On the streets where they lived

In the early 1940s, the world was changing. Like now, it was a crazy time. 

We were at war. We were coming out of the depression. America was still reeling from the attacks on Pearl Harbor in 1941 and the death camps in Europe were still a secret. One of our greatest presidents, FDR, was in office as was one of NYC's greatest mayors, Fiorello LaGuardia. For everyone in NYC and around the world, life was at a crossroads.

But then, as now, life still went on. 

Vendors sold hotdogs, people drank in bars, children played in the streets, and ships came into port. The routines of life and economy were and are perennial. 

Between 1938 and 1969, a photographer from Indiana named Charles Cushman came to NYC many times and took some of the best photos of this city that you could ever hope to see. He had a beautiful Kodachrome camera -- which took lush color photographs -- and he took lots of them.

This article contains some of the Cushman's best photos of NYC in 1941 and 1942. You have to see them to believe them, they are truly breathtaking. You can also see more of the other NYC pics he took on a Flicker page here. They're really amazing.