A cider vender sets up beside the Brooklyn Bridge

In contemporary New York City, all kinds of food trucks line up along Union Square, the Meatpacking District, and other crowded areas—hoping to sell their treats to a lunch or late-night crowd.

More than a hundred years ago, the proprietors behind this cider wagon, on the left parked beside the lamppost, had the same idea. They set up shop on the Manhattan side of the Brooklyn Bridge entrance, across from a busy elevated railroad terminal.

Food vendors at the time were busy selling buttermilk, pretzels, potatoes, and lemonade. It looks like cider was a popular street beverage too.

The flags in the windows on the left give the impression that a national holiday just happened or is about to occur. The presence of the cider wagon makes me think it’s autumn.

Here’s a slightly different view of the same scene from 1905.

The Manhattan entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge

No, not the confusing crosswalk thing going on down around City Hall Park these days.

This was the Park Row Terminal, a transit hub that provided access to railroads and street cars that took passengers to the Brooklyn side.

Street cars disappeared from the bridge in 1950. I don’t know when the terminal bit the dust, but I like the open view of the bridge we have today.