THEN AND NOW

The South Side of 42nd Street, then and now.

1946

View looks south across 42nd Street. Behind the fence is a ramp leading up to Tudor City Place, lined with rowhouses owned by the French Company but never developed. Far right, the corner of The Woodstock.

2018

The one constant in both photos is The Woodstock, again at far right.

In 1949, 42nd Street is widened and leveled to make for a grander entrance to the UN, and the ramp and rowhouses are demolished and replaced by a granite wall and staircase. The building at center is the Prospect Hill Apartments, and beside it, a sliver of Essex House.

As part of this upgrade, The Woodstock entrance was lowered 17 feet, and the basement remade into the ground floor.