[HOME MOVIE TRIP TO NEW YORK CITY 1976]

Genre: home movie

Year Published: 1976

Description: Shot by an unknown filmmaker, this silent Super 8mm home movie captures New York in 1976 on Super 8mm film. Footage shows the city’s grit comprised of blending architecture, rich maritime history, various cultural influences and modern skyscrapers. It begins with views captured from a boat on the East and Hudson River; two vital water ways, featuring stunning shots of the World Trade Centers, Lady Liberty, Ellis Island, the Staten Island Ferry as well as it’s White Hall Terminal, the Empire State, East River Co-ops, Kips Bay and Turtle Bay neighborhood, South Street Sea Port, Riverside Church, Rockefeller ice rink and a number of the city’s bridges. Ground footage tours Broadway and Chinatown an area on the rise in the 1970’s with a boom in popularity of Szechuan, Hunan and Mandarin cuisine. The 1970’s saw New York in a period of economic crisis as well as cultural rebirth. Super 8 was released in 1965. It opens with Manhattan’s skyline (:01) and the Twin Towers (:15). Wide shots capture Ellis Island (:54) followed by close shots (1:07). A ferry boat passes Immigrant’s Final Stop (1:21). The Statue of Liberty (1:45) follows. Stunning footage shows the Twin Towers as a center piece to a foggy NYC skyline (2:47). The Staten Island Ferry (3:35) runs through New York Harbor between the boroughs of Manhattan and Staten Island; fare free since 1817. The White Hall Terminal (3:46), buildings along the tip of lower Manhattan including the Continental Center (3:53) and Castle Williams on Governor’s Island follow. The historic fort was built in the early 1800’s in an effort to protect New York’s inner harbor initially from the Brits. The Brooklyn Bridge appears over the East River (4:02). The bridge; a subject of much art, known for it’s intricate cables and Gothic revival style architecture, connects the four boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Shots of South Street Sea Port feature the permanently docked Wavertree (4:11) and sky scrapers of lower Manhattan’s financial district. Wavertree helped to transform the South Street Sea Port and is today a museum part of the National Register of Historic Places. Manhattan bridge (4:46) connects lower Manhattan and downtown Brooklyn at Canal Street. A dual bridge shot shows the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridge running parallel to one another (4:54). Shots pan over Cooperative Village (5:18) developed in the 1950’s in order to provide affordable housing. The Empire State building (5:36) appears behind Waterside Plaza in Kips Bay neighborhood comprised of four residential towers, a health club and parking garage. The art deco Chrysler building (5:55) stands next to the Metlife building and One Vanderbilt. Close shots sweep traffic on an overpass and the Empire State building (5:57). The UN Secretariat building in Turtle Bay (6:06), Renwick Small Pox Hospital (6:33) on Roosevelt Island, and Hell Gate running parallel to RFK bridge over the East River follow (7:00). Shots pan over lower Manhattan (8:02) showing the Equitable building at 120 Broadway completed in 1915 as the largest office building. It is now an NYC and National Landmark part of Wall Street’s Historic district. The Riverside Church appears in brutal neo-Gothic style erected in 1930 (8:47). Shots from the Hudson pan over to General Grant National monument (8:54). Street angles face 200 Park Avenue North; at the time the Pan Am building (9:52) (later the Met Life building). The Helmsley building stands in front. Views along Broadway (9:57) feature Manhattan Savings Bank and locals on crowded sidewalks (10:01). Pale day shots show New Yorkers in winter jackets (10:11). Chinatown follows (10:02) including the Wo Ping House (10:22), Mandarin Inn and Ting Fu Garden (10:26). Confucius Plaza (10:38), Rockefeller Center Plaza (11:33), Rockefeller ice rink (11:50), Saint Patrick’s Cathedral (12:13) and iconic Yellow Cabs (12:28) close the film.