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.

July 16, 1917. Peekskill, New York. "Boys' shower, State Camp for Field Training." 5x7 glass negative, George Grantham Bain Collection. View full size.
In the early 1970's I'd spend a week at "Church Camp" in the mountains just east of California's Central Valley. The boys showers were similar to this but there was a roof overhead. I remember how the hot water plumbing went to the girls showers next door before it got to us so you could forget about having a hot shower if the girls were in there! My buddy and I would sneak out of our rustic cabin (10-12 kids in bunk beds) around midnight and take loooong hot showers in the cool night air. I'm lovin' the kid second from the right... "BANG, I gotcha!"
What also dates this photo is the fact that every third kid in it isn't obese.
This could easily have been taken a week ago. The old fashioned upper/lower torso swimsuits look just like modern wetsuits. The only thing that really dates this photo are those wide showerheads.
[And the narrow kids. - Dave]
Today's Top 5