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circa 1905: A group of African-American workers stand with pickaxes and shovels, removing the foundation of the first Plaza Hotel in preparation for the construction of the present Plaza Hotel, at FIfth Avenue and Fifty-Ninth Street. (Photo by Museum of the City of New York/Byron Collection/Getty Images)

circa 1905:  A group of African-American workers stand with pickaxes and shovels, removing the foundation of the first Plaza Hotel in preparation for the construction of the present Plaza Hotel, at FIfth Avenue and Fifty-Ninth Street.  (Photo by Museum of the City of New York/Byron Collection/Getty Images)