Alfred Stieglitz was a prolific photographer and a key member of the Photo-Secession Movement. He had a long and successful career.

I found some photographs on Archive .org of Stieglitz, his friends, and his life in New York City.

There is no city quite like New York. And it’s always changing! Does New York today have anything in common with New York in 1890? Or 1916?

Then too, it’s always interesting to see through someone else’s eyes. What did Stieglitz notice? What fascinated him?

This is a self-portrait of Alfred Stieglitz:

Archive.org

Like any good photographer, he started in his own backyard.

From the Back-Window -291-Building in Construction, 1916

Archive.org

From the Back-Window -291, 1915-1916.
I love the nighttime picture!

Archive.org

The Ferry Boat, 1910? Look at all the straw hats!

Archive.org

The Savoy Hotel-New York, 1898. Quite the fashionable destination!

Archive.org

The Street Paver, 1893. This may have been macadam rather than modern pavement. Macadam roads were an invention of Scotsman John Loudon McAdam in the early 19th century. It involves compacting layers of crushed stone.

Archive.org

I’m not a cold weather fan but I found this picture to be the most interesting of all. There is something about the grittiness of it that appeals to the Rust Belt in me! Winter-Fifth Avenue, 1893

Archive.org

What do you think? Would you like to reside in New York City back in the 1890s? Think how quiet it would be without the sirens and cars and buses! I’ve heard that people who go on silent retreats in the mountains and return to a city afterwards find the noise almost unbearable for the first few days.