This photograph shows the promenading life of the grand avenue, by then called Broadway. Fashionable men and women parade the wide sidewalks, while cyclists have taken over the streets. A bicycle craze swept the nation in the 1890s. Suddenly a pastime once practiced only by a few well-to-do athletic clubmen was embraced by middle-class men and women of all ages who cherished their bikes as a means of both transportation and recreation. The Boulevard, shown here in 1898, was a favorite destination for Manhattan cyclists because of its lovely tree-lined appearance and its smooth asphalt-covered surface. Throughout the 1890s—long before motorists arrived on the scene in numbers—bicycle enthusiasts pressured officials to resurface New York City’s unpaved and Belgian block-covered streets with smooth asphalt. They were joined by health advocates who held that smooth streets were easier to clean and merchants who argued that quiet streets were good for business. MM