New York City has served as a physical backdrop for some of the most famous album covers in music history. Researcher Bob Egan made it his mission to track down the exact spots where those photos were taken — then superimposed the original covers onto the modern-day streets. The results are striking. From Hell’s Kitchen to Greenwich Village, the locations are all real, and many are still recognizable today. One of the earliest examples dates to 1957.
The project spans decades of rock history. Egan pinpointed Morningside Heights for The Who’s 1979 documentary soundtrack cover, placing it at 116th Street and Morningside Drive near the Carl Schurz Monument.
Downtown Manhattan also features heavily. Van Morrison’s ‘Too Long In Exile’ was shot outside 246 Pearl Street, while The Velvet Underground’s 1972 live album was photographed at 213 Park Avenue South.
Bob Dylan posed on the front steps of 4 Gramercy Park West for his 1965 album ‘Highway 61 Revisited.’ Neil Young’s ‘After The Gold Rush’ cover was taken at the corner of Sullivan Street and West 3rd Street in Greenwich Village.
The New York Dolls’ 1973 self-titled debut was shot outside the Gem Spa at St. Mark’s Place and 2nd Avenue — a corner that defined the city’s glam-punk era. The Ramones’ ‘Rocket To Russia’ was captured in Extra Place, the small alley behind CBGB.
KISS shot their ‘Dressed To Kill’ cover at the southwest corner of 23rd Street and Eighth Avenue in 1975. Rounding out Egan’s findings, Steely Dan’s ‘Pretzel Logic’ was shot at Miners’ Gate, a Central Park entrance, where the original pretzel vendor once stood.
