New York City in the 1900s, Research Paper Example

New York is considered as one of today’s most advanced cities (Burgess, 22). It is also one of the pioneers in defining what modernity is all about (Belden, 112). The photograph presented above was taken during the early 1900s, a time when New York was still at the onset of its being known as one of the capital cities of the world. The building and zoning of New York started out as the redefinition of what America is and how it would likely represent the people in front o the growing culture of the world. City reformers Jacob Riis and Lillian Wald were among those who thought of the possibility of sending out a message to the entire American nation of the heights of success that they could take into account through creating a distinct zoning project in the city of New York.

Presented above is a highly aesthetical representation of what New York has become in early 1900s after the massive rehabilitation of the area from being specifically bombarded with an influx of immigrants from within and outside the country. History notes how he 1900s served as the point when the people and the city’s administration embraced the continuous ‘search for order’. In this particular campaign, the city took massive refurnishing, specifically defining the face of what New York is to take in the years to come (Burgess, 121). During the planning stage, it was important to consider the continuous influx of people, the planners had to make room and make sure that even when years are advancing, the city would still be able to suffice the needs of the people and businesses for living and working spaces. Considering this matter, the planners also had to make sure that amidst development, the city’s façade and aesthetic value would not degrade in value.

From the photograph shown above, it could be seen how effective the campaign for beautification has become that up to this day, remarkable features of New York City’s historical past still remain standing as an evidence of how the people began to embrace development as part of their most important vision of what their city would be like towards the years ahead of them. In a way, the distinct establishments and structures that defined New York then and now attests to the artistic convictions of the people living in the area (Burrows, 122).

Regarding art, Berger (1977) notes, today we see the art of the past as nobody saw it before. We actually perceive in a different way (16). True, to many individuals living in New York City in the past, the constructions noted above specifically defined function for the people. However, at present, such areas provide more than just function; it also provides a distinct source of aesthetic value that adds to the beauty of the city; a reason why New York has become one of the most visited cities in the world. People just want to see the grandeur and the beauty of the city for themselves. To this matter, Berger (1977) adds:  soon after we can see, we are aware that we can also be seen. The eye of the other combines with our eye to make fully credible that we are part of the visible world (9). Relatively, Berger’s distinct indication of visual art as being part of the overall human culture identifies why the photograph presented herein remains to be a remarkable sight for many individuals today, both for those living in New York and those wishing to visit it.

References

Belden, E. Porter (1849). New York, Past, Present, and Future: Comprising a History of the City of New York, a Description of its Present Condition, and an Estimate of its Future Increase. New York: G.P. Putnam.

Burgess, Anthony (1976). New York. New York: Little, Brown & Co.

Burrows, Edwin G. & Wallace, Mike (1999). Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898. New York: Oxford University Press.

Berger, J. (1977). Ways of Seeing. British Broadcasting Corporation and Penguin Books.

McClintock, A. (1996). Imperial Leather: Race, Gender and Sexuality in the Colonial Context. Soap and Commodity Spectacle. Routledge Publishing Inc.

Rampley, M. (2009). Exploring Visual Culture: Definitions, Concepts, Contexts. Edinburgh University Press.

Image Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/history-of-new-york-famous-nyc-locations-in-pictures-2011-11?op=1. (Retrieved on February 11, 2014).