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From Angelo Rizzuto in 1950, “Broad Street.” It doesn’t instantly look familiar because we’re all used to seeing the north end of Broad Street, where the Stock Exchange and Federal Hall are, or views looking up the street to the north. This is the sound end of Broad, as it runs down to the East River.

The FDR Drive hadn’t yet been extended south of the Brooklyn Bridge, so the street really does run right down to South Street along the river bulkhead. The building past South Street on the right, behind the Sabrett’s billboard, is the old ferry terminal now used for Governors Island. The Third Avenue elevated is visible over Front Street. The building on the lower left with the mansard roof and American flag is Fraunces Tavern. Water Street is the next street beyond it, looking very foreign because this was before it was widened, and all the buildings beyond it replaced with high-rises.

The most interesting thing from a purely personal perspective is the parapet and decorative masonry we see on the far right, because those are part of the setbacks at the top of 90 Broad Street, several floors above our office. I’m not going to pretend I recognized the building from that: I know the location, diagonally opposite Fraunces Tavern, and then looked up pictures of the top of the buiding.