"WHEN FASCISM COMES TO AMERICA IT WILL BE WRAPPED IN THE FLAG
AND CARRYING A CROSS." -SINCLAIR LEWIS

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Manhattan 1609 vs. 2009

Computer recreation takes the metropolitan island back in time 400 years:

Before it was an urban jungle, Manhattan was home to the Lenape Indians, who called the island Mannahatta, or "land of many hills."

Built up and--thanks to land reclamation--out, downtown Manhattan, circa 2008, towers over the New York City island as it was more than 400 years ago (computer rendering at right), when Europeans first set eyes on it--complete with campfires.

The images were created for the Wildlife Conservation Society's Mannahatta Project, which launched April 20 and includes a book, museum exhibition, and Web site. The yearlong celebration of Manhattan's natural history aims to recreate the island as it appeared 400 years ago, on the day English explorer Henry Hudson arrived in 1609.
If you've ever watched the movie Fight Club closely, you'll recognize Tyler Durden's description of the future New York City in these mock-ups. It's Mother Nature's world, we're just passing through it with our materialistic culture.

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