“Twelfth Avenue, north from West 45th Street, showing this marginal thoroughfare prior to improvement. The pier shown is No. 86 North River, located at the foot of 46th Street. The bend beyond is at 47th Street. April 11, 1924.”

Eugene Armbruster’s photo captures the West Side waterfront about a decade prior to the development of the West Side Elevated Highway. Today, Pier 86 (lower left) is home to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, aboard the USS Intrepid, a decommissioned World War II-era aircraft carrier.