50 Amazing Color Photos Capture Street Senes of New York in the 1960s

Before the recession of 1969 helped send New York spiraling into an era of drugs, poverty, and violence, the city had one last decade of mid-century glory, at least on the surface.

New York in the 1960s was a city full of life and diversity, from the executives of Madison Avenue to the artists of the East Village – but it was also a time of turmoil.

Take a look at these amazing color photos from Edward Crellin to see what street scenes of New York looked like in the 1960s.

Cortlandt St. near Broadway (in the future WTC zone), 1960

Cortlandt St. near Broadway (in the future WTC zone), 1960

Cortlandt Street forward to Maiden Lane facing east from Church, Lower Manhattan, 1960

Entrance to the Jersey Central Railroad ferry terminal at the end of Liberty Street, 1960

Erie-Lackawanna ferry pier off West St. near Barclay St., 1960

Getting the Central Park ice skating rink ready, 1960

Liquors on Cedar St., 1960

Looking east from the Vesey/Fulton St. area through the heart of the future World Trade Center site, 1960

Looking east on W. 44th St. near Times Square, 1960

Looking north through the heart of Lower Manhattan's "Radio Row" near intersection with Liberty St., 1960

Looking south from intersection of Cedar St. and Trinity Place, 1960

Looking south from intersection of Cortlandt and West. St., 1960

People walking through the Times Square area, 1960

View east on Cedar St., 1960

View north on Church St. just to the right of where the original World Trade Center was built 10 years later, 1960

Cadillac limos parked outside Rockefeller Center, 1961

View north on 5th Avenue from the Empire State Building, 1962

Battery Park, 1963

Looking north up 6th Avenue towards the Time-Life Building, 1963

Man sitting on steps next to the lion statue at the New York Public Library off 5th Avenue, 1963

Pershing Square street scenes, 1963

Pershing Square street scenes, 1963

Rexall drug store at the base of Grand Central Station, 1963

Storefronts at the base of the Commodore Hotel on 42nd St., 1963

Storefronts at the base of the Commodore Hotel on 42nd St., 1963

The canyons of Lower Manhattan, 1963

The canyons of Lower Manhattan, 1963

The Frick Collection on East 70th St., 1963

Times Square, 1963

View from the (now-closed) observation deck atop 40 Wall St., 1963

View of Rockefeller Center's “Atlas” statue with pedestrians and vehicles passing by,1963

Herald Square street scene, 1964

Looking down at Herald Square from the Empire State Building, 1964

View east on West 34th St. towards the Empire State Building, 1964

Exterior of the old Penn Station during demolition, 1965

Interior of the old Penn Station during demolition, 1965

Interior of the old Penn Station during demolition, 1965

Looking east on W. 52nd St. near Broadway, 1965

Pushcart vendor somewhere near Midtown, 1965

Tenement buildings somewhere in the Hell's Kitchen area, 1965

Tour boat cruise around Manhattan, 1965

Midtown street scenes, 1967

Midtown street scenes, 1967

Wintertime street view of the Guggenheim Museum, 1967

Mercedes limo waiting at curb in Rockefeller Center, 1968

Broadway near Times Square, 1969

Looking south on 5th Avenue past the Empire State Building, 1969

Looking west on 42nd St. near the Times Square area, 1969

St. Patrick's Cathedral and the Best & Co. store at the corner of 5th & 51st. (Best & Co torn down a few years later), 1969

The One Times Square tower, 1969