Okay here we go, looking north on Broadway. The spire at the bottom left is St. Paul's Chapel 1764-66, spire added 1796, oldest surviving church in Manhattan. The building next to it with inner courtyard is Astor House 1834-36, demolished 1926 for the Transportation Building (1927, York and Sawyer, 44 floors). Skip two to the one with the flagpole, the Mechanics Society building of 1870, seven stories. The top floors were the office studio of Irving Underhill, who took this picture.

[Note from Dave: This is not an Underhill photo. George Grantham Bain took the picture.]

Between the Society & the Astor House these buildings were demolished for the Woolworth tower of 1913 (Cass Gilbert, 792 feet, 57 floors). The peak-roofed building behind the flag was William Sloane Carpets and a patent office, 245 Broadway. The next big structure north is the Postal Telegraph and Home Life Insurance building, 1892-94.

The next building north, barely visible, is the National Shoe and Leather Bank, which is in the Postcard Views of Old New York Web site. Continuing north, partially obscured by steam, is the Broadway Chambers building (1899-1900, Cass Gilbert, 18 stories). Heading east across Broadway at the top of the photo underneath the letters E. FROM SINGER BUIL is the Clock Tower (New York Life Insurance, 1894-98, Stephen Decatur Hatch / McKim, Mead & White).

The building hiding the front of the clock towe is Brooklyn Life Insurance, 15 stories. Heading south the next big building might be Queen Insurance. South of that is A.T. Stewart's Marble Palace of 1846 (Joseph Trench & John B. Snook). The two behind the palace were demolished to make way for the Emigrant Industrial Savings Bank (1908-1912, Raymond F. Almirall).

Gotta go, I'll finish Part 2 later and will provide book credits and favorite Web references.

At first I thought the white specks were birds. (Duh). The penthouse is amazing. Were the two domed structures on the left part of the penthouse? And "Temple Court" there on the right is interesting. It would be fun to explore a huge blow up of this shot.

That is a nice penthouse (I presume) with the courtyard there near the center.

[That's the Park Row tower, tallest building in New York until the Singer was completed. - Dave]