Oh What A Difference ! A Look at Washington Square Park Then & Now: April 16, 1936 & 2015

Looking North at Arch: 1936 photo by Berenice Abbott, 2015 by Carina Zimmerman
Looking North at Arch April 16: 1936 photo by Berenice Abbott, 2015 by Carina Zimmerman

These two images of Washington Square Park come via The Bird Feed NYC site and were both taken on April 16th, just 79 years apart. What a clever idea to juxtapose two photos capturing the same view from different eras on the same day! View is from the southern perimeter of the park slightly east of the center looking north.

The top photo was shot by photographer Berenice Abbot who captured many distinctive black & white shots of New York City architecture primarily in the 1930s and also lived in the Village. This photograph was taken in 1936 and is part of the archive at the New York Public Library Digital Collections.

The same day view captured in 2015 is by Carina Zimmerman who runs The Bird Feed NYC site. Carina is a musician, vegan and loves Washington Square Park! What more do you need to know? Well, also, that The Bird Feed NYC (great name!) is filled with thoughtful tips for families and children, photos which showcase the city now and in the past, vegan recipes that look fantastic, remembrances of famous musicians, and also posts about cruelty-free beauty products! Quite a nice mix.

A postscript: I wrote about this Berenice Abbott photo once before. (No fences! Unaligned fountain.)

Top Photo: Berenice Abbot
Bottom Photo: Carina Zimmerman

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3 thoughts on “Oh What A Difference ! A Look at Washington Square Park Then & Now: April 16, 1936 & 2015”

  1. I love these pictures! It’s such a great idea to put together two pictures of the same spot in the city from different eras. Washington Square Park is so beautiful, and like many places in the city, has a personality all its own. It’s neat to see it’s had that personality for at least 79 years! I just moved to the city from upstate by way of Vermont to attend grad school at NYU. Exploring the city has been such a rush sometimes I don’t think I’m taking it all in. Thanks for sharing these frozen moments of one of my favorite places!

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  2. Hi Molly,

    Thanks so much for your comment. I love the juxtaposition of the two images also. Welcome to NYC – very different from Vermont but both great places. Best of luck and thanks for sharing your experience here!

    Cathryn

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