Sunlight and Gaslight: Mapping Light in Mid-Nineteenth-Century New York City

Rachel Eu, Princeton University

This paper evaluates the geography of light in New York City during the mid-nineteenth century. Analysis centers on the interplay between social factors and morphological characteristics of the urban landscape that impacted New Yorkers’ access to light in both its natural and artificial forms. The paper employs built environment data and geographic information systems (GIS) mapping as its main approach. First, the paper makes an exploration into natural light. By analyzing the distribution of built features, the paper demonstrates that natural light and darkness dispersed along the lines of wealth and poverty, as sunlight commodified into a highly coveted resource. The second section of the paper draws from archival sources to construct an estimated visualization of the gas street light network. Analysis demonstrates that, unlike natural light, spatial patterns of artificial light correlated foremost with commercial areas over affluent ones, though lamps were also largely absent from Manhattan’s poorest neighborhoods. Finally, the paper explores how GIS mapping brings a new framework to the study of light in the historical city, as the incorporation of spatial data allows for explorations of light to go beyond narrative descriptions.

No extended abstract or paper available

 Presented in Session 257. Urban Historical GIS