New York City, 1939

An extraordinary color film showing a tour of New York City in the summer of 1939, courtesy of the Romano Archives which specializes in rare color footage, WWII footage, and silent films. Thanks to the attention of Romano Archives, some incredibly well-preserved 70-year-old footage of New York City has emerged.

Filmed in 16mm Kodachrome by Jean Vivier, a French tourist, it captures street scenes and city views from New York in the summer of 1939. This three minute gem documents fun in fountains, perusing Chinatown, luxuriously large looking taxis, and a bevy of hats. Yes—these are the days when everyone was in a hat and in this little film there are: porkpie hats, newsy caps, straw hats, bowler hats, fancy lady hats.