5. LIFE Magazine Once Misattributed a Vintage Photo as Columbus Circle

The above photo, taken by Margaret Bourke-White, was originally included in our vintage photos of Columbus Circle post. While it was captioned in LIFE Magazine as “Columbus Circle, New York City, photographed from a helicopter, 1952,” several readers pointed out that the image had been mislabeled. In light of the discovery, we decided to do some investigation by reaching out to Getty Images. Joelle Sedlmeyer, the research editor, responded with the following:

We cannot confirm it is Columbus Circle. LIFE.com says it is and that is all the information I have. I wish we had more info but the photographers did not write down their shoot subjects. This shoot was labeled- NYC aerials.

We have reason to believe the image was taken in Philadelphia. Using the equestrian statue as a starting point, Benjamin Waldman, the Untapped Cities History Editor, was able to track down the Washington Monument in Philadelphia, which appeared to have the same fountain, octagonal base and four subsidiary sculptures. The misattribution might have been due to the words “EAST RIVER DRIVE,” which can be seen in the photo, painted on the road on the top of the traffic circle. Formerly known as East River Drive, Kelly Drive in Philadelphia was renamed in the 1980s for Councilman John B. Kelly, Jr. However, East River Drive (now FDR Drive) existed in New York City, too!