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From the Archives: Summer in the City, Through the Decades

by Courtney Hirsch on 2025-07-31T12:50:28-04:00 | 0 Comments

A black and white photo of Washington Square Park in the 1930s showing people staying cool around the fountain

Washington Square Park in the 1930s.

A seasonal tour of NYU Libraries’ Special Collections, from summer school in the 1930s to art on the beach in the 1970s

Summer at NYU can mean many things: less crowded sidewalks between buildings on Mercer Street and Broadway, a free bench in a shady corner of Washington Square Park, or a blast of air conditioning from the Kimmel Center lobby. And while New Yorkers over generations have perfected some tried-and-true methods for beating the heat—such as splashing in fire hydrant spray or enjoying the breeze on the Coney Island boardwalk—there are other pastimes that have fallen in or out of favor as fashions and technology have changed over time. 

What did summer in our neighborhood look like in years and decades past? NYU News paid a visit to Bobst Library to chat with the archivists and curators of the New York University Archives, Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, and Downtown Collection to learn about how previous generations survived the season. Here's a sampling of what we found.

Read the full story on NYU News »


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