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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]
San Francisco City Hall circa 1919. "Peerless truck." Three young ladies aboard what seems to be some sort of street-cleaning, finger-ripping machine. Hide your children and stand clear! 5x7 glass negative by Christopher Helin. View full size.
1925. "Convention Hall bowling alleys, lobby." Mezzanine of a long-vanished Washington D.C. landmark, the old Liberty Market at Fifth and K streets. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size.
Palm Beach circa 1905. "Avenue of Palms between the Royal Poinciana Hotel and the Breakers." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative. View full size.
Detroit circa 1911. "Boulevard view, Packard auto plant." At least two laborers are hard at work in our second look at the expansion of Albert Kahn's factory from two stories to four, at the spot where a bridge was eventually built over Grand Boulevard, connecting this building with one across the street. View full size.
San Francisco circa 1921. "G.W. Thomas Drayage -- Fageol truck." With a dynamo in tow. 6.5 x 8.5 inch glass negative by Christopher Helin. View full size.
Somewhere around San Francisco in 1920. "Grant Six touring car." Pointed straight into the 20th century, although the Grant brand itself was not long for this world, expiring in 1922. 5x7 glass negative by Christopher Helin. View full size.
April 1943. "Traffic jam on the road from the Bethlehem Fairfield shipyard to Baltimore as the second shift of workers leaves the plant." Medium-format negative by Marjory Collins for the Office of War Information. View full size.
"Dam at Blue Earth below cemetery -- May 4 1952." The latest episode of Minnesota Kodachromes is back with the boys at the swimming hole for a bracing dip. At least it looks pretty cold. Photo by Hubert Tuttle. View full size.
My good friend and former neighbor Jim and his wife Lois in their trailer home in the early 1950s, when he was stationed in Florida as a radioman in the Navy. He loved motorcycles, hot rods, music, cats, exotic birds, and most of all people. Talking to him was guaranteed to make you smile. Godspeed Jim! View full size.
Washington, D.C., circa 1931. "Longworth, Paulina, with parents." Paulina (1925-1957), last seen here with her mother Alice Roosevelt Longworth, oldest daughter of Teddy, is now joined by her legal father, House Speaker Nicholas Longworth. Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size.
Palm Beach, Florida, circa 1901. "The Breakers from the casino." Note the horsecar and boardwalk with cutouts for the palm trees. Another of Henry Flagler's wood-frame behemoths, the Breakers burned in 1903 and reopened the following year, then burned yet again in 1925. 8x10 inch glass negative. View full size.
From San Francisco circa 1948 comes this nighttime shot of a Pontiac showroom, which our learned commenters reveal was at 1560 Van Ness Avenue. 8x10 inch Kodak safety negative, photographer unknown. View full size.
Miami circa 1901. "Hotel Royal Palm, west front." Henry Flagler's hostelry opened in 1897 and closed in 1930, condemned after a termite infestation. 8x10 inch glass negative by William Henry Jackson, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size.
San Francisco, 1922. "Buick roadster at California Street firehouse." If we ride along, can we ring the bell? 5x7 glassneg by Christopher Helin. View full size.
Detroit circa 1911. "Boulevard view, Packard auto plant." Expansion of the Albert Kahn-designed factory building on Grand Boulevard, now an infamous urban ruin. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.