Rare Footage of New York City in 1911 shows everyday life in New York City over 100 years ago. The film features famous landmarks like the Statue of Liberty and the Flatiron Building, and showcases what life on New York streets looked like. The early 1900s were a period of rapid change for New York City. The city's population was ballooning as an influx of immigrants passed through Ellis Island. Massive skyscrapers began popping up seemingly overnight, many of them among the tallest in the world at the time. And new technology such as automobiles and elevated trains made the city more accessible than ever.
In 1911, Swedish company Svenska Biografteatern produced a nine-minute film showing everyday life in Manhattan. The remarkably clear footage, released by the Museum of Modern Art last year, includes recognizable modern-day landmarks like the Flatiron Building and the Statue of Liberty, as well as buildings that no longer exist, such as the New York Herald Building. "Produced only three years before the outbreak of World War I, the everyday life of the city recorded here — street traffic, people going about their business — has a casual, almost pastoral quality," the museum wrote. The film shows a boat arriving at New York Harbor with the Statue of Liberty in the distance. The harbor is still used by cruise lines, commuter ferries, and tourist boats. And the Statue of Liberty is as popular a tourist destination as ever. The Flatiron Building, completed in 1902, was one of the tallest buildings in the world when it was built. Today, the Flatiron Building isn't among the tallest 1,000 buildings in New York City. But its distinct appearance has made it one of the most popular and photographed landmarks in the Big Apple.
Music: "The Inventor" & "Wishes" by Dhruva Aliman
