This past August Harlem Bespoke featured an 1889 photo of Morningside Park's 116th St. stairs. The photo is a cyanotype in the collections of the Museum of the City of New York. A week after the photo appeared on Harlem Bespoke I put up a leaf-obscured view of the stairs. I took another picture this morning with far fewer leaves, but still lots of branches, present.
Construction on the park began in 1883. The park was still several years from completion when the photo was taken in 1889. The Carl Schurz monument was added at the top of the stairs in 1913 (Andrew Carnegie was there!). The apartment houses under construction on Morningside Avenue are still there today.
Nice comparison. It's remarkable how well the stairs and retaining wall have held up over more than 120 years. Wish we still had the old cast iron railing design and frankly wish the Carl Schurz monument had been built elsewhere. Its inward looking design completely negates the grand open overlook that Vaux and Olmsted designed. Everyday I see people peering over the black granite built-in Carl Schurz benches to get a glimpse of the view that was to be the crowning glory of the original design.
Posted by: NYCmorningside | 12 December 2011 at 10:08 PM
love it
Posted by: judy | 13 December 2011 at 07:32 AM
I'm one of those people who sometimes climbs onto the benches to get a better view!
Posted by: Joe | 14 December 2011 at 09:35 AM