Watch Old and New Meld Together Across 400 Years of NYC History in Timescapes

Become a paid member to listen to this article

The Museum of the City of New York will present an extensive new exhibition, New York At Its Core, this fall and one of the first launches in connection with the exhibit is an update of the film Timescapes: A Multimedia Portrait of New York, 1609-Today that has been playing a the museum since 2005. The 28 minutes film covers over 400 years of New York City history and now includes the era after 9/11. One of the coolest aspects is how the film melds vintage photography into present day scenes. It’s hard to get a true preview of the film because it’s projected across three screens simultaneously in a theater custom designed for the film, but the museum has generously lent us some images and clips that combine the reels.

Timescapes is also a rather star-studded affair, narrated by Stanley Tucci with cameos of New Yorkers like Cynthia Nixon and Pete Hamill. Below these short clips, you’ll see samples of the vintage photographs from the Museum of the City of New York collection used in the film. Then head to the Museum of the City of New York for the full experience!

Photo from Museum of the City of New York

A crowd of people on Orchard Street, lined with street vendors. Photo from Museum of the City of New York

Pike Street between Henry and Madison Streets, showing tenements with the Manhattan Bridge in the background. Photo from Museum of the City of New York

View of the contrast of 19th century dockside buildings and 20th century skyscrapers taken from Pier 11 on the East River, between Old Slip and Wall Street. The four tallest buildings are (from left to right): The Farmers Trust Building, the Bank of Manhattan, 60 Wall Tower, and 120 Wall Street. Photo from The Museum of the City of New York.