Street Uses

Rather than focus exclusively on buildings, as preservationist photographers tended to do, Hine foregrounded Broadway’s human heritage – and thus the politics of everyday urban space.

Many of the “urban types” he captured were presumed to be vanishing: most obviously the blacksmith in Times Square and the haymakers in Inwood, but also those who were under attack from Progressive reformers and police, such as pushcart vendors, sex workers, and people who slept on park benches.

In documenting such people, Hine registers larger conflicts over the “proper” use of the city’s public spaces.  Civic officials were defining (and legislating) streets, especially thoroughfares like Broadway, as conduits for the efficient circulation of vehicles.  Those who sought to reclaim the street for other purposes were in effect asserting their own “right to the city.”

Hine’s album also foregrounded the manual labor of refashioning the street itself. We see street pavers, construction workers, wrecking crews, and sanitation workers – including one of the new recruits of color.  Meanwhile, even ordinary pedestrians get caught by his camera, as they hustle along the sidewalks.scription here. Here is description about the street uses. To find out more about the street usage read here.