Most of the photos on this site were extracted from reference images (high-resolution tiffs, 20 to 200 megabytes in size) from the Library of Congress research archive. (To query the database click here.) Many were digitized by LOC contractors using a Sinar studio back. They are adjusted by your webmaster for contrast and color in Photoshop before being downsized and turned into the jpegs you see here.

Birmingham, Alabama, circa 1906. "Hotel Hillman." Our second look at this inviting inn. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size.
One has to wonder if there are two separate basements underneath the wings of the hotel. A bizarre union of onomatopoeia and pareidolia, or the human mind's ability to find patterns in everything?
Today's Top 5