THE WONDER CITY

Year Published: 1930’

Format: 16mm

Description: This late 1930’s short gives a glimpse into the city of New York prior to the First World War. The film was edited by Eugene Castle; the founder of Castle Films. Notable changes in the city are captured including the traditional double decker buses which were utilized until the 1950’s. Also much of the avenues were one ways until the early 1960’s. The film opens with a cruise liner approaching the New York City harbor (:18). An aerial shot of the black and white city skyline follows (:24). Lady Liberty stands erect on Ellis Island (:29). The intersection of Broadway and Bowling Green (:38) lead to images of Manhattan’s lower end (:42). Trinity Church is situated in the financial district of the city; opened in 1846 (:59). Federal Hall appears (1:07) opened in 1842. The two structures here are the Federal style building from 1703 and the current Greek Revival-style which was completed in 1842. City Hall (1:36) and the New York City Prison (1:48) follow. The camera pans over a bridge which the prisoners traverse to criminal courts (1:52). The Brooklyn bridge hangs over the city’s skyline (1:58). The Bowery (2:07); a neighborhood in the southern parts of NYC, was mostly impoverished during the 1920’s and 30’s. The area hit a revival in the 1990’s. Shops in the lower east side follow (2:15). This portion of the city is captured under construction as roads were being widened and houses were rebuilt (2:19). The Essex Market was once a hub for independent pushcart peddlers and open air markets (2:22). Mott Street in Chinatown follows (2:28). Traditional ceremonies are captured as a large dragon fidgets and flicks through crowds (2:36). Evening scenes in Chinatown show traditional dancing with swords (2:53). The Washington Square Arch; a Tuckahoe marble arch in Washington Square Park, was opened in 1892 (2:59). Art studios are captured in Greenwich Village; later to be known as the center of the 1960’s counterculture movement (3:04). The Flatiron Building (3:36) was one of the first skyscrapers, erected in 1902. A young couple marries at the Church of the Transfiguration in Manhattan (3:50). The Pennsylvania Station is captured in Beaux-Arts architecture (3:59). It was demolished in 1963. The Empire State Building was erected on the site of the old Waldorf Astoria Hotel in 1930 (4:13). The Chrysler Building stands at 405 Lexington Avenue (4:38). The Public Library (4:59) precedes a man feeding the notoriously friendly city pigeons (5:04). St. Patrick’s Cathedral is known as one of the most beautiful cathedrals opened in 1879 (5:22). A sea of New York City worshippers follows (5:27). A three minute walk from here is the Rockefeller center (5:42). Lady dancers rehearse on the rooftop of Radio City Music Hall (5:52). Ice skating is captured in the Rockefeller Rink Plaza (6:08) as well as on the frozen lake of Central Park (6:21). The Metropolitan Museum of Art is the largest art museum in the western hemisphere comprised of over two million works (6:50). Exhibits are captured within the Museum of Natural History (6:59). Columbia’s Morningside Heights campus follows (7:24). Riverside drive is seen after recently having improvements made upon it (7:29). This road lines the Hudson River (7:30). General Grant’s National Memorial (7:42) is the final resting place of Ulysses S. Grant and his wife; Julia Grant. The Riverside Church in Manhattan is captured with its 72 melodious bells ringing out (7:52). Harlem is captured (8:03). During this time period, Harlem was considered to be a place of rich artistic African American culture and activism (8:07). The area was ablaze with poetry, art and jazz. The animated youth of Harlem are pictured (8:16). The large White Plains Hospital follows which got its start as a small four-room hospital in 1893 (8:28). The camera flies over the Washington bridge (8:38). This is the only bridge running over the Hudson River. The scene fades to night with New York’s neon lights (8:58).

Transcription

The most impressive way to approach New York is through its magnificent harbor. From the deck of one of the great liners, the towers in the sun are an all inspiring sight. Miss Liberty holds high her welcoming torch, offering freedom and peace to the oppressed of other lands. The immigration gateway, Ellis Island is nearby. In the little park at Manhattan's lower end, the Dutch founders once played their favorite game. Here begins the main street of the town, Broadway. Along lower Broadway, famous visitors are welcomed by the paper snow of the cheering crowds. [Music] Up Broadway at Old Trinity Church begins Wall Street. [Music] The subtreasury is at Wall and Nassau on the site of the old federal building where Washington took the oath of first president. The imposing stock exchange on Broad near Wall is the financial pulse of America where ticker tape measures the fluctuating fortunes of the nation. Downtown, the streets are narrow and great buildings blot out the sky. It's all work and no play here. Busy by day, but deserted by night. City Hall is a worldrenowned architectural gem. One of the few surviving landmarks of little old New York, now surrounded by great structures of a later day. The tombs with its gloomy bridge of size over which prisoners cross to the criminal courts for trial. Brooklyn Bridge is the oldest and the most famous of New York's many bridges. From it the views of Manhattan are sublime. The Bowery now lodging houses and cheap bazaars famous in song and story but a dingy street today. The Lower East Side, its squalor and tenementss rapidly being replaced by wider streets and better housing. But the push market still survives. They say that there are bargains here if you know how to make your price. Nearby is Chinatown, exotic, mysterious, where thousands of orientals live apart in their own peculiar way. Jos houses, shops, and restaurants and narrow twisting streets. A fascinating place, especially on ceremonial occasions. [Music] At the Centennial Arch in Washington Square begins Fifth Avenue, and a short distance away are the art studios of Greenwich Village. [Music] Although on the square live many aristocratic families, dignity means nothing to the children of congested sections nearby and hot weather means a Roman holiday. Over on the Hudson are the Great Peers where dock the giant liners from all over the world. Arrivals and sailings every day. where Broadway crosses Fifth Avenue stands the Flat Iron Building, one of the first skyscrapers. The Church of the Transfiguration, lovingly known as the Little Church around the corner, famous for its romantic weddings, a shrine dear to the people of the stage. [Music] Pennsylvania Station, one of the city's colossal gateways. Through it passed travelers from every state and from every corner of the globe, a monument to the vision of a great railroad. On the site of the old Waldolf Atoria Hotel now stands the Empire State Building, the tallest structure in the world, 102 stories high. Its gigantic tower dominates the city and can be seen from nearly everywhere. The Chrysler building at 42nd Street in Lexington is the next tallest of the city's many towers. Its silver spire flashing in the sun. A smart shopping center and one of the city's busiest crossings. [Music] Here stands the public library. There are 3 and 1/2 million volumes within its massive walls. Its friendly pigeons never want for food. [Music] Clark Avenue, the street of wealth and social prestige. Great apartments of penthouse fame and shops known around the world. [Music] St. Patrick's Cathedral is one of the most beautiful churches on this continent. On Easter Sunday, for generations, it has been the center of the famous fashion parade. And a ride behind a horse can still be had. Directly opposite the cathedral and towering above it is Rockefeller Center, a city within a city. 12 acres of mighty white buildings reaching to the sky. [Music] On the roof of the Radio City Music Hall, rehearsals sometimes stop the work in the offices nearby. The terrace plazas with their fountains and statues suggest the city of tomorrow. In the sunken plaza, skating is the winter sport, and a busy city stops to watch as to music the skaters glide. Also at the lake in Central Park, the scene reminds one of the frozen pond back home. [Music] The birds are not forgotten when the snow lies deep. [Music] A garden in the city's heart. Its four sides lined with beautiful buildings here set in a tapestry of green. A paradise for candid camera fans and nature lovers, too. The Metropolitan Museum of Art with paintings and sculpture as fine as any in the galleries of the old world. On the west side of the park is the Museum of Natural History. In its spacious exhibition halls are shown lifelike animal groups in their natural surroundings. [Music] Columbia University on Morningside Heights is the city's leading seat of learning. The recently improved Riverside Drive skirts the Hudson River. It is dotted with many famous monuments and buildings. On its upper end, the tomb of General Grant looks down. Riverside Church is famous for its great carolon, the largest in the world with its 72 melodious bells high in the air. Harlem, a large section in the northern part of the city. Here lives most of the colored population. Not always prosperous, but seemingly always happy. Harlem, land of swing and saxophone, where they teach the world how to sing and to dance. Whatever they do, they keep smiling through the massive white medical center, 22 acres devoted to advancement of surgical and medical research and skill. Graceful George Washington Bridge is one of the city's newest and largest spans of woven steel. The only one over the Hudson River. It leads to the beautiful Jersey Shore and the West beyond. But New York is not only steel and stone. It is people, too. Millions of beating hearts, lights and shadows, tears and laughter, work and play, night and day. And so it moves from the memories of yesterday into the promise of tomorrow. A strange cosmopolitan paradox. When day is dawn and night folds in its robes of velvet black, they are studded with millions of sparkling jewels that challenge even the brightest stars of the sky. A city that never sleeps. Its spinning tempo carries on into the dawn. New York, the wonder city. [Music]

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