Amazing images of New York City before it was a city

New York City - a city known for Times Square, Central Park, and commanding skyscrapers - didn't always look like the way it does today.

Approximately 20,500 years ago, during the Ice Age, a mile-thick sheet of ice covered the region's land, which formed the bedrock of the city.

Now home to 8.5 million residents and counting, NYC's five boroughs have changed a lot.

Take a look at the maps, paintings, and historical photographs that show the journey of the Big Apple.