Cigarette ads, a burlesque house, a struggling theater, a flea circus and freak show (likely Hubert’s Museum): If you visited 42nd Street on the west side of Broadway at Times Square in 1932, this is what you’d find.
“42nd Street West of Broadway” was painted that year by Edmund Yaghjian, an Armenian immigrant who depicted daytime scenes of the 1930s cityscape and nocturnes that showcased the Depression-era Art Deco feel of the New York at the time.
After studying and then teaching at the Art Students League, Yaghjian took a teaching job in 1942 that forced him to leave Gotham for South Carolina, according to The Johnson Collection in Spartanburg, SC.
His New York City, the city of almost 90 years ago, is on view online at Artnet.
Tags: Art Students League NYC, Edmund Yaghjian Painter, Huberts Flea Times Square, New York in the 1930s, Paintings of 1930s New York City, Times Square 1932 Painting
Ephemeral New York 
October 19, 2020 at 12:48 am |
Nice piece of work. And, beyond Times Square is the McGraw Hill Building, completed in 1932, same year as the painting.
October 19, 2020 at 12:57 am |
That looks like the old McGraw Hill building in the background… the green one… between 8th & 9th on 42nd
October 19, 2020 at 3:51 am |
Yes it is. I tried to do the same in my novella about 1960s in Times Square. Now out of print. Seedy yes, but nothing it became by the 1980s. I could no longer hang out there. Here’s the full novella, enjoy.
https://mykoladementiuk.blogspot.com/2020/02/times-queer-by-mykola-dementiuk.html
October 19, 2020 at 11:07 am |
Thanks Mick! Yes, seedy for 1932 perhaps, but not by 1970s/1980s standards.
November 10, 2020 at 11:52 am |
Wow Mick, what a crazy ride! Loved the story, thanks for sharing.
October 19, 2020 at 5:38 am |
[…] Source: FS – NYC Real Estate The seedier side of Broadway by a 1930s painter […]
October 19, 2020 at 8:38 am |
Thanks for sending the link to the other Yaghijian paintings. The tug boat one sticks out to me. I love how he contrasted the billowing smoke stacks of the tugs in contrast to the smoke stacks of the buildings in the sky.
October 19, 2020 at 5:07 pm |
Is that the Grolier Bldg in the background?
October 19, 2020 at 8:15 pm |
[…] The seedier side of Broadway by a 1930s painter — Ephemeral New York […]
October 20, 2020 at 2:07 am |
Going from Gotham to South Carolina in 1942 had to be a real cultural shock for Edmund. How do they paint those Billboard letters and faces?
October 25, 2020 at 11:58 pm |
I wish I knew. It was certainly a talent and a skill.