Alternative Uses for Curbside Parking Space, Circa 1941

This striking color photograph was snapped on Broome Street near Baruch Place (a street that vanished beneath the Bernard Baruch housing project) on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, September 27, 1941. The photo is part of the Charles W. Cushman collection at Indiana University. A tip of the hat to Kevin Walsh’s outstanding Forgotten New York web site for pointing this out.

What would we call this street scene today? An art installation? Political demonstration? Nuisance? Danish?

Enjoy a bigger version of the photo, right here.

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