West Street and the West Side Highway, Just North of the Trade Center Site America, 20th century

The Destruction of Lower Manhattan

West Street and the West Side Highway, Just North of the Trade Center Site

1966–67

Danny Lyon

(American, 1942-)

America, 20th century

gelatin silver print

Image: 25.4 x 24.9 cm (10 x 9 13/16 in.); Paper: 35.4 x 27.7 cm (13 15/16 x 10 7/8 in.)

Gift of George Stephanopoulos 2011.247

Location: not on view

This artwork is known to be under copyright.

Description

The Washington Street Market urban renewal project was estimated at $44 million for property acquisition, demolition, management, and site preparation for future construction. Lyon recalls that the demolition of the structures seen here and those on adjoining blocks “brought down 24 and a half blocks of mostly 19th-century buildings . . . [many] in continuous commercial use since before the Civil War. . . . The silence left in the streets was startling. As one wanderer put it, everyone left one night, even the dogs and the rats.”