A Vivid Tour of Manhattan’s 1960s Through Stunning Colored Photographs

The Manhattan of the 1960s was more than just a place; it was a pulsating entity, alive with artistry, ambition, and audacity. Every street had a story, every corner concealed a chronicle, and every moment was coloured with the hope and hustle of its inhabitants.

Streets Alive with Sounds

If you walked the streets of Manhattan in the 1960s, your ears would be treated to a symphony. From the soulful serenades wafting from Harlem’s jazz clubs to the psychedelic rock in East Village hangouts, the city was a sonic wonderland. It wasn’t uncommon to stumble upon impromptu performances on street corners or to get lost in the eclectic rhythms at legendary venues like The Fillmore East.

The Silver Screen Shines Brighter

The movie culture was booming! Vintage theaters like Radio City Music Hall showcased Hollywood’s golden era films, while avant-garde cinemas brought foreign films and indie projects to the masses. The likes of Audrey Hepburn and Paul Newman graced big screens, while Manhattan itself played a starring role in countless films. From classic romances to thrillers, the city was every director’s dream backdrop.

The Culinary Kaleidoscope

As immigration surged, so did the city’s palate. Little Italy buzzed with pizzerias and pasticcerias. Chinatown expanded its borders, introducing dim sum and Peking duck to New Yorkers. And let’s not forget the classic American diners, where jukeboxes played the latest hits and patrons enjoyed hearty milkshakes and burgers. The city became a gastronomic playground, where traditional dishes met experimental cuisine.

Art in Every Nook and Cranny

Pop art exploded onto the scene, with artists like Roy Lichtenstein and Jasper Johns leading the charge. Galleries in SoHo showcased abstract expressions, while street artists turned blank walls into vibrant canvases. The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) became a sanctuary for art enthusiasts, housing masterpieces from around the world. Everywhere you turned, art was in conversation with the city.

#1 Man and Woman Walk Side by Side in Downtown Manhattan, 1967

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#2 CBS Television Employees Picket in Support of AFTRA Union Strike, Downtown Manhattan, 1967

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#3 New York City at Night, Manhattan, 1960

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#4 The Criterion Theater on Times Square with Bond Clothes Behind, Manhattan, 1965

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#5 Pedestrians on Wall Street During Lunch Hour, Manhattan, 1969

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#6 edestrians at the Intersection of Liberty & Greenwich Streets, 1969

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#7 Cinema-Goers Line Up Outside the Victoria Theatre in Times Square, Manhattan, 1967

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#8 Exterior Shot of Hotel Astor in Times Square, Manhattan, 1966

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#9 Construction of North Tower of the original World Trade Center, 1969

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#10 Distorted View of Traffic and Pedestrians on 42nd Street, Manhattan, 1962

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#11 Traffic on Avenue of the Americas in Midtown Manhattan, 1962

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#12 Crowd Walks on 42nd Street and Madison Avenue, Manhattan, 1962

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#13 Vehicle Traffic Along 5th Avenue at West 43rd Street, Manhattan, 1963

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#14 Man Paints a Portrait of a Woman at Art Fair in Washington Square Park, Manhattan, 1965

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#15 View of Traffic on Broadway in Times Square, Manhattan, 1966

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#16 Fans Gather at Sheep Meadow in Central Park for Barbara Streisand Concert, Manhattan, 1967

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#17 View of Businesses at the Corner of 7th Avenue and 42nd Street in Times Square, Manhattan, 1967

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#18 Twin Towers of the World Trade Center Under Construction, Manhattan, 1968

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#19 Elevated View of Taxis in Front of the United Nations Headquarters, Manhattan, 1967

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#20 NBC Television Crew Takes a Break Near the United Nations, Manhattan, 1967

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#21 Exterior Shot of a Small Grocery Store on an Unidentified Street, Manhattan, 1967

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#22 Two Men Wait to Cross at West 43rd Street and Broadway, Times Square, Manhattan, 1963

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#23 Exterior Shot of Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum on 42nd Street, Times Square, Manhattan, 1963

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#24 Crowd for John Glenn’s Ticker Tape Parade Along Broadway’s Canyon of Heroes, Manhattan, 1962

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#25 NYPD Police Officers Patrol Crowds During Gordon Cooper’s Ticker Tape Parade, Manhattan, 1963

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#26 Partially Demolished Polo Grounds in Upper Manhattan, 1963

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#27 NYPD Police Officers Patrol Crowds During Gordon Cooper’s Ticker Tape Parade, Manhattan, 1963

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#28 People Walk Along 6th Avenue After Gordon Cooper’s Ticker Tape Parade, Manhattan, 1963

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#29 Huge Billboard for the Movie Spartacus at the DeMille Theatre in Times Square, Manhattan, 1960

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#30 Crowd Gathered in Front of the New York Coliseum in Columbus Circle, Manhattan, 1963

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#31 Crowd on 6th Avenue for Gordon Cooper’s Ticker Tape Parade, Manhattan, 1963

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#32 Construction of Office Building at 1212 Sixth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, 1963

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#33 Times Square, Huge Movie Billboard, Manhattan, 1963

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#34 Criterion Theater, Manhattan, 1963

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#35 Crowd on 6th Avenue for Gordon Cooper’s Ticker Tape Parade, Manhattan, 1963

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#36 Demolition Underway at the Polo Grounds, Upper Manhattan, 1964

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#37 Construction of the Sperry Rand Building at Rockefeller Center, Manhattan, 1961

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#38 Vanderbilt Avenue, Midtown Manhattan, 1961

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#39 Aerial View of Lower Manhattan, 1966

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#40 Hebrew National Hot Dog Billboard and Clothesline, Lower Manhattan, 1960

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#41 Billboard for Movie “The Bible” in Times Square, Manhattan, 1966

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#42 Human Billboard on 6th Avenue, Manhattan, 1967

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#43 Early Stages of Construction of Two World Trade Center, Manhattan, 1969

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#44 Pedestrians Outside Rockefeller Center, Manhattan, 1969

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#45 6th Avenue & West 42nd Street, Manhattan, 1967

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#46 Rowboat on Central Park Lake, Manhattan, 1969

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#47 Pedestrians at the Intersection of Broadway & 7th Avenue, Times Square, Manhattan, 1960

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#48 Crowds at the Intersection of East 46th Street and Lexington Avenue, Midtown Manhattan, 1967

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#49 People Outside Trinity Church at Broadway & Wall Street, Manhattan, 1969

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#50 Girls Wearing Striped Dresses in Times Square, Manhattan, 1967

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#51 Portrait Artist at Art Fair by Washington Square Park, Manhattan, 1965

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#52 Construction Site on West Broadway and Washington Square South, Manhattan, 1965

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#53 Washington Mews off of Fifth Avenue by Washington Square Park, Manhattan, 1965

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#54 Storefronts and a Volkswagen Bus in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, 1965

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#55 Susan Farrell Posing at Lincoln Center, Manhattan, 1969

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#56 Santa Claus on 5th Avenue & 49th Street, Manhattan, 1961

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#57 Park Avenue and E. 54th Street, Manhattan, 1963

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#58 42nd Street and Times Square, Manhattan, 1967

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#59 Night View of Times Square, Broadway and 7th Avenue, Manhattan, 1967

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#60 Spectators During Chinese New Year, Year of the Rat, Chinatown, Manhattan, 1960

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#61 View of Rockefeller Plaza, Manhattan, 1963

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#62 Park Avenue and E. 49th Street, Manhattan, 1963

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#63 Buildings in Manhattan, 1963

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#64 Intersection in Midtown Manhattan During Rush Hour, 1966

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#65 Joe Cino on East 8th Street, View of American Theatre Producer Walking in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, 1962

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#66 View of the Empire State Building from 5th Avenue, Manhattan, 1962

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#67 Third Avenue Manhattan Street Scene, Traffic and New Skyscraper Construction, Manhattan, 1960

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#68 Passengers Boarding a Bus on Fifth Avenue, Midtown Manhattan, Manhattan, 1962

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#69 Traffic on Broadway North of Times Square, Midtown Manhattan, Manhattan, 1960

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#70 Aerial View of Midtown Manhattan Skyline over the Hudson River, Manhattan, 1960

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#71 Pedestrians and Shoppers on 5th Avenue, Manhattan, 1962

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#72 Couple Walking in Bryant Park, Manhattan, 1962

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#73 Street Scene in Chinatown, Lower Manhattan, Manhattan, 1965

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#74 Cars Parked on Street in Chinatown, Lower Manhattan, Manhattan, 1965

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#75 Aerial View of Manhattan and Queens from the Empire State Building, Manhattan, 1960

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#76 Ice Skating on Wollman Rink, Central Park, Manhattan, 1965

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#77 View of Americana Hotel, Later Renamed Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel, Manhattan, 1962

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#78 People Skating at Wollman Rink in Central Park, Manhattan, 1960

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#79 Chinese Lions in Chinese New Year Celebrations, Chinatown, Manhattan, 1960

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#80 Manhattan Skyline Across East River from Brooklyn, Manhattan, 1960

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#81 Pedestrians Crossing at 42nd Street and Third Avenue, East Side Manhattan, Manhattan, 1960

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#82 Signs and Flags on Broadway Near Lincoln Center Under Construction, Manhattan, 1960

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#83 Skyline of Downtown Manhattan from Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan, 1960

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#84 NYC Aerial View Facing East Down 43rd Street to United Nations Headquarters, Manhattan, 1964

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#85 Times Square at Night on Broadway at 45th Street, Manhattan, 1966

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#86 Street Scene on 101st Street, Spanish Harlem, Manhattan, 1967

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#87 Elevated Subway Station and #1 Train on 125th Street, Manhattan, 1961

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#88 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, Manhattan, 1961

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#89 Street Scene at Night, Times Square, Manhattan, 1961

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#90 Actors Rehearsing on Rooftop of Hotel Chelsea, Manhattan, 1966

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#91 Street Scene at 42nd Street & Fifth Avenue, Manhattan, 1961

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#92 Washington Square Park Arch, New York City, Manhattan, 1961

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#93 Street Scene in Times Square, Manhattan, 1961

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#94 Macy’s Department Store Street Scene, Manhattan, 1961

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#95 Pennsylvania Station Façade, Manhattan, 1961

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#96 City Hall, Manhattan, 1961

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#97 Grant’s Tomb, Riverside Park, Manhattan, 1961

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#98 Street Scene, Times Square, Manhattan, 1961

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#99 Street Scene, Times Square, Manhattan, 1961

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#100 Street Scene, Times Square, Manhattan, 1961

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#101 Wall Street and Trinity Church, Manhattan, 1961

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#102 Street Scene, Times Square, Manhattan, 1961

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#103 Street Scene, Park Avenue and Grand Central Terminal, Manhattan, 1961

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#104 Pennsylvania Station, Manhattan, 1961

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#105 Washington Square Park, Manhattan, 1961

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#106 Columbus Circle, Manhattan, 1961

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#107 Park Avenue Looking South, Manhattan, 1961

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#108 Skyline with Chrysler Building, Midtown, Manhattan, 1961

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#109 Crowd Outside Booth Theater at Night, Manhattan, 1961

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#110 Wall Street and Trinity Church, Manhattan, 1961

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#111 Washington Square Park, Greenwich Village, Manhattan, 1961

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#112 Traffic and Empire State Building, Manhattan, 1968

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#113 Crowd on 5th Avenue, Manhattan, 1968

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#114 Junction of East 31st Street and Third Avenue, Manhattan, 1962

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#115 Crowd on 42nd and Avenue of the Americas, Manhattan, 1962

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#116 Crowd Walks on 40th Street Between Madison & 5th Avenues, Manhattan, 1962

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