Now and Then Again…

 

(1929) Hoyt and Schermerhorn St. Percy Loomis Sperr, New York Public Library #705002F. (From Re-Brooklyn)

The theme of ‘change’ has definitely been inescapable in the media these past couple months; however, the notion of how we visualize and understand this change is somewhat limited by the short timeframes that define our lives: this needs to be done by five o’clock, monthly billing cycles,  how will Obama fix the economy in the next 12 months- and so forth. Rarely do we have time to really ponder what change looks like on time frames that extend beyond many people’s lives-

 

Re-Brooklyn is one of my favorite new blogs. Author Zach van Schouwen retakes an archival photo a couple of times a week to demonstrate just how vastly different Brooklyn is in 2008 than it was in the 1920’s.  Often times the results are expected like more recent construction hemming in 163 Ninth Street and other times the results are surprising, such as this church at Degraw St. and Tompkins Pl. which seems to have more space today than in 1928. 

Early photography has always been of interest to me; i’ve spent many hours pouring over the Western New York Heritage Press page comparing the Buffalo, New York that I grew up in to the one that only my grandparents knew.  Perhaps this is a more literal interpretation of “now and then,” or just a simple exploration of how we can extend our historical memory to appreciate changes that take place on truly long term time scales.

Last 5 posts by ASHP Staff

• FDR's Tree Army [now on Vimeo] - March 13th, 2013
• December Roundup - December 19th, 2012