VINTAGE MANHATTAN SKYLINE

Aerial view looking northeast of Midtown Manhattan in late September, 1970 with many new office skyscrapers.

The 102-story Empire State Building (Shreve, Lamb & Harmon, 1931) with the 40-story 1250 Broadway Tower (Shreve, Lamb & Harmon, 1969) are on center, foreground with the 77-story Chrysler Building (William Van Allen, 1930) are visible at backgroud. The Park Avenue’s modern skyscrapers corridor, with Pan Am Building (Walter Gropius-Emery Roth & Sons-Pietro Belluschi, 1963) are visible at background, at left. The United Nations’ Secretariat Building (Wallace K. Harrison, 1950) are at background, at right. The building under construction that can be seen just behind Empire State is the 45-story 600 Third Avenue Building (Emery Roth & Sons, 1971). The steel skeleton that be begun to rises up at extreme left, on foreground, is the future W.R. Grace Building (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, 1972) under construction.

Photo: The Scheller Co.

The new 32-story Chrysler Building East (Reinhard, Hofmeister & Walquist, 1952) at left, and the 77-story Chrysler Building (William Van Allen, 1930) en this view looking southwest from 44th Street and Third Avenue, in 1952. The 102-story Empire State Building (Shreve, Lamb & Harmon, 1931) and the 55-story Chanin Building (Sloan & Robertson, 1928) can be seen between two buildings, at background.

Photo: Ewing Galloway.

Source: "Around Manhattan Island. Cruise Guide Circle Line". New York. Circle Line, 1962.

Midtown Manhattan skyline looking northwest from the top of Metropolitan Life tower. Summer, 1952. 

The Empire State Building (Shreve, Lamb & Harmon, 1931) are on foreground, center, dominating the skyline. 500 Fifth Avenue tower (Shreve, Lamb & Harmon, 1931) and Rockefeller Center’s R.C.A. Building (Associated Architects, 1933) can be seen at background, right.

Photo: Manhattan Post Card, Co./Dexter Press.Inc.

Don’t miss the new photogallery (in Spanish) about the evollution of the Manhattan skyline during 1952 (Part One) in the blog “Historia de los Rascacielos de Nueva York”.

https://bit.ly/2W9K19f

Aerial view looking southwest of Midtown Manhattan. Summer, 1955.

The Empire State (Shreve, Lamb & Harmon, 1931) and Chrysler (William Van Allen, 1930) buildings are visible at center, above. The skyscraper under construction that be visible between Empire State and Chrysler are the new Socony-Mobil Building (Harrison & Abramovitz, 1956). The United Nations Headquarters (Wallace K. Harrison, 1948-1952) are at left, foreground. Rockefeller Center complex (Associated Architects, 1931-1940) are at right, above.

Photo: Skyviews Aerial Surveys.

Source: Wallock, Leonard. "New York Culture Capital of the World 1940-1965". New York, Rizzoli, 1988.

Aerial view looking south of Midtown Manhattan. Autumn, 1955.

Photo: Fairchild Aerial Surveys

Source: “Las Maravillas del Mundo”. Spain, Codex, 1965.

Night view looking southeast of Midtown Manhattan skyline with Rockefeller Center complex, on foreground and the Empire State Bulding at background, right. Late 1949.

Photo: Robert Bagby.

Source: Colourpicture Publishing, Inc.

Night view looking southeast of Midtown Manhattan skyscrapers from Continental Building, in 1932. 

The Bricken Casino Buildng (Ely Jacques Kahn, 1931) are on foreground, and the Empire State Building (Shreve, Lamb & Harmon, 1931) are at top left, background.

Photo: Samuel H. Gottscho.

Source:  Albrecht, Donald. “The Mithic City. Photographs of New York by Samuel H. Gottscho, 1925-1940”. New York. Museum of the City of New York-Princeton Architectural Press. 2005.

Aerial view looking northeast of Midtown Manhattan skyscraper, in Early 1931.

The 102-story Empire State Buiding (Shreve, Lamb & Harmon, 1931) nearing completion is at center. The Chrysler Building (William Van Allen, 1930) are visible at right.

Photo: Unknown.

Sourcee: Flowers, Banjamin. “Skyscraper. The Politics and Power of Building New York City in the Twentieth Century”.  Philadelphia. University of Pennsylvania Press. 2009.

Midtown Manhattan skyscrapers. View looking north from the 86th floor observatory of the Empire State Building. Spring, 1968.

Buildings under construction at left, are, the 45-story Interchem Building (Emery Roth & Sons, 1969) at foreground, and the 50-story Burlington House Building (Emery Roth & Sons, 1969) at background. In the center, at background the Rockefeller Center complex with R.C.A. Building (Associates Architects, 1933) and the new 50-story General Motors Building (Edward Durell Stone-Emery Roth & Sons, 1968) nearing completion dominates the skyline. At foreground is the 58-story 500 Fifth Avenue Building (Shreve, Lamb & Harmon, 1931). At right are the new ITT North America Building (Emery Roth & Sons, 1967), the 41-story Bankers Trust Annex Building (Emery Roth & Sons,1968) under construction, and the Union Carbide Building (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, 1960, demolished in 2021). On foreground are the steel skeleton for the new Emigrant Savings Bank Building (Emery Roth & Sons, 1969) under construction and the 42-story 330 Madison Avenue Building (Kahn & Jacobs, 1964).

Photo: Unknown (amateur Kodachrome slide)

Aerial view looking southwest of Midtown Manhattan. Summer, 1964.

Photo: Alfred Mainser, Inc.

Night view looking southeast of Midtown Manhattan skyline, from Hudson River. Autumn, 1972.

The new 54-story One Astor Plaza (Kahn & Jacobs, 1972) are at center. The Empire State Building (Shreve, Lamb & Harmon, 1931) are at right.

Photo: Alfred Mainzer, Inc.

The 110-story World Trade Center Twin Towers. Vesey, West, Liberty and Church streets. Minoru Yamasaki & Associates-Emery Roth & Sons. Build between 1966-1976. Twin Towers open on April 4th, 1973. The entire complex was destroyed by a terrorist attack on September 11, 2001.

Aerial view looking northeast of Lower Manhattan skyscrapers dominated by the Twin Towers of World Trade Center nearing completion, in Autumn, 1973. Just below them can be seen the new 45-story Bankers Trust Plaza (Shreve, Lamb & Harmon, 1974, demolished in 2007-2010). Midtown Manhattan skyline with the Empire State Building can be seen at background, at left.

Photo: Nester´s Map & Guide Corp.

Night view of Midtown Manhattan skyline. View looking southeast from Fort Lee, New Jersey, Autumn, 1973. 

The new Solow Buidling (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, 1974) and Pan Am building (Walter Gropius-Emery Roth & Sons-Pietro Belluschi, 1963) are at left. Rockefeller Center’s R.C.A. Building (Associated Architects, 1933) and skyscrapers surrounding it are at center. At right can be seen the Uris Plaza (Emery Roth & Sons, 1972) and One Astor Plaza (Kahn & Jacobs, 1972), and above them, the top of the Empire State Building (Shreve, Lamb & Harmon, 1931) fully illuminated, dominates the skyline.

Photo: Unknown.

The 102-story Empire State Building. 350 Fifth Avenue, west block between 33rd to 34th streets. Shreve, Lamb & Harmon, 1930-1931.

Aerial view looking northeast of the Empire State Building and its neighborhood, with Chrysler Building at background, at right. The Waldorf-Astoria hotel are at left. Spring, 1948.

Photo: Foto: Fairchild Aerial Surveys/New York State Archives.

The 102-story Empire State Building. 350 Fifth Avenue, west block between 33rd to 34th streets. Shreve, Lamb & Harmon, 1930-1931.

View looking northwest of the Empire State Building and its neighborhood from Metropolitan Life tower. Summer, 1952. Rockefeller Center’s R.C.A. Building and 500 Fifth Avenue tower can be seen at background, right. The recently completed 1407 Broadway Building are visible at left, backgound.

Photo: Manhattan Post Card, Co./Dexter Press, Inc.

Don’t miss the new photogallery (in Spanish) about the history of Empire State Building’s TV tower, in the blog “Historia de los Rascacielos de Nueva York”.

https://historiadelosrascacielosdenuevayork.blogspot.com/2021/03/especial-empire-state-building-1951-la.html

A couple enjoyed the evening view of Midtown Manhattan from the Beekman Tower Hotel roof. Spring, 1964. 

View looking soutwest with the Empire State (Shreve, Lamb & Harmon, 1931) and Chrysler (William Van Allen, 1930) buildings, at left, dominates the glittering skyline. The Pan Am Building (Walter Gropius-Emery Roth & Sons-Pietro Belluschi, 1963) are at right.

Photo: T.W.A.

Source: National Geographic Magazine, August, 1965.

The 102-story Empire State Building. 350 Fifth Avenue, west block between 33rd to 34th streets. Shreve, Lamb & Harmon, 1930-1931.

View looking northwest of the Empire State Building and its neighborhood from Metropolitan Life tower. Summer, 1951. Rockefeller Center’s R.C.A. Building and 500 Fifth Avenue tower can be seen at background, right. The recently completed 1407 Broadway Building are visible at left, backgound.

Photo: Empire State Building, Inc.

Source: Horn, Jack. "And on the Right. A New York City Guide". New York, Jack Horn-New York Printing Company. 15th Edition, 1970.