New York’s Earliest Films: East River Shoreline (1903)

Описание: Welcome to this detailed panoramic journey along the East River shoreline of New York City in 1903, a remarkable film that preserves the working waterfront of Lower Manhattan at the height of its maritime power. Shot from a vessel travelling northward along the river, the footage documents the bustling piers, cargo operations, and shipping lines that together formed one of the busiest harbours in the world.

The film begins near Pier 5, opposite Broad Street, where barges and canal boats from the Erie Canal—having crossed the Hudson—are moored around Coenties Slip, a hub of coastal and inland commerce since the 18th century. As the camera moves upriver, the distinctive tower of the New York Produce Exchange at Bowling Green appears, a beacon of the city’s vast trade in grain, cotton, and other commodities.

The sequence offers a rare catalogue of vessels typical of the era: steam tugs, a wooden-hulled barkentine with box barges, a probable British iron-hulled sailing ship, an ocean steamer, derrick lighters loading barrels, and a fruit steamer serving the Caribbean trade. The Wall Street Ferry—a double-ended commuter boat linking Manhattan and Brooklyn—glides through its slip between Piers 15 and 16, moments before massive advertising billboards fill the frame.

Further north, the camera records the Ward Line (New York & Cuba Mail Steamship Company), a Pennsylvania Railroad tug, additional lighters, and ultimately the Mallory Line piers, which connected New York to Texas and the Gulf Coast.

The film concludes with a sweeping view of the Brooklyn Bridge, a passing car float, and Brooklyn Heights, with the Hotel Margaret visible in the distance. Together with its companion film Sky Scrapers of New York City From the North River, this footage forms a complete cinematic sweep around the southern tip of Manhattan in the early 20th century.

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Keywords:
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