Here Grows New York

Here Grows New York is a short film by Myles Zhang that visualizes the development of New York City’s infrastructure and street system from 1609 to the present day. The nine-minute animated film draws on geo-referenced historic maps to trace the growth of the five boroughs from the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam through the Industrial Revolution and into the modern era.

The animated film shows how New York City has evolved since its inception, highlighting the organic growth spurts that have driven development over time. Built from hundreds of archival maps - many painstakingly aligned and redrawn - the project aims to reveal what Manhattan’s built environment can tell us about changing social and economic priorities.

Importantly, the film is only part of the project. There is also an accompanying interactive map:

👉 Explore the Here Grows New York interactive map

Built using ArcGIS StoryMaps, Here Grows New York allows you to scroll through time to view the development of the city’s street grid and environment from 1609 to the present day. The map provides a series of cartographic snapshots of New York and transforms the data into an explorable historical map, allowing users to step through time and observe the rhythms of expansion that typify not only New York but many other American cities.

If you want to explore New York before the arrival of the Dutch, check out the Welikia Project’s Manhatta map, which visualizes the area prior to European settlement.

Moving forward in time, the New Amsterdam 1660 3D model (created by the New Amsterdam History Center) lets you explore the Dutch colonial city of New Amsterdam - the precursor to modern New York - including its houses, farms, taverns, workshops, and defensive walls. The model is based on the 1660 Castello Plan by Jacques Cortelyou.