These Documerica photographs by Wil Blanche of lower Manhattan, New York City, were taken in May 1973 in as part of the newly created Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which partnered with professional photographers to take pictures of America. The project collected more than 80,000 photographs that aimed to show the link between Americans and their impact on the environment.
We see commuters taking the ferry to Staten Island, uncommon views of the newly completed Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, boys playing in Battery Park and people liming on Morton Street Pier by the Hudson River. You can buy prints from the project in the Flashbak Shop.
Looking south on West Broadway
Wilbert H. Blanche (b. December 13, 1916, Brooklyn, New York – d. May 5, 1993, Thornwood, New York) was a freelance photographer working in and around New York. During the 1950s through the 1970s, his photographs appeared in magazines such as Esquire, Modern Man and Sports Illustrated.
Youngsters Playing in Battery Park, on the Tip of Manhattan Island 05/1973
SS John Brown, the Black Hulled Ship, Serves as the City’s Maritime High School. It Is Based at the Morton Street Pier 05/1973
Landscape
Landscape
Morton Street Pier on the Hudson River. World Trade Center Towers in Background 05/1973
Morton Street Pier on the Hudson River 05/1973
Manhattan Side of the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel 05/1973
Interlude for Relaxation on the Staten Island Ferry 05/1973
Historic Trinity Church on Lower Broadway at the Foot of Wall Street. Behind Loom the Towers of One of Manhattan’s Newest Giants, the World Trade Center 05/1973
Freight Handlers with Stack of Boxed Women’s Wear Outside Warehouse on Reade Street, Lower Manhattan–Looking East From West Broadway 05/1973
Construction on Lower Manhattan’s West Side, Just North of the World Trade Center (Tall Building in Background) 05/1973
Commuters Entering the Terminal of the Staten Island Ferry 05/1973
Commuters at the Staten Island Ferry Terminal in Lower Manhattan’s Battery Park Area 05/1973
Artist at Work on Morton Street Pier on the Hudson River 05/1973
Lead Image: Holland Tunnel Traffic Is Lined Up on Canal Street 05/1973
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