I've posted about Berenice Abbott's pictures of New York in the 1930s before. Now someone has retaken those pictures in today's New York. Here is Joerg Colberg's review...

Review: New York Changing by Douglas Levere

In the late 1930's, Berenice Abbott set out to document the changes New York City was going through at that time. I have the feeling that back then people were saying the same things that people are saying now: It was all nicer in the past. Well, was it? About sixty years later, Douglas Levere went out to re-record New York City, finding the spots that Berenice Abbott had taken photos at, using the same equipment, and trying to get as close as possible to achieving the same look-and-feel of the photos as possible. The result of this process have now been published as New York Changing (Princeton Architectural Press); and they are nothing but impressive.

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New York Changing
REVISITING BERENICE ABBOTT'S NEW YORK
By DOUGLAS LEVERE

BREVOORT HOTEL WITH MARK TWAIN HOUSE, MANHATTAN, 1935
Fifth Avenue between East 8th and 9th Streets

BREVOORT APARTMENTS, MANHATTAN, 1998
Fifth Avenue between East 8th and 9th Streets

What is really amazing about these new photographs is that he not only reproduced the location and lens but also the lighting, which means that he had to figure out not only the time of day but also the the day of the year to get the same lighting. Amazing. I did my own retake of Berenice Abbott this Spring when I visited my Grandfathers old studio. This picture was looking down the street my Grandfather's studio was on. His studio was across from the Unadilla Apartments.

THREE-DECKER HOUSES: WEST 11TH STREET, BETWEEN SIXTH AND SEVENTH AVENUES
FEBRUARY 3, 1937

April 28, 2004