35 Photos You Won’t Believe Were Taken In New York City

Published July 17, 2016
Updated November 7, 2023

Chances are, when you picture New York City, you’re conjuring up images like this:

New York City Photos Times Square

Kevin PohTimes Square

Or even for a more serene, outer-borough scene, you’re probably thinking of something like this:

Brownstones

Matthew RutledgePark Slope, Brooklyn

And why not — New York City crams its 8.5 million people (the highest total of any city in the U.S. by more than double) into just 300 square miles, making for a whopping 27,000 people per square mile (more than 10,000 higher than its closest U.S. competitor).

But while there is a New York City — the one you’re picturing — choked by crowds, canopied by skyscrapers, and developed within an inch of its life, there’s another New York City you’re not picturing, one dotted with placid fields, hidden islands, and calm little lanes.

These forgotten corners of the city make America’s most bustling metropolis look more like a New England fishing village, or a quaint suburb, or even a deserted ghost town.

And you needn’t even go to the city’s parks nor to its geographical fringes to find such unexpected environs. Many of New York’s most surprisingly tranquil locales sit side-by-side with some of its most bustling ones.

Below, you won’t find manicured parks that provide a simulacrum of serenity nor will you find deceptive images that keep the urban bustle just out of frame. Instead, you’ll simply find 35 surprising photos you’d never guess were actually taken in New York City:

New York City Photos Cornell Farmhouse
Fort Tryon Park
New York City Photos Forest Hills
Broad Channel
35 Photos You Won’t Believe Were Taken In New York City
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Enjoy these New York City photos? Next, check out the 25 most incredible photographs of New York City. Then, see what the city looked like at its worst in the 1970s and the 1980s.

author
John Kuroski
author
John Kuroski is the editorial director of All That's Interesting. He graduated from New York University with a degree in history, earning a place in the Phi Alpha Theta honor society for history students. An editor at All That's Interesting since 2015, his areas of interest include modern history and true crime.
editor
Savannah Cox
editor
Savannah Cox holds a Master's in International Affairs from The New School as well as a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, and now serves as an Assistant Professor at the University of Sheffield. Her work as a writer has also appeared on DNAinfo.