These stunning pictures of postwar New York were taken by Todd Webb, an American photographer notable for documenting everyday life and architecture in large cities as well as from the American west. He did various jobs before the war and began taking a serious interest in photography after attending a ten-day workshop with Ansel Adams as his teacher in 1940. During World War II, Webb was a photographer for the United States Navy and was deployed to the South Pacific theater of operations.
After Webb was discharged in 1945, he moved to New York City and began his career as a professional photographer. He made key friendships with Alfred Stieglitz, Georgia O'Keeffe, Beaumont Newhall, Berenice Abbott, Helen Levitt, and Minor White. Webb began a remarkable project of walking the streets of New York City with his heavy camera and tripod and photographing people and buildings he encountered. Even though these photos were often of familiar views, their “straightforward, descriptive clarity” helped set them apart and reflected Webb’s sense of discovery.
Take a look back at the city in postwar years through these 34 stunning black and white pictures taken by Webb:
|
| 3rd Avenue from 42nd Street El Station, 1945 |
|
| “Welcome Home” signs on 3rd Avenue, 1945 |
|
| The Battery, 1945 |
 |
| 125th Street, Harlem, 1946 |
 |
| 125th Street and Broadway, Harlem, 1946 |
 |
| A Park Avenue storefront church in Harlem, 1946 |
 |
| 3rd Avenue, 1946 |
 |
| 3rd Avenue and Bowery, 1946 |
 |
| Maise, Queen of the Bowery, 1946 |
 |
| La Salle Street and Amsterdam Avenue, Harlem, 1946 |
 |
| Whisk broom salesman, 125th Street, Harlem, 1946 |
 |
| A soldier getting a shoe shine on 125th Street, 1946 |
 |
| Greenwich Village, 1946 |
 |
| Fulton Fish Market wharf, 1946 |
 |
| Near Fulton Fish Market, 1946 |
 |
| Suffolk and Hester Streets, 1946 |
 |
| Orchard Street, 1946 |
 |
| East 7th Street, 1946 |
 |
| Tenements and Graveyard from Chatham Square El Station, 1946 |
 |
| 104th Street, 1946 |
 |
| 37th Street, 1946 |
 |
| 6th Avenue, 1946 |
 |
| Watching Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, 1946 |
 |
| Mr. Perkins’ Pierce Arrow, Harlem, 1946 |
 |
| Amsterdam Avenue near 125th Street, 1946 |
 |
| Amsterdam Avenue near 125th Street, 1946 |
 |
| Times Square sign painter, 1946 |
 |
| Looking southeast from Empire State Building, 1946 |
 |
| 3rd Avenue El looking south from Fulton Street Station, 1948 |
 |
| Mott Street, 1948 |
 |
| 6th Avenue between 43rd and 44th Streets, 1948 |
 |
| 6th Avenue between 43rd and 44th Streets, 1948 |
|
| 6th Avenue between 43rd and 44th Streets, 1948 |
|
| 6th Avenue between 43rd and 44th Streets, 1948 |