See what NYC looked like during the Gilded Age with this time-traveling app

Take a tour through Gilded Age New York without ever leaving your apartment.

The Museum of the City of New York has released its first-ever smartphone app to complement its current exhibition Gilded New York. The app, which is hosted by actress Grace Gummer, uses archival photographs to compare city streets now and at end of the 19th century. While you may assume most structures from that period have been lost to time, the app reveals that the historical footprint of that era is still very much around us. 

In addition to then-and-now photographs, users of the app can also experience events from the era including a birthday party at the historic restaurant Delmonico’s and an opening night at the Metropolitan Opera. It's available on both iPhone and Android.

If your couch-bound walking tour has inspired you to find out more on the topic after that, you can always visit the Gilded New York exhibition at the museum.