As The New Yorker celebrates 100 years as one of the City’s most significant publications—with over 5,000 issues published to date—we’re honored to be included in their historic recreation of many of the past covers that depicted daily life in New York City.

This week’s issue marks the centennial of one of the most recognizable sources of journalism, commentary, criticism, and satire not just for NYC, but for all of the U.S. Famed for its essays and poetry, The New Yorker is also notable for its lifelong commitment to artists, commissioning many people over the decades to create its always-illustrated cover art. For the anniversary, the magazine has chosen to recreate many of the iconic covers from throughout its history by photographing the locations that inspired them—and the New York Botanical Garden is honored to be included in this special moment.

Grab the September 2025 issue when you see it, and inside you’ll find a photo recreation of a New Yorker cover from June of 1974, based on an illustration that spotlit Bronxites posing at the Garden. And that wasn’t our first cover, either! We’ve included an earlier illustration, from May of 1966, that depicts an idyllic scene from the trails of our 50-acre Forest. After these images resurfaced, our staff decided to take a look at our own archives, where we maintain some of the world’s largest collections of botanical literature, art, and related media, including postcards, seed packet designs, and so much more. They were surprised to find a collection of original cartoons that made their way into the pages of the very same June 1974 issue of the magazine shown above, depicting a slice of daily life in our 250 acres. You can see a number of examples above.

Here’s wishing a happy birthday to The New Yorker!