The African American Experience 

Shoe Shine

Courtesy of New York City Parks Photo Archive, Neg. 13656. Though most shoe shine operations are located in dense, business districts, here the bootblack plies his trade at the workingman's place of origin--a subway entrance--along Eastern Parkway. The grand landscaped boulevard, the creation of Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, co-designers of Central and Prospect Parks, dates to 1868.