Take That Winter Storm Nika! Watch The Very First Film of a NYC Blizzard Shot in 1902

This week has become a gruesome one for us New Yorkers thanks to Winter Storm Nika. The train platforms are packed, multiple trains lines are plagued with delays and to make matters worse, the streets and sidewalks are covered in ice, making it dangerous to even get a cup of coffee. Dealing with big snow storms is part of living in NYC, as this film from 1902 shows. Shot by Edwin S. Porter, head of motion picture production for the Edison Company, it’s considered to be the first film footage of a snow storm, according to The Bowery Boys

Shot in Madison Square Park, takes us to a NYC without the Flatiron building, as it was not completed until the Summer of 1903. You will notice the lack of yellow cabs, buses, and the long lines of people wanting Shake Shack. You can notice, however, that the mixed up statue of William Seward, former Governor of NY and Lincoln’s Secretary of State, is there, being built in 1876 where it still stands today. The statue has the head of Seward and the body of Lincoln.

Read also about the “Great White Hurricane” of 1888 which caused a 52 foot snow drift in Gravesend.