Recently we dusted off some of Steven Siegel's old photos from 1980s New York City, showing the five boroughs during what many dub The Bad Old Days. Sure, things looked grim and downright apocalyptic in that series of images, but there was some life here, too. Here's another collection of photographs from Seigel's archives, showing New Yorkers in the 1980s, mugging for his camera. Click through for a glimpse at the faces of those living here back in those Bad Old Days, and we'll have more from Siegel in the near future. more ›

Have you ever walked around the cemeteries of New York reading the old tombstone inscriptions? Well, if that's not your thing, we're here to point you in the direction of George Spencer Millet's grave in Woodlawn Cemetery, which tells a tragic and unusual story. His headstone reads: "Lost life by stab in falling on ink eraser, evading six young women trying to give him birthday kisses in office of Metropolitan Life Building." This happened the day after Valentine's day, on February 15th, 1909—which also happened to be his 15th birthday. And to clarify, an ink eraser is not an eraser, it's more like a knife. more ›

In 1932 the artist Lester Gaba, not unlike Andrew McCarthy's character in the 1987 classic Mannequin, created Cynthia, a mannequin for Saks Fifth Avenue. Cynthia was "a 100-pound model who had realistic imperfections like freckles, pigeon toes, and even different sized feet." Five years later, Gaba posed with Cynthia around New York City for a LIFE magazine spread which supposedly "launched the career of an up-and-coming starlet [and] made Cynthia a household name overnight." more ›

The Montauk Club is a private social club in Park Slope that's been around since the late 1800s—founded by Charles Pratt, Richard Schermerhorn, and Edwin C. Litchfield in 1889. In later years, it would come to host prominent political figures like Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy. And over the past few years or so, it's come back to life with a strong focus on Brooklyn's under-35 set. To enter, you must be a member, and each month the Club approves new applications. They explain on their website, "The majority of our under 35s are unmarried—and in keeping with Brooklyn’s reputation—good looking. But our older members are holding their own and the mix of ages and the diversity of points of view make for engaging conversation." more ›

We've seen some current day photos of the abandoned North Brother Island (not to be confused with South Brother Island), but now we offer a glimpse at it through Jacob Riis's camera lens. These photos were all taken in 1890, about 28 years before Typhoid Mary was confined there, and five years after it became inhabited (in 1885, Riverside Hospital moved there from Blackwell's Island (now Roosevelt Island). This was also about 14 years before the General Slocum wrecked on the island—which there are plenty of disturbing photos of. more ›

It's fun to look back at how people envisioned New York City in "the future," now that we're living said future. Just like that plan to drain the East River never happened, neither did depthscrapers or two-level streets. The latest rendering to pop up online (we DO have the internet here in the future) is from 1900, and originally ran in Joseph Pulitzer's New York World newspaper. The Skyscraper Museum writes: more ›

There are a lot of depressing headlines out there today, so let's think of something positive. We stumbled across this old photo from 1931, during Prohibition, of illegal beer kegs being smashed somewhere in New York City. A tragic sight! The sound of the foam seeping into the unappreciative soil will haunt our dreams tonight, but at least the Great Beer Massacre of 1931 is all in the past. more ›

Remember a year ago today when there was snow was inside the subway stations and... everywhere? The Great Boxing Day Blizzard of '10 seems like it was just yesterday, and it's so fun to reminisce when your car is no longer a popsicle. Yes, everything is so much more magical in retrospect—at the time, we only felt inspired by the paralyzing snow after watching Jamie Stuart's gorgeous documentation of it, which even got a nod from Roger Ebert: more ›

Before online shopping and Black Friday, New Yorkers flocked to department stores like Macy's for their holiday shopping. These photos from the LIFE image archive show what December 1948 looked like at the department store—including the aftermath of a holiday shopping rush. more ›

Old subway maps were pretty enough to hang on your wall. more ›

Since we last looked back at the Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons of yesteryear, some new images have popped up online. Click through for an assortment of balloons from the black & white days, along with some (in color) video footage from the 1940 parade below. Today, Ephemeral NY focused on some of the stranger balloon choices of the past, including an NYPD officer holding a baton, saying, "in 1937, a cop appeared in balloon form at the parade... I wonder how that would go over today." more ›

Regis Philbin will officially be leaving his hosting stool on the Live With Regis & Kelly (nee Kathie Lee) show this Friday, November 18th. And while we await to hear who will permanently replace him (Jerry? Pat?), let's take a look back at the Reg's time in the spotlight. Click through for photos of the talk show host when he wore a younger man's clothes, and here's an appearance The Ramones made on the show in 1988, the year the show became nationally syndicated. more ›

Before Hoovervilles were popping up around town in the 1930s, there were plenty of down and out New Yorkers living in makeshift shanty homes. Photographer Jacob Riis documented the structures, and the people living in them, for his book How the Other Half Lives, which introduced the middle and upper class to the squalor for the first time, according to LIFE. In his book Rediscovering Jacob Riis, author Daniel Czitrom wrote: more ›

Back in 2009 we revisited the construction of the Statue of Liberty, and with Lady Liberty turning 125 today, we thought it was time to take another look back at her younger years. As we noted in 2009, the photos invoke apocalyptic feelings thanks to movies like Planet of the Apes (in other words, they're pretty awesome). But after all this time, she's still got her head on her shoulders, and doesn't look like she's aged a day. more ›

In the 1950s, a 23-year-old Guy Miller set out to build a model of Manhattan, a dream he had since he was a young boy. His project was funded by the inspirational speaker that motivated him to follow through with his dream, Anthony Norvell, and in 1956 LIFE magazine documented his progress. At the time they took these photos, he had completed Midtown Manhattan, as well as the Wall Street area—"complete with every office building, brownstone, bar and grill." The model was "on a cliff in Union City, New Jersey." more ›