City College of New York

The old College of the City of New York (now, the City University of New York - CUNY), founded in 1847 as the Free Academy. It was one of the first institution of free public higher education in the United States. Undated photo from the City University of New York.

The Clarendon Stables, at 141 East 23rd Street, is partially seen on the extreme left. Behind it, we can see a sign in the rear of the 5-story Fifth National Bank building, completed in 1874, on the southwest corner of Third Avenue and East 23rd Street. Photograph also shows utility poles and overhead wires, which were mostly buried in the early 1890s. This photograph can be dated between 1874 and 1897, based on pictorial analysis.

This historic Gothic revival building was located on Lexington Avenue, southeast corner of East Twenty-third Street. It was erected in 1848-1849 from plans by James Renwick. In 1866, the Free Academy was renamed the College of the City of New York. In the early 20th century most part of the façades were covered by climbing plants. The building was demolished in 1927 and today the site is occupied by the 16-story Eris Field Building.