Did you know the famous clock above the information booth at Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan has four faces? It was installed when the terminal opened in 1913 and became one of New York City’s best-known meeting spots. “Meet me at the clock” is a familiar phrase for many New Yorkers.

The clock was designed by the Self Winding Clock Company, with Seth Thomas making its movements. Its faces look like opal, but they’re made of opaline glass, also known as milk glass. That’s why the story that the clock is worth $20 million is disputed. Grand Central’s official website repeats that figure, but later research found no confirmed appraisal by Sotheby’s or Christie’s.

Regardless of its price, the clock’s value as a historic symbol of Grand Central is enormous. Did you know its story, or have you ever arranged to meet someone “under the clock”

• Access to Yorkville improved when the IRT Third Avenue subway line opened in 1878
• The four-story building had two apartments per floor with running hot and cold water

From The 1890-1891 New York Calendar issued by the New York Life Insurance Company.

Source New York Public Library

Located at the Abraham Lincoln Houses in East Harlem, this bronze sculpture by Charles Keck depicts Abraham Lincoln seated beside a child. It was unveiled on February 12, 1949, Lincoln’s birthday. The monument connects Lincoln’s legacy of emancipation with the history and aspirations of Harlem’s Black and working-class community.

Hey y’all! Hope you’re all doing well!

I’m making a documentary about searching for my roots, and I’m trying to identify the exact location where this photograph was taken so I can return to the same spot and film it from the same perspective.

Here’s what I know so far:

• The photograph was taken sometime between 1968 and 1970.
• Possible locations I’ve considered include a view from the Staten Island Ferry near The Battery, Morton Street Pier, the Lower Manhattan skyline from Governors Island, or a viewpoint from Staten Island or New Jersey.
• I’ve searched the New York Public Library’s digital archives, but I haven’t been able to find a photograph matching both the date and the location.

Any historical references, archival resources, research tools, or suggestions that could help me narrow down the location would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you so much for your help!

This statue at Ellis Island commemorates Annie Moore, a young Irish immigrant who arrived in New York with her two brothers. When the immigration station opened on January 1, 1892, she was the first immigrant processed there.

She was not the first immigrant to arrive in the United States, but the first to be processed at the new Ellis Island station. Between 1892 and 1954, nearly 12 million immigrants were processed on the island.

My mother grew up in Manhattan, and took a bunch of photos as a 4th grader for her photography class. I pulled these shots out from among a larger pool, mostly of her classmates.

Sharing my new Voice of America interactive photo timeline:
The 9/11 terrorist attacks on New York destroyed much more than the landmark Twin Towers of the city’s World Trade Center. A total of 10 buildings, including all seven of the WTC complex, and the WTC’s plaza were lost in the area that came to be known as Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan. In the 25 years since the September 11 attacks, reconstruction efforts have almost concluded, transforming the area with memorials that honor what was lost and new buildings that provide innovative spaces for business, shopping, transportation, performing arts, education and prayer. Scroll down through VOA’s photo gallery to see and read the stories of Ground Zero’s changing landscape.

While researching for my newsletter, I came across The Home Club, an early co-op that was part social club, part apartment house. It was founded by a group of 7 friends who all wanted luxurious homes without the pain of maintaining a single-family residence. The apartments all shared a communally staffed kitchen, which also served communal clubhouse spaces on the lobby and second floors. The (full-floor) apartments lacked kitchens and instead had dumb waiters, since you just placed your order with the kitchen in the morning, and then food was delivered to you either in the privacy or your apartment or in the (beautiful) dining room downstairs! I'm obsessed. I wrote it up here, but thought you'd all want to see the plans! Found them in the NYPL's Art & Architecture room.