Here’s Manhattan as you’ve never seen it before, at least, not unless you’ve lived here a really long time and are the oldest person in the world. The Greatest Grid: The Master Plan for Manhattan, 1811-2011 is on show at the Museum of the City of New York until April 12th, and is filled with unexpected and unlikely views of the greatest city in the world. (Yes, I’m biased.) Here, some of the shots on view, including this oil painting, Junction of the Bowery and Broadway, Union Square, 1885 by Albertis Del Orient Browere, which makes no sense at all if you’ve been experienced modern day Union Square recently. [All images c/o Museum of the City of New York unless otherwise stated; this one taken from the J Clarence Davies Collection]:

Here’s a rather more recognizable but still insane image, a photograph of Columbus Circle from September 16, 1892:

Here, houses on Riverside Drive and 94th street in June, 1890:

Still on the upper west side, this shot was photographed at 81st and 9th avenue in December, 1886:

And finally, a shantytown comprising fifteen shacks on Fifth avenue and 101st street, photographed in 1894:

I’m a history nerd, so I love this look at what went before, but still, this wasn’t so long ago! It really is amazing to think of the evolution of New York in such a short period of time. And then… somewhat alarming to realize that the change is still ongoing. Will our descendants look back in similar disbelief in another century’s time? What will their city look like?