I just checked out a picture of the Park Row Building today, and those four statues surrounding the cupola appear to be gone - anyone have any info on what they were or why they were removed?

Those terrifying ladders up the side of the tall building in the center of the picture.

To me it they look like solar panels but I know that can't be the case. What are the two objects on the roof in this picture?

[They look like collection panels for a solar water heater, a technology that had been around for a decade when this photo was made. - Dave]

[Update 12-5-2010: They're blueprint copiers! - Dave]

I stitched the two photos together. Click to enlarge.

[Most impressive. Thank you! - Dave]

Love the awnings on the "high-rise" building just to the left of the domed building on the right side of the photo. How easily we forget that people once actually lived, worked, and played in a world without refrigerated, dehumidified air, and had to rely on things like shade and a gentle breeze to keep themselves cool.

from the rear. Great perspective. The Park Row Building (once the world's tallest) on the extreme left is still there. Also the building next to the domed building (Pulitzer) in the distance. The short building on the right (Galvanotype Engraving)18 Rose St.is roughly where Police Plaza is today, north of the Brooklyn Bridge. Love this site! Thanks for posting Dave!