This print was produced by the great firm of Currier & Ives that did so many of these types of birdseye view images of New York. New Yorkers were in love with New York, so there was an eager market for any and all representations of it.

Comparing to the John Bachman's Birdseye View in 1850, you'll notice is the Battery is now landlocked. Battery Park was landfilled and developed during the 1850's, creating broad boardwalk that wraps around to the Whitehall Ferry Station. You can make out tall white ferry building just right of the park. Also notice the row of white townhouses just behind the park. Herman Melville lived there, as did Elizabeth Anne Seaton for whom there's now a Church on State St. Our Lower Manhattan Tour takes you past there.

Currier & Ives - 1870

Notice the great Brooklyn Bridge across the East River. Now look at the date. The Brooklyn Bridge was not completed until 1883. Construction was not even begun until 1869 - a year prior to this print - and it would take several years just to build the underground foundations.

But the plans had been released, along with drawings of how it would look. Currier & Ives were just playing along, waiting like the rest of Manhattan and Brooklyn for that great day when this bridge would join the 1st and 4th largest cities in America. Click here for more on the Brooklyn Bridge.