Wpa Guide to New York City

by Work Projects Administration

Book Overview

This tour guide for time travelers offers New York lovers and 1930s buffs an endlessly fascinating look at life as it was lived in the days when a trolley ride cost five cents, a room at the Plaza was $7.50, and the new World's Fair was the talk of the town. Hailed by the New York Times as one of the 10 best books ever written about the city. Photos. Maps.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0394712153
• ISBN13: 9780394712154
• Release Date: September 1982
• Publisher: Pantheon Books
• Length: 680 Pages
• Weight: 1.90 lbs.

Customer Reviews

The Best Guide to New York Past

This is the third copy of this book I've bought over the years; I gave the other two to New Yorkers. Like the rest of this long series of guides to U.S. destinations, it was written under the Roosevelt-era W.P.A. by an array of higly talented, highly unemployed writers. If you love the City, or even are curious as to What Went Wrong, this particular guide is a great work. Wonderful Black and White photos, and fine writing.

Great reading

This well written guide had intersting facts about this - the greatest city in the world. The majority of the buildings described are still standing. The descriptions of the city in 1939 are facinating to read. Well worth reading if you are planning to visit 21st century New York and a must for any New Yorker

Old New York

A facinating treasure trove of detailed and documented information on New York's neighborhoods. The bibliorgaphy is an invaluable but often neglected resource. Despite its extensive detail, the text is a facinating read.

fascinating read

Not for reading straight through, the guide is an amazing resource. Anybody living in or visiting New York regularly will be fascinated to look up their favourite (or least favourite) neighbourhoods to see what they were like in 1939. The maps are beautiful (the photos less interesting) and the text is elegantly and lyrically written. It's a bit of an archeological game at times, as you find that a few minor idiosyncracies in neighbourhoods today are the remnants of entire cultures and histories that used to thrive.The editors made the right decision to leave the text entirely alone.A perfect gift for anybody trying to make it in the Big Apple.

The golden age of New York

Anyone interested in New York City will find this book absolutely fascinating. Imagine being transported to the City's golden age -the years during which America was emerging from the Depression---and before being thrust into World War Two. The City is chronicled neighborhood by neighborhood and includes interesting historical background information. With this book you will see New York through the eyes of the past; One of my all time favorites.