At the dawn of the 1990s, New York City was in an unremittingly bleak state. Following two decades of continuous decay, 1990 brought yet another all-time record high in violent crime and to this day, 1990 and the three years that followed remain the most homicide-plagued stretch in the city’s last five decades. The 1990s had quickly positioned itself to become the city’s worst decade yet.
|
| New York City in 1990 |
Yet something unprecedented occurred in the latter half of the decade: The crime rate fell by half and the murder rate by a third, with each year better than the last. By the time the decade was over, New York was a safer place than it had been at any point since the 1960s. And it showed. By the time the 1990s ended, the city was pulling in 7 million more tourists a year while the city's population began to grow for the first time in decades.
The 1990s in New York City was an improbable success story on a level seldom seen before. What at first looked like a new nadir for America’s biggest city instead became one of the greatest urban revitalizations in American history.
Take a look at these fascinating photos from Watchman to see what street scenes of New York City looked like in 1990.
 |
| 8th Avenue, Downtown, NYC, 1990 |
 |
| 8th Avenue, Downtown, NYC, 1990 |
 |
| 8th Avenue, Downtown, NYC, 1990 |
 |
| Avenue of the Americas (6th Avenue), Downtown NYC, 1990 |
 |
| Avenue of the Americas (6th Avenue), Downtown NYC, 1990 |
 |
| Avenue of the Americas (6th Avenue), Downtown NYC, 1990 |
 |
| Battery Park City, NYC, 1990 |
 |
| Battery Park Underpass, NYC, 1990 |
 |
| Battery Park, Lower Manhattan, NYC, 1990 |
 |
| Bleecker St (and the Pink Pussy Cat Boutique!), The Village, Downtown NYC, 1990 |
 |
| Broadway, Downtown NYC, 1990 |
 |
| Broadway, Downtown NYC, 1990 |
 |
| Broadway, Downtown NYC, 1990 |
 |
| Broadway, Downtown NYC, 1990 |
 |
| Downtown NYC, 1990 |
 |
| Downtown NYC, 1990 |
 |
| Downtown NYC, 1990 |
 |
| Downtown NYC, 1990 |
 |
| Downtown NYC, 1990 |
 |
| Downtown NYC, 1990 |
 |
| Downtown NYC, 1990 |
 |
| Downtown NYC, 1990 |
 |
| Downtown NYC, 1990 |
 |
| Figure of the Empire State, Downtown NYC, 1990 |
 |
| Financial district, World Trade Center, Downtown NYC, 1990 |
 |
| Historical car show, Downtown NYC, 1990 |
 |
| National Museum of the American Indian, NYC, 1990 |
 |
| Neighborhood of the World Trade Center, Downtown NYC, 1990 |
 |
| New York skyline, 1990 |
 |
| NYC view from Twin Towers, 1990 |
 |
| NYC view from Twin Towers, 1990 |
 |
| NYC view from Twin Towers, 1990 |
 |
| NYC view from Twin Towers, 1990 |
 |
| Radio City Music Hall, 6th Avenue, Downtown NYC, 1990 |
 |
| St. Nicolas Church, Downtown NYC, 1990 |
 |
| The Village, Downtown NYC, 1990 |
 |
| The Village, Downtown NYC, 1990 |
 |
| Tribeca, Downtown NYC, 1990 |
 |
| Tribeca, Downtown NYC, 1990 |
 |
| Twin Towers and Battery Park City, NYC, 1990 |
 |
| Twin Towers, NYC, 1990 |
 |
| View from Columbus Circle, Downtown NYC, 1990 |
 |