HISTORIC FILMS OF NEW YORK CITY

(Intro needs a LOT of work) We have been familiar with the newsreel archive from the news company British Pathé for a while, but recently went down the rabbit hole that is their archives, a treasure trove of 85,000 films from 1896 to 1976. While most of their films are from Great Britain, we have identified our favorites that are shot in NYC. The films range from news stories documenting the construction of new skyscrapers,  b-roll footage showing the city streets and skyline, and short scenes of entertaining shots. We have compiled selection below for sixty films, in chronological order showing seven decades of New York City starting in 1907 with a grainy black and white skyline view and ending with that same skyline view in color in the 70s.

(1907) Early footage of Manhattan Island with multiple locations around the city including Central Park and Lower Manhattan. 

(1920) Camera men on climbing the Brooklyn Bridge filming workers as they paint the famous landmark. 

I HAVE 58 MORE VIDEOS TO ADD TO THIS POST!