Old Newburgh Photos: Newburgh 1994

Abandoned storefront, Newburgh, New York, circa 1994, James Kaval

James Kaval sent over these photos he took over 20 years ago in Newburgh in 1994, perhaps earlier. They are quite wonderful as they capture many buildings that no longer exist, like at Broadway and Johnston Street. Thanks for sharing James!

If you have old Newburgh photos you would like to share on Newburgh Restoration email me.

Abandoned building, Newburgh, New York, circa 1994, James Kaval

Abandoned storefront, Newburgh, New York, circa 1994, James Kaval

Abandoned storefront, Newburgh, New York, circa 1994, James Kaval

Church, Newburgh, New York, circa 1994, James Kaval

Main Street, Newburgh, New York, circa 1994, James Kaval

Waterfront, Newburgh, New York, circa 1994, James Kaval

Abandoned railroad tracks, Newburgh, New York, circa 1994, James Kaval

Broadway School, Newburgh, New York, circa 1994, James Kaval

Main Street, Newburgh, New York, circa 1994, James Kaval

Waterfront, Newburgh, New York, circa 1994, James Kaval

3 Comment

  • These bring me back to my earliest memories of the City of Newburgh, when I went to pre-K at Sacred Heart on Ann St. and Robinson Ave in the mid 90s. My grandfather, who used to manage the A&P on Broadway and know everyone in Newburgh, would drive me through the city after school and tell me about better times. Even though he hated what had become of the Newburgh he grew up in and it made him sad (especially to go near the waterfront), he would take me because I liked the old buildings.

    Because of this early influence on my life, I remember that when I was asked to draw a house, store or building as a young kid, I would always draw it with some of the windows boarded up, missing or broken, and some of the facade cracked or falling off. That’s how I thought houses and cities looked everywhere.

  • Thanks for those memories.

  • Amazing photos and yes, they spark many memories. A balance of both good and bad.

    I grew up in Newburgh. More accurately I grew up on the streets of Washington Heights. I played touch football on the bluff, spent my allowance on Orange Crush and Fifth Avenue bars at Pat’s Store and kissed my first girl on the steps of the old M&M Photography shop. I clearly remember a tough little white and tan terrier who belonged not to any one kid, but to the neighborhood as a whole.

    I left Newburgh more than 30 years ago. My wife and I now live on the edge of a forest in the Pocono Mountains. Memories, such as those mentioned above, are among the good ones I carried with me as I left. Some of the bad would include the murders of two of my boyhood friends, and a half dozen others who had lost their battles with drugs and alcohol addiction.

    There is a sadness to Mr. Kaval’s gallery of broken windows and peeling paint, and for me a reminder that when a city starts to die so do its people.