Google Street View Does It Again

     

My original photo of the shoe shop, taken after the introduction of electricity judging from the light on the right

     Last summer I did a blog about my 4th great-uncle Cornelius Ryan Jr. who was a cobbler in Palmyra, New York.  Looking through a book about Palmyra from the Images of America series, which I've done numerous times, I this time noticed another photo of the shop where he worked, this one taken in 1875, probably about a year and a half before Cornelius died.  He may even be in the photo.  Below, in the far lower right you see the same little shop as above--

The description of this photo said the cobblestone building, the one on the far left with the awning and what looks like a door on the second floor, was still standing so I did a search for Market Street in Palmyra, NY at Google Maps, then zeroed in with the Street View option.  Below is the same building today with a for real second story door.  Call me crazy, but that seems like a bad idea.

     You can see the wee shoe shop no longer exists, nor do the wooden sidewalks.  The space where it sat is an alley now, and the building next to the ally has been renovated or it's an entirely different structure than in the older photograph.  The cobblestone and brick buildings though are unmistakably the same ones pictured in 1875.

     I've had very good luck with Google Street Views and use it regularly, so I feel comfortable recommending it.  It's always fun to see our ancestor's old stomping grounds, and this is the next best thing to visiting.