Aerial photograph of the Upper West Side. Photo by Nmattson10.
THE UPPER WEST SIDE
From West 59th street to 110th, the Upper West Side neighborhood in Manhattan is a desirable destination for tourists as well as residents. The UWS boasts the best of all worlds with theaters, shopping, museums, historic buildings, fine dining, and good schools and community centers. With this neighborhood’s frequent presence in social media, there are many easy ways to stay informed, view historic and present-day photography, and meet other fellow Upper West Siders in this ever-changing, but always exciting neighborhood!
PINTEREST https://www.pinterest.com/explore/upper-west-side/
Photographs are one of the most informative and interesting forms of documentary evidence in archives. A photograph can capture the essence of a person or place in a way words couldn’t describe. The social media website, Pinterest, allows users to find millions of photographs to exhibit each user’s individual interests and dreams. The massive amount of photographs curated through Pinterest and the searching capability makes the site a potential local history research tool. Using key words and the search bar, anyone can find photographs related to a specific place. Currently on Pinterest is a page titled “Upper West Side” with 259 followers which exhibits photos with “Upper West Side” in the photo caption. On this page, hundreds of photographs showing photographs of Lincoln Center, historic brownstone homes, and local restaurants and people can be browsed. Users can contribute photographs and which makes the page have a personal and fresh feel. The photographs posted are mostly present-day photos taken recently, but historic photographs can also be found. Like photos in traditional archives, the photos on Pinterest can provide a local historian with a wealth of information that documents or oral histories can’t quite capture. There are two negative aspects of Pinterest which might inhibit research. Firstly is that the searching capability is fairly limited. There is not an advanced search option to clarify or focus on a particular topic. Secondly, there are a multitude of companies which have advertisements and promotional photographs mixed in with the search results, which in my opinion, was not pleasing. Overall, the sheer amount of photographs and the wide variety makes this Pinterest page a good resource for discovering the Upper West Side through photographs.
WEST SIDE RAG http://www.westsiderag.com
As newspapers go out of business or convert to digital formats, there are a wide variety of ways to receive localized news on the internet. For news articles and blog postings about the Upper West Side specifically, the West Side Rag is an excellent choice. The West Side Rag is an online newspaper and blog covering real estate, store and restaurant closings, crime, people profiles, art, and history related to the Upper West Side neighborhood specifically and written by Upper West Side residents. The West Side Rag was first published in 2011 and was named one of the four best neighborhood blogs in the city by the Village Voice in its first year. The articles and blog postings range from serious to absurd topics that would be of interest to persons in the area. They actively encourage Upper West Siders to submit photographs, story ideas, or tips which keeps the website current and relatable. This neighborhood participation on the website makes it a great community page for relating news and sharing memories and opinions. The website does not specify if the postings are being archived or saved in any manner for future research use. But news articles and historical postings of this neighborhood, it could be a great resource. A similar, but subpar, online newspaper for the Upper West Side is the West Side Spirit. The articles on this website are surprisingly not always about the Upper West Side. Therefore the West Side Rag would be the recommended online newspaper resource for reading localized news and learning about Upper West Side history from true Upper West Siders.
FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/groups/378983668928081/
Facebook is one of the most influential social media websites used by the public today. According to The Next Web on January 29th, 2014, Facebook counted 1.19 billion monthly active users in their last quarter. In terms of connecting people around the globe, Facebook is a top competitor. But Facebook is not only a website to find lost friends and post cute pictures of one-self. Currently on Facebook is a Group called, “Growing up on the Old Upper West Side.” At the date of this posting, the group had a total of 979 members. According to the Group’s About page, the group was formed for people who “lived, laughed, and loved on the Upper West Side of the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s.” The group is closed, so one has to be accepted as a member to view the full site. But for accepted members, it is highly encouraged to share memories and photographs and there is a handful of “regulars” who post incredible photographs. Clearly there are many current and former nostalgic UWS residents who reminisce about the old days and former business that are no longer open. This Facebook Group appears to be the best place on Facebook for connecting with people who lived in the Old Upper West Side neighborhood and to use as a photograph repository of the snapshots from the past. Unfortunately, there is a Facebook Page titled, “I Love the Upper West Side,” which at first glance appears to be a great place to find news and recent postings and photographs about this particular neighborhood. But it is deceitful, because after further investigation, the Facebook page is actually maintained by a real estate company and the majority of posts are solely about available rentals in the area, etc. But the title of the page has won over 6,418 likes from Facebook users (presumably not knowing it is a page to promote the real estate company.) For researchers and people looking into Upper West Side history, joining the “Growing up on the Old Upper West Side” group would be recommended.
With so much of the average person’s social interaction now occurring online nowadays, the website Meetup is unique in its social media intentions. Meetup fosters the ability to find a group of people with a similar interest or characteristic and actually “meet up” with these newly discovered friends in public. Or, if a group does not yet exist on the website, members have the ability to start their own. The Meetup groups post upcoming events that members can chose to participate in. Currently, there are several Upper West Side related Meetup groups including “Upper West Side Book Club”, “First Time Upper West Side Moms”, “Young Upper West Side Lesbians”, as well as “Exploring NYC History and Neighborhoods”. This last Meetup group, “Exploring NYC History and Neighborhoods”, currently has 2,774 members and could be a unusual way to conduct research on the Upper West Side neighborhood. According to the founding member, “This is a group for people either new to New York City, or have called the city home for awhile and are interested in discovering new neighborhoods and learning more about the city’s fascinating history, architecture and culture.” On the Meetup page, members have posted over 200 photographs of the recent group outings as well as historical photographs and a discussion board is available to discuss recommendations and ideas. This group has hosted 138 well-attended Meetup events in the past with NYC trivia nights, historical walking tours, and discussions. Unlike other social media sites that are purely online, this one promotes a chance to meet, socialize, and learn from people with common interests, such as the history of the Upper West Side.
By: Ailina Mayer
Researching NYC: Past and Present 