Old Broadway, West Side. Chambers to Thomas Streets

Illustration depicts buildings on the west side of Broadway, from Chambers Street to Thomas Street. The City Hall Park is on the east side of Broadway. From A Pictorial Description of Broadway, published in 1899 by Mail & Express Company, publisher of the Evening Mail. Source: The New York Public Library.

Additional text from the publisher (Mail & Express Company): From Chambers street north to Canal street the prevailing interest encountered is that of transportation. Here to a great extent are located the offices of the great railroad and transportation companies whose operations extend to the most remote corners of the continent. Mingling with these interests, and occupying a large share of the store and office buildings from Chambers street up as far as Eighth street, are the various wholesale houses, covering almost every department of trade, save only the few who have set up for themselves almost exclusive proprietorship in certain other sections of the city — as, for example, the leather trade, which confines its business to what is known as "The Swamp," a tract of low ground lying east of Printing House Square and south of the Brooklyn Bridge. And, again, there is the section on the West Side of the city reaching from near Canal street down as far as old Washington Market, given over chiefly to the wholesale grocers and the kindred trade of the produce dealers.

But, as far as Broadway is concerned, it would be far easier to enumerate the trades which are not represented, in the long stretch from Chambers to Eighth street, than those which are. Dealers in the various forms of textile fabrics undoubtedly predominate, but, in addition, are large dealers in arms and ammunition, sporting goods, sewing machines, bicycles, drugs and the endless variety of goods coming under the read of "notions."