Fascinating Then and Now Images with NYC Crime Scene Photographs

In this fascinating series of New York City Then and Now, historian and photographer Marc Hermann superimposes vintage crime scene photographs with images from the exact locations as they exist today.

 "My inspiration is drawn not from fictional characters, but rather from the real people who documented life in New York through the mid-20th century." ~ Marc Hermann

Hermann utilized images found on the Daily News Pix photo archive of the New York Daily News. He then culled historic crime scenes of fires, plane crashes, gas explosions, suicides, and murders, and  blended them expertly with the modern scenes of today.

It would be interesting to hear what the current residents of some of these NYC crime scene photograph locations would have to say.

"New York is constantly changing and transforming, and tragedies that affected individuals’ lives are forgotten. We may stand on what was once the site of a horrific murder and not even know it, simply because life goes on."

 ~ Marc Hermann

Brooklyn, N.Y.

The tree that stands in front of 923 44th St. in Brooklyn is the only living witness to gangster Frankie Yale's untimely demise on July 1, 1928. Yale's car slammed into the steps of the Brooklyn home that day as he was shot to death from a car driving by.
.

Pacific St. and Classon Ave. in Brooklyn, N.Y.

The corner of Classon Ave. and Pacific St. got some serious action on July 28, 1957 when a stolen car crashed into a light pole. Strangely enough, the car was allegedly stolen by a boy released from the Brooklyn House of Detention. The boy was initially detained on car theft charges. The corner still looks the same, though new green street signs hang above the scene of the accident

137 Wooster St. Manhattan, N.Y.

Back in the 1950s, there were no North Face storefronts to be found on Wooster St. There was, however, a massive and fatal fire at the Elkins Paper & Twine Co. on Feb. 16, 1958. Six were killed by the blaze and the building was leveled, but new commercial space now stands where the Elkins Paper & Twine Co. once did.

427 1/2 Hicks St. Brooklyn, N.Y.

Gangster Salvatore Santoro met his end in the vestibule of 427 1/2 Hicks St. on Jan. 31, 1957. Here's how the building looks then and now.

M-7 tank in New York City

War in the city? Nope, just an M-7 tank destroyer being transported to be put on display on July 22, 1943. The tank rolled from City Hall to the Public Library on 42nd St

.

Porter Ave. Brooklyn, N.Y.
Only a few scars left on the side of this building serve as a reminder of what happened here on April 4, 1959. Three-year-old Martha Cartagena was riding her tricycle when she was struck and killed on Porter Ave. in Brooklyn.

497 Dean St. Brooklyn, N.Y.
March 19, 1942 is a day well captured in the Daily News' archive. Edna Egbert, who lived at 497 Dean St. in Brooklyn, climbed onto her ledge that day. The News captured the distraught woman fighting with the police as she wobbled on the edge. The building is currently painted red, but remains nearly identical to the way it looked 70 years ago.

992 Southern Blvd. Bronx, N.Y.

A classic case of jealousy. In this stairwell of 992 Southern Blvd. on Sept. 25, 1961, James Linares lay bleeding in the arms of his girlfriend Josephine Dexidor after being shot by her husband. The same banister still scales the length of the hallway.