Western Union Telegraph Company on Broadway

The historic Western Union Telegraph Company building on Broadway, completed on February 1, 1875, for a new headquarters. It was then one of the tallest buildings in New York. The Western Union became a nation-wide corporation, providing communication service through the transcontinental telegraph established in 1861. Photograph W. Gray, bought in June, 1893. Source: album 39 phot. d'Amérique du Nord, Bibliothèque Nationale de France (BnF).

This photo was probably taken before 1891. The overhead wires went underground in the late 19th century, mostly after 1889. The building at 203 Broadway (on the right) was probably demolished in 1891 to make way for the 10-story Mail and Express Building (home of the New York Evening Mail), completed in 1892.