Framing the City: Documentary Photography in 1930s New York City

This thesis examines three documentary photographs of the Williamsburg Bridge in 1930s New York City, with the goal of exploring the way photographs were used to communicate a view of urbanism and the built environment. These photographs were produced by Eugene de Salignac, Berenice Abbott, and inspectors from the Tenement House Department to serve as visual records and relate information. The Williamsburg Bridge anchors the discussion in a common subject, to allow the diverging uses and intentions of each photograph to emerge. These photographs reveal highly individualized interpretations of an evolving urban landscape, subject to shifts from social, political, economic, and architectural changes.