THE New-York Historical Society's "New York Then and Now: The Upper West Side" is quite different from the usual show of old photographs. Working with a collection from the early 20th century, the curator, Dale Neighbors, presents successive images of Central Park West, Broadway and West End Avenue -- not so much of their buildings, but of the streets themselves, with matching current-day pictures by the Society's photographer, Glenn Castellano.

The 1925 view looking west down the middle of 96th Street from Central Park West makes a good study. The Elevated Railroad, one block west at Columbus, brings the eye up to the sense of "room" that even a straight street may possess -- without that distant fence, 96th Street is just a tunnel.

The sidewalks are much wider, making the pedestrian route a real boulevard rather than a little escape ledge. They are wide enough to have large planted areas, 10 feet wide and 40 feet long; most of the wide cross streets were special "Park Streets" under the care of the Department of Parks.

But to one eye the most significant change is how vehicles use the streets: In the 1925 view there are only two vehicles parked on a street that now serves as a permanent garage for 120. For in the time of our grandparents, New Yorkers still considered the streets as built for transportation, not car storage.