31 beautiful vintage photos show what New York City looked like in the 1940s

Amateur photographer Charles W. Cushman traveled extensively in the US and abroad from 1938 to 1969, capturing beautiful portraits of everyday life.

His archive has been donated to and maintained by Cushman's alma mater, Indiana University, which has kindly given us permission to publish his gallery of New York City photos taken in 1941 and 1942.

These images give a great glimpse into what everyday life in Chinatown, the Financial District, and Midtown was like over 70 years ago.

Kamelia Angelova contributed reporting to an earlier version of this story.