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Vintage photos of:
Our holdings include hundreds of glass and film negatives/transparencies that we've scanned ourselves; in addition, many other photos on this site were extracted from reference images (high-resolution tiffs) in the Library of Congress research archive. (To query the database click here.) They are adjusted, restored and reworked by your webmaster in accordance with his aesthetic sensibilities before being downsized and turned into the jpegs you see here. All of these images (including "derivative works") are protected by copyright laws of the United States and other jurisdictions and may not be sold, reproduced or otherwise used for commercial purposes without permission.
[REV 25-NOV-2014]
New York, 1905. "Hotel Netherland, Fifth Avenue and 59th Street." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Photographic Company. View full size.
New York circa 1905. "Metropolitan Life Insurance building, Madison Avenue and East 23rd Street." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Circa 1905. "City Hall -- Philadelphia, Pa." The largest municipal building in the United States, City Hall is topped by a 26-ton statue of William Penn. 8x10 inch glass negative. View full size.
A bright and sunny New Year's Day 1960 found me walking along Grand Avenue in St. Louis, Missouri. I snapped this photo because three days later the streetcars would cease running, owing to the closing of a nearby viaduct for replacement. The Fox Theater in the background, opened in 1929, fared a little better, lasting up to 1978. In 1991 it reopened and survives as a performing arts center. The Fox house organist at the time was Mr. Stan Cann, who held that position for 22 years, from 1952 until 1974. They called him "Stan Cann the vacuum cleaner man" because his hobby was collecting antique vacuum cleaners. He lived in Los Angeles during retirement and gave frequent organ concerts around town, many of which I attended. 35mm Kodachrome by William D. Volkmer. View full size.
Circa 1905. "Panorama of Richmond, Virginia, showing St. Paul's Church and Capitol Square." A wide-angle view comprising two 8x10 inch glass negatives. View full size.
Richmond, Virginia, circa 1905. "Hotel Richmond, Ninth and Grace Sts." The hostelry last glimpsed here. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
December 1940. "Trailer parked near service station. Bath, Maine." Medium format acetate negative by Jack Delano for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
Circa 1905. "On the Miami River at Miami, Fla." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Jacksonville, Florida, circa 1905. "Hotel Aragon, Forsyth and Julia streets." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
September 1939. "Truck driver who operates between Twin Cities and radius of 150 miles tying in load. Minneapolis, Minnesota." Medium format acetate negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
1904. "Marion County Courthouse -- Indianapolis, Indiana." This Second Empire colossus met its Waterloo in 1962. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Photographic Co. View full size.
Toledo, Ohio, circa 1910. "Lucas County Courthouse." Completed in 1896, this imposing edifice still stands. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Detroit, Michigan, circa 1901. "Wayne County Building." This multi-layered municipal confection, completed in 1902, still stands as a monument to the wedding-cake school of architecture. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Photographic Co. View full size.
Springfield, Massachusetts, circa 1912. "Municipal Building and Civil War monument from Court Square." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Havana, 1904. "Muelle Paula (Alameda de Paula)." The Cuban capital's first waterfront promenade. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Photographic Company. View full size.