Collection of The New-York Historical Society
Most New Yorkers today are living on what was once farmland.
As early as the 17th century, before Manhattan formed its famous grid, the island contained farms in neighborhoods from Midtown to the Upper West Side.
The Museum of the City of New York’s online collection reveals what the city looked like at the time. The series, “The Greatest Grid,” features illustrations and photos of New York City’s former rolling hills, which were later demolished to create a flat streetscape.
Take a look at the city’s transformation below.
The Bowery is the oldest thoroughfare on the island of Manhattan. When the Dutch settled there in 1654, they named the path Bouwerij — an old Dutch word for “farm” — because it connected cattle farms and estates on the outskirts to (what is today) Wall Street.
NYPL Digital Gallery
Source: The Encyclopedia of New York City
At the time, New York City (then known as New Amsterdam) featured rolling hills, forests, boulders, farms, and spaced-out homes. The 1776 illustration below is of present-day University Heights in the Bronx.
The New York Public Library
Source: NYPL
This 1862 illustration depicts a triangular farm on Manhattan’s Upper West Side during the Civil War. High property taxes discouraged landowners from building on their lots, and the area would not see full-scale development until the 1880s.
The Museum of the City of New York
Source: The Museum of the City of New York
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