Imagine it is ca. 1950. You’ve just arrived in New York City onboard one of the sleek, modern ocean liners of the era after a five-day voyage across the Atlantic ocean. Your ship has passed the lightship marking the entrance to the Ambrose Channel, sailed past the Statue of Liberty, and brought the Manhattan skyline into view as your vessel approaches its West Side pier. Similar to international travelers in the 21st century, you now have a true test of patience as you disembark: you and your 2,000 or so fellow passengers have to try to locate your baggage and undergo a US Customs inspection. This story explores how the Customs staff prepared for the arrival of a mid-century ocean liner.

Though now known for their hockey rinks and bowling alley, the Chelsea Piers used to be a hub of commerce and travel. A portal to the world, passengers would stream on and off the immense steamships docked along New York's shores.

Since arriving on these shores, dogs have made New York City their home. Here are some of our favorite photos from our partners' collections of New York dogs in their natural habitat!

As steamship travel become faster and safer, tourism from New York and the old world became increasingly fashionable for those that could afford it. In this edition of our Interior Life series, we're swapping buildings for boats, examining three of the luxurious ocean liners that ferried passengers across the Atlantic: the S.S. Paris, the S.S. Ile De France, and the S.S. Normandie. All built by the French Line, these three ships made Compagnie Générale Transatlantique famous and marked a new age in trans-oceanic travel.