at Southwest Corner of West 44th Street and 5th Avenue During St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Manhattan, 1967

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#58 Pedestrians and Police Officers on 5th Avenue at East 46th Street Before St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Manhattan, 1967

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#59 Hot Dog Vendor Serving Customer with Children Watching St. Patrick’s Day Parade on 5th Avenue, Manhattan, 1962

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#60 Pedestrians on Park Avenue, Manhattan, 1967

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#61 Ice Cream Vendor Waiting for Customers on 6th Avenue, Manhattan, 1967

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#62 Pedestrians Crossing Broadway at West 46th Street Intersection in Times Square, Manhattan, 1962

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#63 View of Lower Manhattan Skyline from Staten Island Ferry, Manhattan, 1963

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#64 Shoe Shiner Waiting for Customers on 6th Avenue, Manhattan, 1967

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#65 Pedestrians Outside Rockefeller Center, Manhattan, 1961

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#66 Horse & Carriage Ride Along 5th Avenue, Manhattan, 1963

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#67 Anti-Nuclear Protestors Marching Past the Paramount Theater in Times Square, Manhattan, 1962

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#68 Policeman Directing Traffic at 7th Avenue and 42nd Street in Times Square, Manhattan, 1967

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#69 Two Men at Loading Dock on West Side Waterfront, Manhattan, 1965

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#70 New York Central Rail Car and Other Box Cars in Upper Manhattan, 1965

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#71 Construction Workers Loading Wood onto a Flatbed Truck on 6th Avenue, Manhattan, 1967

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#72 A View of People Crossing the Street During Rush Hour in Midtown Manhattan, 1965.

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#73 A Hansom Cab Operator Waits for a Fare on Central Park South in Manhattan, 1965.

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#74 A Hansom Cab Operator with His Horse and Carriage Waits for a Fare on Central Park South in Manhattan, 1965.

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#75 A View of Cars on the FDR Drive with the Manhattan Bridge in the Background in Manhattan, 1965.

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#76 A View of Cars Parked by the Pier in Lower Manhattan, 1965.

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#77 Elevated View of Vehicle Traffic on the FDR Drive, Looking North from East 48th Street, with the Queensboro Bridge in Background, Manhattan, 1967.

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#78 View of Three Construction Workers Taking a Break at a Job Site on 6th Avenue, Manhattan, 1967.

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#79 A View of the Battery Maritime Building and the FDR Drive at South Ferry in Lower Manhattan, 1965.

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#80 A View of the Battery Maritime Building at South Ferry in Lower Manhattan, 1965.

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#81 People Waiting for The Circle Line Cruise in Battery Park, Lower Manhattan, 1965.

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#82 A View of People Protesting Against War and Atom Bomb Testing by the Playland Arcade in Times Square, Manhattan, 1965.

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#83 A View of People Protesting by One Times Square and the Astor Hotel in Times Square, Manhattan, 1965.

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#84 A View of People Protesting in Times Square Against War and Atom Bomb Testing in the US and Russia, Manhattan, 1965.

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#85 Coachman Waiting in His Horse-Drawn Carriage at Grand Army Plaza, Manhattan, 1968.

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#86 View of the Racquet and Tennis Club on Park Avenue and East 53rd Street, Manhattan, 1968.

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#87 Senior Couple Walking Along Mulberry Street During the Feast Of San Gennaro Festival, Little Italy, Manhattan, 1968.

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#88 A View of People Protesting in Times Square Against War and Atom Bomb Testing in the US and Russia, Manhattan, 1965.

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#89 A View of a Sandwich Shop in Midtown Manhattan, 1965.

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#90 Pedestrians on the Steps Leading to the Entrance of a Building on Park Avenue, Manhattan, 1967.

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#91 Pedestrians on the Steps Leading to the Entrance of a Building on Park Avenue, Manhattan, 1967.

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#92 High-Angle View of Construction Work on Madison Square Garden in Midtown Manhattan, 1967.

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#93 Doorman Holds a Dog Beside Parked Cars on Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, 1965.

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#94 Church of St Thomas More on the Upper East Side, Manhattan, 1967.

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#95 Exterior View of O’Neal’s Saloon on West 64th Street, Manhattan, 1967.

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#96 Pedestrians Walk Beside Cars Parked Along East 61st Street in Manhattan, 1968.

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#97 Police Security Barriers Outside Delmonico’s Hotel on Park Avenue in Manhattan, 1965.

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#98 Exterior View of the Apollo Theater Advertising Performers Including the Miracles, the Marvelettes, Martha and the Vandellas, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, the Contours, and Choker Campbell, Manhattan, 1960s

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#99 View of L&S Grocery Store at the Intersection of 21st Street and 9th Avenue in the Chelsea Neighborhood, Manhattan, 1964

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#100 Crowd Arrives at Central Park’s Sheep Meadow for the ‘Easter Be-In’, Manhattan, 1967

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#101 Crowd Gathers Outside the Ed Sullivan Theater at Broadway and 53rd Street, Manhattan, 1968

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#102 Nighttime View North Along Broadway of Times Square with Neon Illuminated Billboard for Camel Cigarettes, Manhattan, 1964

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#103 Nighttime View of Pedestrians in Front of Cafe Borgia at the Intersection of MacDougal and Bleeker Streets in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, 1966

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#104 View of Trash and Snow Piled Along MacDougal Street in Greenwich Village After a Blizzard, Manhattan, 1969

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#105 Exterior View of the New Building of Whitney Museum of American Art, Manhattan, 1966

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#106 Placard-Holders at a Pro-‘Lower Manhattan Expressway’ Demonstration Near the Intersection of Park Row and Centre Street, Manhattan, 1964

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#107 Elevated View of Washington Square Park Used as a Parking Lot During Its Mid-1960s Redesign, Manhattan, 1966

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#108 High-Angle View of the Port Authority Bus Terminal Illuminated by Night, Manhattan, 1965

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#109 General View of Park Avenue with the New York Central Building and the Pan Am Building in the Background, Manhattan, 1967

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#110 Pedestrians Walking Beneath the Covered Entrance to the Ritz Tower on Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, 1967

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#111 General View of Traffic on Park Avenue in the Borough of Manhattan, 1967

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#112 Nighttime View of Pedestrians and Cars on MacDougal Street in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, 1966

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#113 Television Journalist Interviews Photographer Fred W. McDarrah on MacDougal Street About His ‘Rent-A-Beatnik’ Business, Manhattan, 1960

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#114 Nighttime View of the Closed Cafe Figaro at the Intersection of Bleeker and MacDougal Streets in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, 1969

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#115 View of the Street Surrounding the Winter Garden Theatre in Manhattan During a Transit Strike, Manhattan, 1966

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#116 Street Scene in Harlem, Manhattan, 1960s

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#117 Piles of Garbage on East 43rd Street in Manhattan During the Sanitation Strike, Manhattan, 1968

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#118 View of a Building on the Corner of West 14th Street and 6th Avenue, Home to the Living Theatre and Merce Cunningham’s Dance Studio, Manhattan, 1965

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#119 View of Trash and Snow Piled Along MacDougal Street in Greenwich Village After a Blizzard, Manhattan, 1969

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#120 Police Stand Watch Near the Levy and Delany Funeral Home on Seventh Avenue in Harlem in Manhattan, 1964

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#121 A Man Pushes a Cart Under the Elevated Train Tracks on Park Avenue in Manhattan, 1967

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#122 View of Buildings at the Intersection of 10th Avenue and 25th Street in the Chelsea Neighborhood, Manhattan, 1964

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#123 Sign Next to the George Washington Bridge Announcing the Completion Date of the Bridge’s New Six-Lane Lower Deck, Manhattan, 1960

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#124 Elevated View of Washington Square Park Used as a Parking Lot During Its Mid-1960s Redesign, Manhattan, 1966

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#125 Exterior View of the Gertrude Rhinelander Waldo House at 867 Madison Avenue, Manhattan, 1967

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#126 View Along Park Avenue Towards the New York Central Building and the Pan Am Building, Manhattan, 1960s

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#127 Jerome Mansion with a ‘Herbert Charles’ real estate board, due for demolition, once home of financier Leonard Jerome, father of Jennie Jerome, mother of Winston Churchill, Manhattan, 1967

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#128 Critics and supporters of Fidel Castro outside the Hotel Theresa, displaying banners, stores include Bostonian Shoes, Mink’s Men’s Wear, Leed’s Stetson Hats and Auto Insurance $20, Manhattan, 1960

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#129 The Apollo Theater in Harlem advertising concerts by The Miracles, The Marvelettes, Martha and the Vandellas, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, The Contours, and Choker Campbell, Manhattan, 1963

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#130 View of Manhattan in the 1960s

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#131 Activists Hold Signs That Read ‘Legalize Abortion’ in Front of the Atlas Sculpture at Rockefeller Center, Manhattan, 1968

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#132 Actors Performing Onstage at Caffe Cino, Greenwich Village, Manhattan, 1961

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#133 A View of People Protesting Against War and Atom Bomb Testing in Times Square, Manhattan, 1965.

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#134 Lion’s Head, Ltd. Coffee House, Located at the Corner of Charles and Hudson Streets in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, 1960

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