Most of the photos on this site were extracted from reference images (high-resolution tiffs, 20 to 200 megabytes in size) from the Library of Congress research archive. (To query the database click here.) Many were digitized by LOC contractors using a Sinar studio back. They are adjusted by your webmaster for contrast and color in Photoshop before being downsized and turned into the jpegs you see here.

The New York of 1908 as seen from the 33rd floor of the Metropolitan Life building. View full size. 5x7 glass negative, George Grantham Bain Collection.
I think that large, dark building in the center is the original Waldorf-Astoria, where the Empire State Building is now. And look how the Time building towers above the others in the area, hard to believe.
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