See the streets of New York City just as they were more than a century ago in this beautifully preserved and restored film from 1911. 

With the exception of aircraft, we suppose, this wonderful old film must show every form of transportation available to the people of New York City in 1911. In these eight minutes you’ll see trains, street cars, and motor buses, ships and boats, and every manner of horse-drawn conveyance, too, from carts to heavy wagons. And there are plenty of motor vehicles as well: gasoline and electric taxicabs, motor trucks, and touring cars loaded with families seeing the sights.

We found this aspect of the film fascinating: While motor vehicles are already well in evidence by 1911, as yet there is no overt sign to be found here that the automobile would very soon come to dominate the the urban landscape across America. As yet, cars were simply one more way to get around, it seems—in New York, anyway.

Originally produced by a Swedish company, Svenska Biografteatern, the film also includes some noteworthy New York landmarks, including Battery Park, the Flatiron Building on Fifth Avenue, and right at the film’s opening, the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. The footage, restored and presented by New York’s Museum of Modern Art, is in beautiful condition and all in all, it’s quite a treat for students of transportation history. Enjoy the video.