The Timeless Metropolis In the Last Century: New York in Color on Archival Film

[00:00:02]A city is more than concrete and steel.

[00:00:04]It is built on fleeting moments captured in the margins of time. Assembled from the intimate home movies of everyday residents, the wideeyed wonder of tourists, and rare outtakes from both amateur and professional lenses, these lost landscapes of New York are a living and breathing portrait of a metropolis in motion. Spanning the 20th century, it is a breathtaking mosaic of daily life, tireless work, and joyous celebration, woven together into a modern city symphony. Experience the forgotten avenues that bring one of the world's greatest cities back to life. This is a look at how America was and how it evolved. Watch as cobblestones yield to asphalt and historic facades are eclipsed by soaring skyscrapers. It is a visual time capsule revealing not just the rise of an iconic skyline, but the enduring soul of the millions who walked these streets before us.

[00:01:47]We got heat.

[00:02:02]Heat. Heat. N.

[00:03:07]Heat. Heat.

[00:03:13]Heat.

[00:03:28]Heat.

[00:03:47]Heat. Heat.

[00:03:56]Heat. Heat.

[00:04:30]Heat. Heat.

[00:05:01]Hallelujah.

[00:06:23]Daddy.

[00:06:40]Heat. Heat.

[00:06:59]Heat.

[00:07:05]Heat. Heat.

[00:07:25]Heat. Heat.

[00:07:49]Heat. Heat.

[00:08:38]Heat. Heat.

[00:09:27]Thank you.

[00:10:15]Heat. Heat.

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[00:11:00]Heat. Heat.

[00:11:38]Heat. Heat.

[00:13:03]Heat. Heat.

[00:13:24]Heat.

[00:13:42]Heat.

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[00:20:36]Hey, hey, hey.

[00:21:00]Thank you.

[00:21:27]Hey.

[00:21:36]Hey. Hey.

[00:21:54]Heat. Heat.

[00:22:26]Heat. Heat.

[00:22:39]Heat.

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[00:26:06]Hey, hey, hey.

[00:26:39]Heat.

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[00:27:00]Hey, hey, hey.

[00:27:23]Hey, hey, hey.

[00:27:54]Heat. Heat.

[00:28:14]Hey, hey, hey.

[00:28:26]Heat.

[00:28:43]Heat.

[00:29:09]boom.

[00:29:18]Heat. Heat.

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[00:37:48]Heat. Heat.

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[00:43:38]Heat.

[00:43:57]Heat.

[00:44:30]Heat. Heat.

[00:45:04]Heat. Hey, Heat.

[00:45:19]Hey, hey, hey.

[00:46:30]Heat. Heat.

[00:46:43]Heat.

[00:46:59]Heat.

[00:47:18]Heat.

[00:47:23]Hey, Heat.

[00:47:45]Happy.

[00:48:28]Heat. Heat.

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[00:49:23]Heat.

[00:49:45]Heat.

[00:50:04]Heat. Heat.

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[00:51:41]Come on.

[00:51:53]Come on.

[00:52:48]Home.

[00:54:04]What is this?

[00:54:29]Heat. Heat.

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[01:00:01]High go.

[01:00:27]Heat. Heat.

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[01:04:27]Hey. Hey. Hey.

[01:05:38]Hello.

[01:05:45]Hey.

[01:06:51]Hey la.

[01:07:24]Oh no.

[01:07:28]Oh.

[01:09:16]Heat. Hey. Hey. Hey.

[01:09:42]Heat. Heat.

[01:10:05]Heat. Heat.

[01:10:49]ah.

[01:10:53]Hey. Hey.

[01:11:06]launch.

[01:11:21]Hey Heat. Heat.

[01:12:22]strike.

[01:12:24]1700 deliverymen ceased work. Newspaper trucks stopped rolling. News stands formerly piled high with eight daily New York newspapers were devoid of newspapers, devoid of customers, barren as a desert waste.

[01:12:42]With the lone exception of PM news stands were as bare as Mother Hubard's cover.

[01:12:49]13 million metropolitan New Yorkers deprived of their daily newspaper fair.

[01:12:55]And this at a time when great events were in the making the world over.

[01:13:00]President Truman was on his way to a meeting of the big three. Japanese cities were being laid waste by B29s.

[01:13:08]Thousands of American boys were returning home from European battlefields.

[01:13:14]Now newspapers were more than a habit, more than a convenience. They were a necessity. New York news.

[01:13:24]For 22 hours out of every 24 news readers poured in and out of the news building two to four a breast from 6:00 in the morning to 4 the next morning.

[01:13:36]Lines began forming in the afternoon about 5:00, stood for 3 hours to await the first edition at 8:15 p.m.

[01:13:47]The longest line occurred on a Saturday night to buy the Sunday news. This line, 17 blocks long, snaked its way along Third Avenue, back and forth on Cross Street to 32nd Street.

[01:14:01]City police went through the subways at 34th Street, warning passengers bound for the news building to get off there to join the line instead of going on up to 42nd Street. Assistant Chief Inspector John D. Martino of the New York City Police Department said, >> "This was the biggest lineup crowd in my experience. It averaged 30,000 per hours."

[01:14:26]People stood in line for 2 hours before reaching the counter. Happily, however, even labor strike has its lighter moments.

[01:14:36]By courtesy of Movie Tone News, Mayor FH La Mag LaGuardia reads the comics.

[01:14:50]Ah, here's Vic Tracy. Now, here the first picture is the laundry wagon. It's a yellow laundry wagon and wet wash.

[01:14:59]That's the driver. You know, he's uh very calmly sitting down with his back toward the back of the wagon eating his lunch. And our little friend leaving, what do you s name? I'll give it in a minute. And she's inside with the money.

[01:15:16]And she says, "When are you going to let me out of here?" He says, quote says, "Easy, sister. Easy."

[01:15:25]And then the next picture and we hear the sound from inside the wagon. Oh, no. Uh, wet wash says, "I let you out when you decided to give me a better cut of that dough from the inside." And we see the inside now. I offered you $1,000. What do you think I am? This is my money. And if you remember, she starts stripping and tearing up the laundry. And she has all of the money in bills in a pillow clip.

[01:15:59]And we hear wet wash. Listen, baby. I know you're a maid at Van Hus. I saw you there last week. And I know there's something phony about that dough. Now, when we get it, it's going to be 5050.

[01:16:16]Okay. Then maybe you'd like some more of your laundry torn to piss. Rip. is ripping the laundry there. A little delicate piece of lingerie and he looks in. Ye gods, I lose my job over this.

[01:16:32]Stop. You in. I'll settle for five grand. Now get this picture.

[01:16:39]Here is wet wash. The doors of the laundry wagon are open. He's leaning with his back toward the wagon and he's counting his money. 2 3 4,000. Now he's getting into the hundreds, 600, 700, 800. And the picture shows a hand of Becklas stretching out. She's got hold of that iron pot. Remember the iron pot she took from the Van Husen's gardener's flat to put the money in. And crash, she crashes it on its head. knocked out.

[01:17:21]And hey, children, what does it all mean?

[01:17:25]It means that dirty money never brings any luck.

[01:18:23]Heat.

[01:18:33]Heat.

[01:18:37]Heat. Heat.

[01:19:14]Heat. Heat.

[01:19:22]Heat.

[01:19:45]Hey. Hey. Hey.

[01:19:59]Heat. Heat.

[01:20:24]Heat.

[01:20:26]Heat.