Hot Town: Photos of Summer in New York City

New York City in the summer: it's hot, it's humid, it's crowded...it's pretty great. How do New Yorkers cope? We take to the streets, the parks, the pools, the beaches, and the playgrounds to cool off, relax, hang out with friends, and enjoy the season's carefree vibe.

To celebrate summer in the city, we've put together images from NYPL's Digital Collections showing New Yorkers through the decades enjoying all that summer has to offer. We made sure to include quintessential summer spots like Coney Island, Central Park, and the Rockaways. And, of course, Mister Softee.

The images are from different eras and different photographers—but the majority come from the Morris Huberland collection. Huberland was a prolific Polish-American photographer who immigrated to New York City in 1920 and began taking photographs as a teenager, many of everyday New Yorkers going about their lives.

mother sitting in an open window holding an infant
New York, NY. Morris Huberland. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 5379400
street festival
Street festival. Morris Huberland. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 5378810
dancers in a circle with bystanders watching
Street festival. Morris Huberland. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 5379403
people in Central Park
Central Park. Morris Huberland. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 5380898
men sitting on fence in Central Park
Central Park. Morris Huberland. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 5380904
Mr. Softee Truck
Mister Softee Truck. Morris Huberland. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 5380922
Ice cream vendor
Ice cream vendor. Morris Huberland. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 5379384
street vendor
Street vendor. Morris Huberland. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 5379511
Summer, 1988. New York, NY
Summer, 1988. New York, NY. Morris Huberland. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 5380527
Street festival, NYC
Street festival. New York, NY. Morris Huberland. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 5378832
kids at drinking fountain in park
New York, NY. Morris Huberland. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 5749505
New York, NY
New York, NY. Morris Huberland. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 5379648
babies lying flat in carriage
New York, NY. Morris Huberland. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 5379590
father with two toddler girls in swings
New York, NY. Morris Huberland. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 5380205
children hanging on jungle gym
New York, NY. Morris Huberland. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 5762099
children playing in a sprinkler, NYC
Children playing in a sprinkler. Morris Huberland. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 56754835
children playing in the street
Street shower. 1938. Alexander Alland. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 732813F
Street scene with open fire hydrant.
Street scene with open fire hydrant. Morris Huberland. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 5379344
Pilgrim Father and Sunbather, Central Park
Pilgrim Father and Sunbather, Central Park, 1993. Bedrich Grunzweig. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 57620637
Public Swimming Pool, Tompkinsville, Staten Island
Public Swimming Pool, Tompkinsville, Staten Island. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 104902
people in large wading pool
Central Park wading pool. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 718394F
Bath houses, Pelham Bay, ca. 1903.
Bath houses, Pelham Bay, ca. 1903. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 800367
Kissena Park swimming pool
Kissena Park swimming pool, 1926. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 1510001
On the beach at Rockaway
On the beach at Rockaway. NYPL Digital Collection, Image ID: 833213
person on stomach on surf board in ocean
The Splash. Rockaway Beach, NY. Circa 1984. Barbara Alper. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 1952328
Brooklyn beach
Brooklyn beach. Morris Huberland. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 5750961
Brooklyn beach
Brooklyn beach. Morris Huberland. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 5750962
Coney Island beach and boardwalk.
Coney Island beach and boardwalk. 1939. Alexander Alland. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 731939F
Coney Island
Coney Island. NYPL Digital Collection, Image ID: 801273
Bathers from Boardwalk, Coney Island
Bathers from Boardwalk, Coney Island. Bedrich Grunzweig. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID:57620639
Mermaid Parade, Coney Island, 1995.
Mermaid Parade, Coney Island, 1995. Harvey Stein. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 5033976
Girls on Coney Island Pier, 1991.
Girls on Coney Island Pier, 1991. Harvey Stein. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 5033974

 

 

 

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Hot Town: Photos of Summer in New York City by Carrie McBride, C

What AMAZING photos!!!! Would love to purchase a book with summer photos from these photographers.