(first posted 1/30/2019) Let’s take a tour of New York City. But this is a different kind of tour. We will not only move from place to place, but back in time as well. Through the magic of vintage photography, we will drive through Manhattan in the Spring of 1962. What will we see?
The beautiful color photographs above are here to set the stage for the main subject of this post, namely the black and white pictures that follow. They come from a very unlikely source, a research report prepared by the General Outdoor Advertising Company. It shows a typical billboard advertising campaign and its various sign locations throughout Manhattan. In this case, the client is the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors, and the product is the new Chevy II station wagon. Someone from GOA was assigned to photograph all the Chevy II billboards, and highlight them in yellow. That sounds like an interesting job to have: “Here, take this camera, drive around the city and take pictures of our billboards!”
The resulting collection is a unique time capsule showing what cars were typically on the road at that time, along with NYC architecture, signs, storefronts, and other details. These are not the kind of photos you’re going to find in a typical book about New York City. Very few people went around with a camera, photographing various intersections and everyday traffic. And even if someone did, who would publish such photos?
One thing I noticed was that so many makes of cars were being used as taxis: Fords, Chevrolets, Dodges, Checkers . . . and even Studebakers! Some of these shots were taken “through the windshield”, so you’ll notice some glass reflections and a lack of sharpness on some of these. But that’s price of true authenticity. So let’s experience what a driver would actually see as he drove through Manhattan in May of 1962. Luckily I have the address locations so if some of you explorers want to look these places up on Google street views (or go there in person), you can see what has changed and what hasn’t changed:
A little side note here–I happen to own the two cars seen at left: a 1958 Ford Custom 300 4-door (two tone), and a 1959 Chevrolet Biscayne sedan (solid color). I also once owned a cream-colored Comet, like the one barely visible behind the Chevy.
This is the stretch of Lenox Avenue that Fred Astaire sang about in 1930, “Puttin’ on the Ritz”.
This concludes your tour of New York City. Thank you, and come again!
Lark Econ-O-Milers! I’d seen pictures of them in foreign countries but didn’t think any were sold here.
Also, at 2nd and 110th, is that a horse-drawn buggy parallel parked?
Yes, I too was surprised at the Lark’s evident penetration of the NYC taxi market.
I think that’s a hand-drawn pushcart; there probably were still some on the streets in ’62.
Slightly disappointed the “through the windshield” shots didn’t show enough dashboard to see whether or not the photographer was driving a new Chevy II. Either way I wonder if this was a regular job or just a way of getting somebody out of the office for a while (insert Don Draper reference here…)
It’s those Studebaker cabs that look “normal” sized now. Simultaneously out of date and 56 years ahead of their time.
That’s a whole lot of full sized GM products there. I think a new Chevy II wagon would be much better to wheel around NYC than a 60 Chevy with 3 speed and manual steering!
I forgot to add this. Last page of the GOA report:
Thank you for for compiling these great images Poindexter. Though this era is slightly before my time, it doesn’t look remarkably different than many 70s scenes. Other than the cars and fashions of course.
I can somewhat understand the big push in the 60s to tear down much of the architecture of the past, as so much of it looks run down and depressing, and not worth saving. Thankfully, so much was saved.
GM styling in the early 60s is quite notable in that it was consistently very marketable /commercial, and aged very well. They are the best looking cars here. Including the New Look buses. So many 50s cars seem like mottled, bloated masses.
When the US switched over to the EXXON branding in the 70s, I thought we looked backward in Canada that we retained the ESSO brand. I’m now glad we did. I like that connection to the past.
Given the lack of telephone poles, it looks like utilities were underground. The roads look quite wavy, but generally unbroken. I’m impressed.
The very modern looking, but seeming out-of-place street lighting in the second pic is interesting. A lot of cities tried out such lighting in the 60s, before returning to more conventional lighting design.
That opening shot has everything – modern highways, semi-modern buildings mated with the ancient Brooklyn Bridge and the worn out Olds and Chrysler from the 50’s that look more related to the old Brooklyn Bridge than the new stuff.
The Times Square shot that so prominently shows off that Studebaker taxi is a little ironic as about 60 years earlier, the famous building with the Chevrolet sign had featured a Studebaker sign.
I tried to ID the oldest cars on the road then. There is the 49-50 Ford parked in front of the tavern on St. Nicholas Avenue and a couple of Mopars that could be about that age, but nothing older. So the vehicle spread was only about 12 or 13 years with nothing from the first postwar boom in 46-48 and certainly nothing prewar.
Awesome history tour! There was even a Hillman Mink and a Corvan!
Awesome post, thank you! Love seeing the real world street scenes with no staging, and of course it is amazing how much NYC has changed.
As for the cars, the thing that jumps out at me is how good GM’s early 1960s offerings looked–rolling eye candy that made the older products look thoroughly out-of-style. Planned obsolescence clearly on display!
They do look good – a great reason to buy a brand-new car. That 1958 Oldsmobile in the first photo would look obsolete even if it were in mint condition.
I look at the handsome 1962 Chevrolet Impala hardtop sedan and 1962 Cadillac hardtop sedan and wonder who would take a brand-new car into the city.
Reminds me of my first ride through Manhattan in August of 1960, the day after we arrived from Austria. It was in a relative’s yellow/white ’57 Bel Air hardtop coupe. It was hot and humid, and somewhere along 5th Avenue my sister lost her lunch, which ended up running down the side of the Chevy.
Casey Stengel (billboard) was the manager of the first year Lovable Loser 1962 New York Mets that year. Only 40 wins and 120 losses that season.
Seems to me that GM vehicles outnumbered everything else, or maybe the photographer waited for GM vehicles to roll by and then snapped the pics. Cool article, thanks!
GM owned 51% of the car market in 1962, and the pictures demonstrate that well!
I combed through these pretty closely, and the Hillman and a big Healey were the only imports I saw. No VW’s? Pretty hard to believe in 1962.
Possibly a future story about the 58 Ford and 59 Chevrolet?
Once again, a pleasant trip through the past. Thank you, sir.
What a nice time capsule to have now, thanks for posting these. One stalwart was keeping a ’55 Packard Clipper going.
Studebaker had an active fleet sales department during the Lark years, it was a way to bolster production though at low per-unit profits. That’s why there are many ’62 Taxis caught in these views. They had finally settled for 1962 on the longer 112″ wb Y-Body four door for all their sedans which configuration had been derived from the Land Cruiser/President Classic of 1953-’58. In a marketing decision that still baffles, the downsized but more spacious Y-Body was continued for 1959-’60 but only as Econ-O-Miler taxi. For 1961, it became known as “Heavy Duty” and was joined by the Lark Cruiser for private sale.
Please post a pic of your 1959 Biscayne, I love those ’59 Chevs!
More pics of this and other cars:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/147108383@N02/albums/72157689631373894
Thanks, nice album on flickr! If you could only keep one, the Chev or the Ford, which would it be?
Hard to choose . . . they both have their unique personalities. I would have to say . . . “The one that doesn’t break!”
I like the 1959 Chevy so much more than the 1960 and the 1958 Ford so much more than the 1959.
You have two winners.
These were great fun, and from my prime years as a young carspotter—thanks for putting it together for us. Fun to see the ’62 Fords being as new as anything on the streets.
Chinatown/Mott Street—that’s what it seems to be.
Try to date these as closely as possible (there’s probably someone who could do it from sun angles or the like), I see the billboard announcing the season’s opening of (short-lived Bronx amusement park) Freedomland for May 26th: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedomland_U.S.A.
I feel as though I can still reach back and touch this era, but that’s 57 years ago, as distant now as 2076……
Northern climate, and old cars that aged quickly..that 58 Olds in the first pick looks like an ancient beater…it is four years old if it is 1962, remember…..nowadays the first owner would still have a lot of payments to make.
What did I notice? A lack of traffic in New York no less.Born in the Bronx in 1953 and moved just across the George Washington Bridge in 1958 but was always back in the city to visit the grandparents through 62.
What I find amazing is that I could not spot any car in any of the pics over 10 years old. There is a Ford and a Chevy hardtop that look to be 1952’s that appear to be the oldest. Compare this to today where the average age of vehicles on the road is over 11 years. And, nary a pickup or SUV in sight.
What an extraordinary array. I would prefer to see the photos just in black and white, but this is still a fantastic set of (relatively) parallel moments.
Appreciated Poindexter
Wonderful pictures. The 14th and Hudson shot, with the 53 Chevy in front of the Checker Cab, shows how much Checker followed mid-50’s Chevrolet styling.
The war years, when civilian auto production almost ceased, probably used up some pre-war vehicles that might otherwise have survived.
Also, “TWO TROUSER SUITS”! 🙂
No Lyft, no Uber, no cell phones to pester you, B&W TV, rabbit ears, Sears (not sure if they had a NYC location) and their Xmas catalog, Civil Defense (duck & cover)….what more could you ask for!!
Life was good then!!😀😀😀
JFK on a TV set in the window of an appliance shop.
The contrast between the 1961 Pontiac Bonneville hardtop sedan and 1959 Pontiac Catalina hardtop sedan in the ninth and tenth photos, respectively, is interesting.
It shows how quickly GM backpedaled from the ultra-low and wide look of the radical 1959 models. That 1961 model is not only more attractive, in my opinion, but also looks much easier to enter and exit. It also shows how fast styling changes moved during that era. That 1959 Pontiac already looked dated by 1962 – and it was viewed as one of the more handsome designs for 1959.
Many of the buildings look well-worn and dirty, most likely the result of age and air pollution from vehicles, building furnaces and factories (there was still a fair amount of industry located within the city in the early 1960s). No doubt those streets look much cleaner and neater today, as the city has revived and the air has been cleaned.
Just curious, why the bright yellow Chevy ll billboard in all the black & white photos?
I’m surprised at the number of non-Checker cabs. I would have thought most of them would have been Checkers.
Great article….great pics! Thanks.
What struck me is how few cars there are on the roads. Wasn’t that supposed to be a more car-dependent time? And yet NYC seems to have many more cars on its streets today.
wow poindexter, i feel like you wrote this just for me! i’m obsessed by the history and architecture of lower manhattan. and my father drove a chevy ii wagon – blue with a straight six and three on the tree. some notes:
the brooklyn bridge to manhattan approach is very confusing to me. it looks to me more like it’s taken from south of where the bridge landing is located. a nice thing about this picture is that in the middle background, you can see the singer tower. this would be about two years before it was torn down. here’s the google street view: https://goo.gl/maps/iztzuSyPLCw
the elevated highway at north moore shot shows buildings that were torn down as part of the “urban renewal” project that included the world trade center. the buildings that survived are what we now call tribeca. the photographer, danny lyon, did a brilliant job documenting what was lost. i have his book but many of the shots are online here: https://pro.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResult&ALID=2K7O3RTOKUX8
those pre civil war buildings at canal and greenwich streets have all miraculously survived. the sandwich shop signs were still up on the then boarded up corner building until the early 2000s. you can see the restoration process in google street view here by adjusting the date slider: https://goo.gl/maps/TsVCWStSAx32
When I was in high school I made these architectural models, some of which were based on buildings photographed by Lyon for his book, The Destruction of Lower Manhattan, (shown in your link).
You may recognize 55 Fulton Street (center) and 174 Chambers Street at Bishop’s Lane (farthest from view). On the left is Broadway & Thomas Street, which was a pair of identical buildings facing each other, one of which still stands today!
Cool pics. Looks like a Healey 100-4 or 100-6 in the one overhead shot in the upper right. Always surprises me how few Euro sports cars are in shots of almost anywhere. Even areas like the Hudson Valley or west coast which were hotbeds of sports cars.
you talkin’ to me?
Lovely memory inducing images .
In general New Yorkers tended to “park by braille” so VW, Dauphines and so on didn’t fare well nor last long in NYC .
I remember seeing Lawrence Of Arabia, IIRC it starred Peter O’Tool .
-Nate
!4th and Hudson Streets…one of the few intersections involving a numbered street with a named street. A half block west on 14th, there was 14th and Greenwich Street, though that was not really an intersection, but where, north of 14th Street, the traffic came south on 9th Avenue going downtown. (Prior to 6/11/1940, the 9th Avenue El went down Greenwich Street to Battery Place, with the more recent interruption between Vesey and Liberty Streets for the World Trade Center(Buildings R.I.P.)
That’s the pointy-topped 41 story Singer Tower, tallest in the world 1908-9, demolished ’67-9, just visible above the stoplight in the second pic. The black ’61? Cadillac in the unlocated overhead shot has wide whitewalls, which I thought were out of fashion by then.
My SIL’s mother, then in Brooklyn, didn’t learn to drive until in her 50s in the 70s when they moved to Westchester. Maybe there were fewer places to park–and fewer well-off people.
Narrow band white walls, with only a few exceptions were not fitted GM cars until 1962. The 1961 Cadillac is 100% correct with its wide whitewalls
Great pics, Thanks for the tour through the billboard jungle…!!! 😊 Never had seen a Jack frost cane sugar tanker trunk before.. But as someone previously stated, NYC did still have a lot of manufacturing going on at that time. I lived upstate in Poughkeepsie, went to the NY worlds fair in 64 when I was 13. Always thought the hubbub of the city was neat. Listening to wabc NY radio and hearing what was always going on in the City..
Actually, this view:
https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/c59f8beb24f8dca1ca0dde88205929f91.jpg?w=1000&ssl=1
is from Chatham Square, facing southwest from between the Bowery and Park Row.
Here’s the same view from within a year of the present:
Thank you. I had trouble matching that photo up with a modern-day view.
In the distance, instead of the beautiful 1908 Singer Tower and the 1875 Tribune Building, we now have what I call the tall and narrow “warpy” building which is so ugly and bizarre. In the photo below, “warpy” is shown next to the 1886 Potter Building which has somehow miraculously survived on Park Row. All I can say is, “What a contrast–a clash of civilizations!”
In the photograph of 207 St, West of Sherman Ave there is Dick’s Self Service Store that sells housewares, cosmetics and what looks like “notions”. What does Dick’s actually sell or are a “notions” a thing one buys in a shop?
Car 54 Where Are You?
I enjoyed reviewing these photographs. I am a native New Yorker and at the time of these pictures, I was living in midtown Manhattan. Plenty of familiar places including the uptown photos.
Love the green & yellow Lark taxi! I think it looks better in the cab livery than in “regular” from. Btw, is that a 61 Caddy Fleetwood 75/limo in the Columbus Ave & 107th street pix? Car 54 (Where Are You?) was a good TV show in which to see early ’60s NYC street scenes; so was the crime drama “Naked City”.