The Resurrection: NYC 1982

(Photo by emilydickinsonridesabmx at flickr/creativecommons)

As New Yorkers on Twitter greeted each other earlier today with steamy good mornings and jokes about the heatwave turning commutes into a "walking through warm Jello-O" experience, Jermiah's Vanishing New York sent me back to a pre-Global Warming version of our city with words and images about a New York I once knew.

That's where I read an interview with photographer Dan Weeks, a man who captured panoramic images of 1982 Manhattan right before that version of the city disappeared. His project, Street View New York 1982, presents a city that Jeremiah Moss describes in his blog as one "of delis, dry cleaners, and hardware shops. Of greasy diners, stationery stores, and donut pubs." East Side and Mid-Town cityscapes and stretches of long-lost Upper West Side storefronts appear as if resurrected from memory in black and white, colors that spike their nostalgic effect. The work is remarkable.

For anyone who is new to the city, the photos might inspire a yearning for or a curiosity about life in New York as it once was. For those of us who have deep roots in a past that was erased from existence, prepare for a sting. The look back is bittersweet.

Everything that you'll want to read about Street View New York 1982 is here and the images you won't want to miss seeing are here.