There’s no traffic at all in this postcard view of Columbus Circle looking toward Central Park, which makes it easier to see the Christopher Columbus statue, built in 1892 as part of the city’s commemoration of the 400th anniversary of Columbus sailing to America.
The Maine monument is in the middle of the postcard. Unveiled in 1913, it honors the 262 seaman who died when the battleship Maine mysteriously sank in 1898 off Havana.
Interestingly, the statue was the winning design in a contest co-chaired by none other than William Randolph Hearst.
Ephemeral New York 