Dog Days of Summer

It’s the dog days of summer here in New York City, so here at Off the Grid we thought we would share some “cool”  images from the GVSHP archive.

This circa 1950 picture of an ice delivery from the Nat Kaufman Collection is a rare find. After WWII, 90% of urban homes had mechanical refrigeration, as opposed to chests cooled by blocks of ice. Perhaps this delivery is for the delicatessen in the background, which sells ice on a retail scale.

Still feeling hot? This circa 1950 image of children playing in the fountain in Washington Square Park is also from the Nat Kaufman Collection. Notice the bus travelling through the park in the background. Washington Square Park was closed to traffic in the fall of 1958.

The Greenwich Village Preservation Archive and Oral History Project contains collections of interviews, clippings, and photographs that document sixty years of grassroots advocacy to “save the Village.” Researchers interested in learning more about the collection should visit Library and Archive Information page on the GVSHP website.