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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.
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Today's Top 5
It Pays to Flirt: 1918
Submitted by Dave on Sat, 08/07/2010 - 4:22pm.
Tags:
Washington, D.C., April 1918. "Downtown construction." Excavation with a theatrical backdrop. Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size.
Steam shovels and rollers
Submitted by tterrace on Mon, 08/09/2010 - 4:17pm.
As one who also still calls those big pavement-flattening jobbers "steam" rollers, I find it indescribably gratifying to know that people salvage, restore, collect and exhibit such things. Thinking about the logistics involved in such a hobby is mind-boggling, though.
The truck
Submitted by Anonymous Tipster on Sun, 08/08/2010 - 7:32am.
What kind is it?
[Service Motor Truck Co. of Wabash, Indiana. - Dave]
Sidewalk Superintendent
Submitted by Jimmy Longshanks on Sun, 08/08/2010 - 2:17am.
Progress never stops but men always do, like the one on the fence, to watch a construction project.
Thew in action
Submitted by Steamcrane2 on Sun, 08/08/2010 - 1:34am.
At least one Thew steam shovel survives and operates:
Clifton Webb
Submitted by tycho anomaly on Sat, 08/07/2010 - 7:17pm.
I was surprised to see Clifton Webb -- but it turns out he was already about 30 at this point.
Thew Shovel Co.
Submitted by Dennis M on Sat, 08/07/2010 - 6:20pm.
Founded in 1899 by Richard Thew, a Lake Erie freighter captain interested in the problems of handling iron ore and coal. He invented a new kind of shovel that revolved 360 degrees and could dig and deliver material from any position. More here.
Mary-Anne!
Submitted by ossewa on Sat, 08/07/2010 - 5:58pm.
My four-year-old never gets tired of Mike Mullligan and his steam shovel Mary-Anne. I had never seen the real thing before. Thanks for posting this!
Cute shovels
Submitted by nixiebunny on Sat, 08/07/2010 - 5:22pm.
They're straight out of Mike Mulligan. I suppose they only held one or two yards of dirt in those tiny buckets. Still, they were at least an order of magnitude faster than people with shovels.
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Shorpy.com | History in HD is a vintage photo blog featuring thousands of high-definition images from the 1850s to 1950s. The site is named after Shorpy Higginbotham, a teenage coal miner who lived 100 years ago.
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Today's Top 5