New Map of the City Of New York, With Brooklyn & Parts Of Williamsburgh
Smith's New Map of the City Of New York, With Brooklyn & Parts Of Williamsburgh (1840) |
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| Date: | 1840 |
| Author: | J Calvin Smith |
| Dwnld: | Full Size (7.99mb) |
| Source: | Rumsey Map Collection |
| Print Availability: | |
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| See our Prints Page for more details | |
This map isn't part of any series, but we have other maps of Manhattan that you might want to check out.
Handsome street map of lower-Manhattan and part of Brooklyn. Prepared for Tanner and Disturnell in 1840.
For more map resources and imagery from this period in New York City's history, check out the New York Historical Society's website.
It is amazing how much Manhattan has changed in the last 10 years never mind since 1840! I wouldn’t have minded seeing what New York looked like back then.
The Brooklyn portion of this map is really interesting. I live on Water St; in a neighborhood cut up by the Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan Bridge, and BQ Expressway.
You can see how builders cared less and less about disturbing a neighborhood over time. The Brooklyn Bridge follows Fulton street, and in it’s original incarnation didn’t disturb the existing streets too much. The Manhattan Bridge, however, cuts diagonally across the grid; though still isn’t too terrible.
Robert Mose’s BGE is the worst offender, running rampant through multiple neighborhoods at seemingly complete random angles with little to no thought of the streets, neighborhoods, and people it affects.
It’s also neat that the two bridges follow roughly the same path the two ferry routes on this map take.
Many thanks for the insight, MJ. One of my favorite parts about the blog is being able to learn from locals about the nuances of maps that’d be completely lost on me, otherwise.
Kind regards,-t59k