This is New York on the morning of September 12, 1609, a few hours before explorer and trader Henry Hudson sailed into the harbor. The city that never sleeps hadn't woken up yet. For the past five years, Eric Sanderson, an ecologist with the Wildlife Conservation Society in the Bronx, has been building this digital model of prelapsarian Gotham. To reconstruct the island as it was, he's assembling environmental and historical data (like maps and surveys, diaries, and farm reports). He aims to layer in 45 distinct ecosystems and finish by 2009, the 400th anniversary of Hudson's arrival. "It's important to keep some nature in our lives," Sanderson says. "That's not unique to New York." Here's a look at what's changed.
Stuyvesant Town Then: A combination of saltwater and freshwater marshes created an ecosystem for fish and mollusks; today it's known for black squirrels and rent-controlled apartments. Now: See photo
Chinatown Then: Site of the Collect Pond, a brackish pool with a natural lye content. In later years, trappers will gather here to tan beaver hides. Now: See photo
Marcus Garvey Park Then: The ethnic melting pot of Harlem was mostly grassland surrounding two hills. One was razed; the other, 70-foot-high Mount Morris, is today the center of Marcus Garvey Park. Now: See photo
Times Square Then: The "crossroads of the world" was the crossroads of three streams – in other words, a swamp. Now: See photo
Battery Park City Then: Open water – but after getting filled with dirt from the foundation of the World Trade Center, it became part of the 2 square miles of landfill that comprise Manhattan's edge. Now: See photo
– Patrick Di Justo
Markley Boyer/Wildlife Conservation Society
Stuyvesant Town Space Imaging
Chinatown Space Imaging
Marcus Garvey Park Space Imaging
Times Square Space Imaging
Battery Park City Space Imaging
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Destination: Manhattan, 1609
