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Time Travel To The Magical World Of 1993 Manhattan In Gorgeous HD Video
By
Ben Yakas
Published Apr 24, 2016
Modified Apr 24, 2016
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Apr 24, 2016
Modified Apr 24, 2016
Share
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1993 wasn't that long ago, but it was so long ago—Nuts 4 Nuts was just launching, we still used subway tokens, and Iggy Pop gave tours of the East Village. And now you can get another chance to transport back to those halcyon days of cigarette billboards and smartphone-free sidewalk walking with the video below, shot in gorgeous HD.
If you're wondering how a video of this quality—in HD!—existed over 20 years ago, the uploader explains: "In 2002 D-Theater D-VHS launched in the US—the dealers needed a demo tape of HD footage. JVC reused some HD video that had been shot as a demo for the Japanese HD market back in 1993."
Among the highlights: a Hell's Angel putting his hand on the camera on Third Avenue around 1:42; a stroll down the old St. Mark's around 1:45; the vintage taxi cabs around 2:04; the multiple giant Camel ads in Times Square around 4:10; and the greatest moment of them all, when the man with the rat-tail haircut checks out a woman in a crowd around :59. And the whole thing's partially set to an instrumental version of Stevie Wonder's immortal "Living In The City," what more could you want?!
Tagged
1993
flashback
hd video
manhattan
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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