[Broadway, looking north from Broome Street, New York]

In the mid 1800s, most of New York's principal photography studios, including that of Silas A. Holmes, who made this photograph, were located along Broadway in present-day Soho. Art galleries, pharmacists, and specialty stores could also be found along this street. During this period, residents were rapidly moving northward on the island of Manhattan. The traditional four-story houses with ground-floor retail enterprises were being demolished to make room for commercial spaces, such as the prominent six-story St. Nicholas Hotel, the white building at center left.