Adapted from Wikipedia:
Broadway1 is the oldest north–south main thoroughfare in New York City, dating to the first New Amsterdam settlement. Broadway was originally the Wickquasgeck Trail, carved into the brush of Manhattan by its Native American inhabitants. This trail originally snaked through swamps and rocks along the length of Manhattan Island. By 1885 the sky over the street was crisscrossed with telegraph, telephone and power lines.
- Artist unknown. View of Broadway, north from Cortlandt and Maiden Lane, New York City, c. 1885–87 D size color photo-lithograph American Photo-Lithography Co. published by James J. Fogerty, New York. The image was likely generated to advertise the Broadway commercial district.