Turn of the 20th century, that is. Before sweeper trucks came along, New York’s roads were cleaned with a contraption like this: a flimsy, horse-pulled cart with a water sprayer, squeegee, and roller at the rear.
This photo, from the New York City municipal archives collection, is undated . . . and there’s almost no description of where it was taken.
It’s just another random moment in the early 20th century city no one could imagine would be of interest 100 years down the line.
Tags: Municipal archives, New York early street cleaners, New York sanitation 1900, New York street, New York street cleaners, New York street scene, Street sweeping New York
Ephemeral New York 
February 26, 2013 at 6:18 pm |
Neat! I never a squeegee on one of these before.
People complained about dust all the time back then and I think the main source was probably to the guys pulling that wagon and their fellows. There must have been an amazing number of horses in New York in 1900. 😉
February 27, 2013 at 12:54 am |
This looks really cool!
November 18, 2013 at 2:14 am |
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