Amazing Vintage Photos of Postwar New York From 1945 to 1948

3rd Avenue from 42nd Street El Station, 1945

These stunning pictures of postwar New York were taken by Todd Webb, an American photographer notable for documenting everyday life and architecture in large cities as well as from the American west. He did various jobs before the war and began taking a serious interest in photography after attending a ten-day workshop with Ansel Adams as his teacher in 1940. During World War II, Webb was a photographer for the United States Navy and was deployed to the South Pacific theater of operations.

h/t: vintag.es

“Welcome Home” signs on 3rd Avenue, 1945

After Webb was discharged in 1945, he moved to New York City and began his career as a professional photographer. He made key friendships with Alfred Stieglitz, Georgia O’Keeffe, Beaumont Newhall, Berenice Abbott, Helen Levitt, and Minor White.

The Battery, 1945

Webb began a remarkable project of walking the streets of New York City with his heavy camera and tripod and photographing people and buildings he encountered. Even though these photos were often of familiar views, their “straightforward, descriptive clarity” helped set them apart and reflected Webb’s sense of discovery.

125th Street, Harlem, 1946