We are all familiar with “This Day in History” reminders. They usually commemorate a notable event or person. On June 11, 1927, for example, President Calvin Coolidge awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross medal to American aviator Charles Lindbergh for his record-breaking non-stop flight across the Atlantic. Two days later, on June 13, New York City celebrated Lindbergh’s achievement with a ticker-tape parade, and on the 14th, the Mayor feted him at gala banquet. These occasions are well documented. But what documentation is there for the non-famous events of an ordinary June 11 in New York City?
This is where the photograph collections of the Municipal Archives demonstrate their exceptional value. Most of the pictures were created by agency staff photographers performing their assigned tasks such as documenting a road construction project, or bridge repair. Their jobs took them to all corners of the city, on a daily basis. And thanks to accurate date and place identification of their images, we can now travel back in time to see what was going on in the city on any given day. And it is probably accurate to say that what we now find fascinating or interesting in these pictures—the signs on the buildings, the cars in the street—often has nothing to do with the intended subject of the picture.
Let’s take a look at what was going on in New York City on this date, June 11, through the eyes of the city’s dedicated photographers.