New York in the 1930s
Hoover served until 1933 and Franklin Roosevelt held the office for the rest of the decade. The Great Depression put a quarter of the workforce out of a job at its worst, and drought emptied farms across the southern plains. New Deal agencies such as the Works Progress Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps put people to work on public buildings and roads. What New York kept from the decade leans to Art Deco, the label the records put on 6 of these stops.
Every stop carries a construction date in the 1930s. The route covers 10 of them and runs 2.1 miles end to end. One stop is a historic district rather than a single building.
Distances are straight lines between the coordinates in the National Park Service Register data, so the walk on the street will be longer. Nobody has walked or checked this as a route, and a listing does not mean a place is open to visitors. Stops last changed Sep 18, 2026.
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Map
Coordinates come from the National Park Service National Register spatial data. The solid line joins the stops in walking order and is not a street route. Listings with a restricted address in the Register are never mapped and never become stops. Data refreshed September 19, 2026.
Walking order
- 1W. O. Decker (tugboat)207 Front St., Pier No. 16, South Street Seaport MuseumStructure · built 1930 · listed 1996start
- 2Building at 116 John Street116 John St.Building · built 1931 · listed 20140.2 mi from stop 1
- 3Insurance Company of North America Building99 John St.Building · built 1932 · listed 1999332 ft from stop 2
- 4Manhattan Company Building40 Wall St.Building · built 1930 · listed 20000.2 mi from stop 3
- 5Building at 19 Rector St.19 Rector St., 88 Greenwich St.Historic district · built 1930 · listed 20020.2 mi from stop 4
- 6Building at 21 West Street21 West St.Building · built 1931 · listed 19990.1 mi from stop 5
- 7Us Post Office--Church Street Station90 Church St.Building · built 1937 · listed 19890.5 mi from stop 6
- 8New York County Lawyers Association Building14 Vesey St.Building · built 1930 · listed 1982513 ft from stop 7
- 9Chambers Street Subway Station (Dual System Irt)Under West Broadway bet WArren, Chambers and Reade Sts.Structure · built 1932 · listed 20050.2 mi from stop 8
- 10Us Courthouse40 Foley Sq.Building · built 1936 · listed 19870.4 mi from stop 9
2.1 straight-line miles over 9 legs. Printed from registeratlas.com/tours/ny/new-york/era-1930s/
Taking it along
- Download the route as GPXFor a handheld GPS or a phone app
- Open all 10 stops in Google MapsSet the mode to walking once it opens
- Open the first stop in Apple MapsThe Apple Maps web link carries one destination, so this is stop 1 only
Other walks in New York
- Beaux-Arts architecture in New York11 stops · 2.2 milesBeaux-Arts is the grand classical manner taught at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, with paired columns, sculpted swags and monumental stairs. The New York examples on this route went up between 1902 and 1905.
- Neoclassical architecture in New York10 stops · 2.3 milesNeoclassical buildings borrow the columns, pediments and symmetry of Greek and Roman temples. The New York examples on this route went up between 1886 and 1937.
- Houses and mansions in New York11 stops · 1.6 milesThe route links houses built between 1897 and 1931. Many are private homes and the stops are meant to be seen from the sidewalk.
- Banks and business blocks in New York10 stops · 2.2 milesThe route links commercial buildings built between 1908 and 1929. Most were built to hold shops at street level and offices above.
- Churches and temples in New York10 stops · 2.2 milesThe route links churches built between 1801 and 2017. Congregations still use many of them and access depends on the hours they keep.