Danny Lyon: The Destruction of Lower Manhattan

by Danny Lyon (Photographer)

First published in 1969, The Destruction of Lower Manhattan is a singular, lasting document of nearly sixty acres of downtown New York architecture before it's destruction in a wave of urban development.

After creating the series The Bikeriders and moving back to New York in 1966, Lyon settled into a downtown loft, becoming one of the few artists to document the dramatic changes taking place. Lyon writes, "Whole blocks would disappear. An entire neighborhood. Its few last loft occupying tenants were being evicted, and no place like it would ever be built again." Through his striking photographs and accompanying texts, Lyon paints a portrait of the people who lived there, of rooms with abandoned furniture, children's paintings, empty stairwells. Intermingled within the architecture are portraits of individuals and the dem�olition workers who, despite their assigned task, emerge as the surviving heroes. Danny Lyon's documentation of doomed facades, empty interiors, work crews, and remaining dwellers still appeals to our emotions more than fifty years later, and Aperture's reissue retains the power of the original.

Genres: Photography, Art, Nonfiction

160 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2005

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lyon took photographs of nineteenth century buildings in lower Manhattan that were being torn down to make way for new buildings, including the World Trade Center. He photographed the exteriors and interiors, the men doing the work, some residents of the neighborhoods and the buildings in various stages of destruction. The photos are fascinating and paint a poignant picture of a formerly vibrant area being swept away to make way for the future. The intricate designs of the buildings are beautiful, even as they deteriorated due to neglect. There are photos and other possessions left behind by the former occupants of the buildings, and artwork on the walls. The photos form a commentary on the nature of man, striving to move forward, but also blind to the beauty around him, and content to destroy it rather than preserve it. A very interesting collection.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Devastating black and white photographic account of the destruction of lower Manhattan, some of which dated from the Civil War, underscoring yet again the need for architectural preservation (put the World Trade Center in god damned New Jersey ;) Some of the buildings reminded me of New Orleans. So sad.

[Rory Masterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don’t let old heads tell you about “the real New York” when they’d never been to lower Manhattan before 1998. This book is an incredible document.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mostly just photos, but the photos have the same eerie beauty as Richard Nickel's.

[John Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enduring collection of how it was.

[Ichor · Rating 5 out of 5]

An unprecedented documentation of streets that no longer exist and all the vanished buildings in them.